High-yielding Cultivars Research Articles

Retrospective analysis of the main feedstocks for animal feed in the world: How the green revolution has affected their environmental performance over the last 60 years, from 1961 to 2021

At the end of the 1950s, studies began to create high-yield cultivars with the aim of increasing the supply of basic foods in the world, this action was called “green evolution”. It was associated with the increase in the use of inputs to increase production levels, leading agriculture to a possible increase in environmental impacts and “harmful habits” of management. To characterize the historical damage of this action, it is necessary to use methods that generate universal results, capable of representing the world. Then, we use Life cycle assessment (LCA) to estimate the historical evolution of the environmental impacts of the two main feedstock for feed in the world, soybeans, and corn, from 1961 to 2021. To better understand the variation in their impacts, we consider the change in agricultural management when we use as a functional unit the amount of area needed to produce 1 kg of grain. Although emissions and impacts from agriculture, by area, have increased each decade, when considering productivity through the area/production ratio, we note that a number of emissions were avoided, along with impacts in all categories evaluated. Therefore, the development and use of technologies that modify the area/production ratio can contribute to avoiding environmental impacts.

Review on recent advances of Gracilariopsis lemaneiformis (Rhodophyta)

Gracilariopsis lemaneiformis is an economical red algae that is an important raw material for agar production. Although researchers have obtained several high-yield cultivars (e.g., 981 and 2007), their growth is still limited and influenced by several environmental factors such as heat stress and nitrogen restriction. In recent years, agar metabolism, photosynthesis, and tetrasporophyte development in G. lemaneiformis have emerged as prominent areas of research for investigators to unravel the molecular mechanism in development and reproduction. In addition, with the development of genomics and transcriptomics, more regulatory factors have been revealed, and the emergence of gene editing technology has also brought new possibilities for the genetic breeding of G. lemaneiformis. We have summarized the information here and provided an invaluable resource for future studies on G. lemaneiformis.

Genomic selection for target traits in the Australian lentil breeding program.

Genomic selection (GS) uses associations between markers and phenotypes to predict the breeding values of individuals. It can be applied early in the breeding cycle to reduce the cross-to-cross generation interval and thereby increase genetic gain per unit of time. The development of cost-effective, high-throughput genotyping platforms has revolutionized plant breeding programs by enabling the implementation of GS at the scale required to achieve impact. As a result, GS is becoming routine in plant breeding, even in minor crops such as pulses. Here we examined 2,081 breeding lines from Agriculture Victoria's national lentil breeding program for a range of target traits including grain yield, ascochyta blight resistance, botrytis grey mould resistance, salinity and boron stress tolerance, 100-grain weight, seed size index and protein content. A broad range of narrow-sense heritabilities was observed across these traits (0.24-0.66). Genomic prediction models were developed based on 64,781 genome-wide SNPs using Bayesian methodology and genomic estimated breeding values (GEBVs) were calculated. Forward cross-validation was applied to examine the prediction accuracy of GS for these targeted traits. The accuracy of GEBVs was consistently higher (0.34-0.83) than BLUP estimated breeding values (EBVs) (0.22-0.54), indicating a higher expected rate of genetic gain with GS. GS-led parental selection using early generation breeding materials also resulted in higher genetic gain compared to BLUP-based selection performed using later generation breeding lines. Our results show that implementing GS in lentil breeding will fast track the development of high-yielding cultivars with increased resistance to biotic and abiotic stresses, as well as improved seed quality traits.

Growth Performance of Groundnut in India-An Instability and Decomposition Analysis

Measuring the trends of growth and variability in agricultural production is important to understand how outputs change over time. The present study analyzed the growth and instability index of groundnuts. The study depends on secondary data, which was collected from the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare [1] for the period 1950-2022. The entire study period is divided into three sub-periods: 1950-51 to 1969-1970, 1971-1972 to 1999-2000 and 2000-2001 to 2021-2022. The compound annual growth rate, instability Index and decomposition analysis were used for the analysis. The compound annual growth rates for production, area, and yield are -0.14 percent, 1.05 percent, and 1.2 percent, respectively, groundnut production and yield are increasing and the area in India has changed throughout time. The decomposition of groundnut production in area, yield, and interaction effect showed that the yield effect was responsible for increasing the production of groundnut in India followed by the interaction effect and area effect. The results revealed that the level of instability was high in yield while it was lowest in area. The findings showed that the annual growth rate of productivity of groundnuts also shows an increasing trend during the recent period due to the availability of high-yielding cultivars and the deployment of innovative cultivation technologies. From the result, it is concluded that including the non-traditional areas increases the area under cultivation to sustain and improve groundnut production.

Advanced strategies for optimization of primary nutrients requirement in rice-A review

The Green Revolution led to India's food independence mostly through the inclusion of supply-driven technologies, such as the introduction of high-yielding cultivars, improved access to water, agrochemicals, and mechanization. The present and future needs target agricultural sustainability without endangering the ecosystem. In this regard, the adoption of precision agriculture is required to meet this expected objective. In developed nations, precision farming has already experienced tremendous growth. However, precision farming methods have taken a while for emerging nations in Asia to comprehend, create, and embrace. Moreover, precision farming is frequently misunderstood as a sophisticated technological intervention intended for extensive agricultural fields. However, it is essentially a science that involves using the "right input" in the "right quantity," at the "right time," and in the "right place," to improve input use efficiency. In the case of primary nutrients such as nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium, so-called recommendations for nutrient management based on soil tests have improved food grain output which increased the nutrient use efficiency up to a certain extent. Moreover, the recommendations are made for a given agroclimatic region and crops irrespective of site-specific soil fertility, cultivars, and agronomic management levels resulting in excess or scanty use to crop needs. At this juncture, assessing the nutritional requirements of plants proves to be a superior method, as it takes into account the cumulative impact of nutrient availability from various sources on plant growth at any specific stage, making it a reliable indicator of nutrient accessibility. Rice, the most important food crop, is grown in diverse agroclimatic regions at different management levels. Hence, there is an urgent need to adopt a precision nutrient management strategy to optimize the yield output. The article offers an overview of several precision instruments available for managing nutrients at specific sites and aids in choosing the most appropriate one for each circumstance.

Boron Fertilization Improves the Agronomic Performance of Soybean Genotypes in the Brazilian Cerrado

Currently, Brazil is the largest producer and exporter of soybeans in the world. Most of this cultivation is concentrated in the Cerrado region, which has soils with low boron levels. Boron performs functions that are directly linked to plant performance. The objective of this study was to evaluate the agronomic performance of soybean cultivars with and without boron fertilization. Two field experiments were carried out in the agricultural years 2018/2019 and 2019/2020. Each experiment was carried out in a randomized block design with four replications and 10 soybean cultivars (Desafio, Foco, Bonus, Maracaí, 7067, 7110, 7739, 8372, 7100, and Population). Boron fertilization was carried out at the V3 stage of the crop using ulexite (10% of boron) at a rate of 3194 kg ha−1 and 0.0 kg ha−1 of B. The application of boron to the soil increased plant height, pod insertion height, number of branches, main stem diameter, and number of pods per plant, in addition to increasing the cycle of these cultivars. The cultivars 7110, 7739 and Desafio did not statistically differ in terms of grain yield in response to boron fertilization. The cultivars Foco, Bonus, Maracaí, 7067, 8372, 7100, and Population responded favorably to this fertilization. Furthermore, genetic breeding programs incorporate advanced strategies, such as the use of boron fertilization, in order to improve the performance of the selected genotypes. Implementing boron fertilization as an integral part of breeding programs helps not only to achieve high-yielding cultivars but also to optimize key agronomic traits. This integrated approach not only boosts breeding research but also provides a solid basis for sustainable and efficient agricultural practices.

Flowering time regulator qFT13-3 involved in soybean adaptation to high latitudes.

Soybean is a short-day plant that typically flowers earlier when exposed to short-day conditions. However, the identification of genes associated with earlier flowering time but without a yield penalty is rare. In this study, we conducted genome-wide association studies (GWAS) using two re-sequencing datasets that included 113 wild soybeans (G. soja) and 1192 cultivated soybeans (G. max), respectively, and simultaneously identified a candidate flowering gene, qFT13-3, which encodes a protein homologous to the pseudo-response regulator (PRR) transcription factor. We identified four major haplotypes of qFT13-3 in the natural population, with haplotype H4 (qFT13-3H4) being lost during domestication, while qFT13-3H1 underwent natural and artificial selection, increasing in proportion from 4.5% in G. soja to 43.8% in landrace and to 81.9% in improve cultivars. Notably, most cultivars harbouring qFT13-3H1 were located in high-latitude regions. Knockout of qFT13-3 accelerated flowering and maturity time under long-day conditions, indicating that qFT13-3 functions as a flowering inhibitor. Our results also showed that qFT13-3 directly downregulates the expression of GmELF3b-2 which is a component of the circadian clock evening complex. Field trials revealed that the qft13-3 mutants shorten the maturity period by 11 days without a concomitant penalty on yield. Collectively, qFT13-3 can be utilized for the breeding of high-yield cultivars with a short maturity time suitable for high latitudes.

Historical shifting in grain mineral density of landmark rice and wheat cultivars released over the past 50 years in India

The ‘Green Revolution (GR)’ has been successful in meeting food sufficiency in India, but compromising its nutritional security. In a first, we report altered grain nutrients profile of modern-bred rice and wheat cultivars diminishing their mineral dietary significance to the Indian population. To substantiate, we evaluated grain nutrients profile of historical landmark high-yielding cultivars of rice and wheat released in succeeding decades since the GR and its impacts on mineral diet quality and human health, with a prediction for decades ahead. Analysis of grain nutrients profile shows a downward trend in concentrations of essential and beneficial elements, but an upward in toxic elements in past 50 y in both rice and wheat. For example, zinc (Zn) and iron (Fe) concentration in grains of rice decreased by ~ 33.0 (P < 0.001) and 27.0% (P < 0.0001); while for wheat it decreased by ~ 30.0 (P < 0.0001) and 19.0% (P < 0.0001) in past more than 50 y, respectively. A proposed mineral-diet quality index (M-DQI) significantly (P < 0.0001) decreased ~ 57.0 and 36.0% in the reported time span (1960–2010) in rice and wheat, respectively. The impoverished M-DQI could impose hostile effects on non-communicable diseases (NCDs) like iron-deficiency anemia, respiratory, cardiovascular, and musculoskeletal among the Indian population by 2040. Our research calls for an urgency of grain nutrients profiling before releasing a cultivar of staples like rice and wheat in the future.

The yields of industrial cultivars of primocane raspberry in the Central region of Russia

Industrial raspberry plantations in Russia occupy just over 10 % of all plantings and do not fully meet the needs of the population and the berry processing industry. One of the ways to increase the production efficiency of this crop is the use of high-yielding cultivars for planting new plantations. The aim of the researches was to evaluate the industrial assortment of primocane raspberry type in the conditions of the Central region of the Russian Federation in terms of productivity components and to isolate the most productive ones of them. The work was carried out in 2019-2022 on the basis of the genetic collection of berry crops of the Kokino base station of the FSBSI FRC of Horticulture. 8 cultivars of the primocane raspberry type of domestic selection, included in the register of breeding achievements and meeting the requirements for the industrial cultivar: Atlant, Zhar-ptista, Caramel’ka, Medvezhonok, Pingvin, Podarok Kashiny, Poklon Kazakovy, Salyut served as researches objects. It was established that the largest fruits were formed by the cultivars Salyut (4.6 g), Poklon Kazakovy (4.8 g), Medvezhonok (5.0 g), Podarok Kashiny (5.1 g). The multi-fruited cultivars Medvezhonok, Zhar-ptista and Podarok Kashiny were among the best in terms of stem loading by generative organs (194-216 pcs.). The cultivars Zhar-ptista, Poklon Kazakovy, Atlant, Salyute, Medvezhonok and Podarok Kashiny were distinguished by high yields (15.0-20.0 t/ha). The ripening degree of their harvest on average over the years of researches was 75.4-100 %.

GENETIC PARAMETERS AND PRINCIPAL COMPONENT ANALYSIS FOR QUANTITATIVE TRAITS IN RICE (ORYZA SATIVA L.)

Conventional breeding is vital in improving yield-related traits and developing high-yielding cultivars. In the presented study, an evaluation of 15 F1 hybrids compared them to their six parental genotypes for genetic variation of various traits. The results showed that the analysis of variance revealed significant (P ≤ 0.01) differences among the cross combinations and parental cultivars and among the parents and crosses. The mean sum of squares of parents vs. crosses also indicated substantial (P ≤ 0.01) for all the characteristics. The general (GCA) and specific combining ability (SCA) variances were significant (P ≤ 0.01) for all traits studied in the F1 generation. Three varieties, namely, Sakha108, Giza179, and Sakha109, were highly significantly positive for grain yield plant-1, which means these varieties can benefit as good combiners to transfer the said trait in the breeding program. In SCA, seven crosses were negative in plant height and a negative value was desirable to avoid lodging and suitable for mechanical harvesting; however, positive significant values are preferable in the rest of the traits. The results indicated that the best crosses for grain yield plant-1 and plant height were Sakha105 × Sakha102, Sakha105 × Sakha108, and Sakha108 × Sakha109. Conducting cluster analysis also exhibited the genotypes dividing into four groups. The first group included rice genotypes Sakha109 and Sakha108 alone. These cultivars, produced from a common parent Sakha101, could have genetic relations for three quantitative traits (flag leaf area, 1000-grain weight, and panicle weight). The second group, comprising Sakha 102 and Sakha 106, has a very similar genetic background because both cultivars share a common parent, Giza 177. In addition, these two rice cultivars had at par number of tillers plant-1, 1000-grain weight, and panicles plant-1. The third group included only Giza 179 belonging to Indica-Japonica varieties. A fourth group has Sakha 105 produced by different parents.

PHYSICOCHEMICAL PROPERTIES AND EATING QUALITY OF PROMISING CROSSBRED UPLAND RICE LINES DEVELOPED FROM SUPERIOR PARENTAL GENOTYPES

The ultimate objective of breeding is to produce high-yielding cultivars that are fascinating to the farming community and end users, allowing for easy marketing. Therefore, it is crucial to conduct various tests on milling quality, physicochemical properties, and eating quality to determine the overall rice quality and evaluate the response of potential consumers. The presented study sought the complete rice quality and the consumer acceptance of 12 upland rice lines derived from superior parental genotypes. This research conducted in 2019 performed milling and eating quality assessments on milled and cooked rice, respectively. The milling quality analysis revealed that lines L-04, L-05, and L-06 produced middle-length grains, while others produced full-length grains. Rice from lines L-02, L-09, and L-12 were slender, while the rest were medium-shape. All upland rice lines also met the national standard (SNI 6128-2015) for milling degree (85%–100%), moisture content (9.85%–11.30%), chalky rice (0.06%–1.59%), and yellow rice (0.21%–1.77%). Lines L-03 and L-05 met the Medium-I quality standard with head rice recovery (HRR) values of 84.15% and 84.76%, respectively. However, lines L-01 and L-02 met the Medium-III standard with HRR values of 66.24% and 66.39%, separately. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) revealed four principal physicochemical characteristics, i.e., degree of milling, length, width, and HRR. Partial Least Squares Regression (PLSR) analysis displayed the overall liking as determined by the interaction of four descriptive factors, mostly taste and texture. Cooked rice of line L-12 (cross of cv. Inpago-8 × B11930F-TB-2) was the most liked compared with other cooked rice samples.

Flood Tolerance of Hybrid Napier (Pennisetum purpureum x Pennisetum glaucum) Cultivars

A pot culture study was conducted from February to May 2020 at the Agronomy Farm, Department of Agronomy, College of Agriculture, Vellanikkara, Kerala to study the effects of short-term flooding on the growth, physiology, and yield of four high-yielding cultivars of hybrid napier (Pennisetum purpureum x Pennisetum glaucum) cultivated in Kerala. The experiment followed a 4 x 2 factorial Completely Randomized Design with three replications. The treatments comprised two factors: varieties and flooding treatments. The four hybrid napier varieties used in the study were CO-3 (V1), CO-5 (V2), IGFRI -3 (V3), and Suguna (V4). The flooding treatments included no flooding (F0) as a control and short-term flooding stress treatment (F1) at three different growth stages: 30 days after planting (DAP), 60 DAP and just after the first harvest (75 DAP). Flooding stress was imposed for seven days by inundating water in the pots up to 3-4 cm above the soil level. Flooding at all three stages resulted in a significant reduction in plant height, tiller number, leaf number and above-ground biomass for all varieties. A severe reduction in growth and yield parameters was observed when flooding stress was imposed immediately after the first harvest. Among the varieties, CO-5 had the tallest plants, followed by Suguna, CO-3, and IGFRI-3. When exposed to flooding stress, variety CO-5 was also found to be significantly superior in terms of above-ground biomass production, followed by CO-3. Superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity increased in all varieties due to flooding stress, with a pronounced increase observed in Suguna. Variety CO-5, which exhibited greater plant height and above-ground biomass production, was found to be more tolerant to flooding stress, while variety IGFRI-3, with a dwarf plant stature and the lowest biomass yield, was identified as sensitive to short-term flooding stress.

Evapotranspiration of advanced perennial bioenergy grasses produced on marginal land in the U.S. Midwest

The production of dedicated energy crops for biofuel and co-products can help develop a sustainable and viable bioeconomy under a changing climate. The co-production of perennial bioenergy and commodity crops in an agricultural landscape has the potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and provide numerous ecosystem services. However, as production of advanced, higher-yielding cultivars occurs, their impact on water resources needs to be considered. Estimates of evapotranspiration (ET) of perennial grasses compared to commodity crops are not always consistent in the literature. In this study, ET was estimated using an energy-balance model with Landsat satellite imagery and ground-based weather data to compare the large-scale production of advanced switchgrass cultivars (‘Independence’, ‘Liberty’, and ‘Carthage’), predecessor cultivars (‘Shawnee’ and ‘Sunburst’), and other perennial grasses (big bluestem and a low-diversity mixture) to corn grown continuously on marginal soils in the U.S. Midwest. Results showed significant differences in ET between corn and perennial grass treatments at four of the five field sites. However, differences between crop treatments were not consistent across sites, nor were the differences between advanced and predecessor switchgrass varieties. Production year played a large role in daily and cumulative ET across all sites. Differences in crop biomass yield between establishment and post-establishment years may contribute to these interannual differences. Site and interannual variations in precipitation and temperature may also be major contributing factors. Overall, the results of this study indicate that differences in ET between perennial bioenergy grasses and corn are likely dependent upon location of production and weather conditions.

Blueberry and cranberry pangenomes as a resource for future genetic studies and breeding efforts.

Domestication of cranberry and blueberry began in the United States in the early 1800s and 1900s, respectively, and in part owing to their flavors and health-promoting benefits are now cultivated and consumed worldwide. The industry continues to face a wide variety of production challenges (e.g. disease pressures), as well as a demand for higher-yielding cultivars with improved fruit quality characteristics. Unfortunately, molecular tools to help guide breeding efforts for these species have been relatively limited compared with those for other high-value crops. Here, we describe the construction and analysis of the first pangenome for both blueberry and cranberry. Our analysis of these pangenomes revealed both crops exhibit great genetic diversity, including the presence-absence variation of 48.4% genes in highbush blueberry and 47.0% genes in cranberry. Auxiliary genes, those not shared by all cultivars, are significantly enriched with molecular functions associated with disease resistance and the biosynthesis of specialized metabolites, including compounds previously associated with improving fruit quality traits. The discovery of thousands of genes, not present in the previous reference genomes for blueberry and cranberry, will serve as the basis of future research and as potential targets for future breeding efforts. The pangenome, as a multiple-sequence alignment, as well as individual annotated genomes, are publicly available for analysis on the Genome Database for Vaccinium-a curated and integrated web-based relational database. Lastly, the core-gene predictions from the pangenomes will serve useful to develop a community genotyping platform to guide future molecular breeding efforts across the family.

Effects of Biotic Stresses and Their Mitigation Strategies in Legumes: A Review

Legumes are crucial group of crops that are widely cultivated around the world for their protein rich seed and forage. The major impediments for boosting the output of legume crops are biotic and abiotic stresses. There is an urgent need to lessen the detrimental effects of these stresses on legume crops in order to boost the yield and production of legumes to address the nation’s nutritional security issue. An attempt was made to gather published information on effects of biotic stress and mitigation strategies for developing resistant genotypes to maximize yield. This work was done at Department of Genetics and Plant Breeding, School of Agriculture, Lovely Professional University Jalandhar in collaboration with other institutes. Systematic cum integrative review of research work done in different parts of World, particularly in India was comprehended. The literature search was done during August, 2022- February, 2023. About 150 review and research papers were screened from various data bases like ARCC journals, google scholar, research gate and scopus and 76 papers were used to write this paper. This review article presents a comprehensive documentation of the significant impacts of various biotic stresses on legume crops, along with the corresponding mitigation techniques. It highlights the potential effectiveness of integrating the pre-breeding approach with genomic breeding methods as a strategy for developing high-yielding cultivars that exhibit resistance to biotic stresses. By implementing this approach, legume productivity can be enhanced in regions with favourable growth conditions for these crops.

ZmNRT1.1B (ZmNPF6.6) determines nitrogen use efficiency via regulation of nitrate transport and signalling in maize.

Nitrate (NO3 - ) is crucial for optimal plant growth and development and often limits crop productivity under low availability. In comparison with model plant Arabidopsis, the molecular mechanisms underlying NO3 - acquisition and utilization remain largely unclear in maize. In particular, only a few genes have been exploited to improve nitrogen use efficiency (NUE). Here, we demonstrated that NO3 - -inducible ZmNRT1.1B (ZmNPF6.6) positively regulated NO3 - -dependent growth and NUE in maize. We showed that the tandem duplicated proteoform ZmNRT1.1C is irrelevant to maize seedling growth under NO3 - supply; however, the loss of function of ZmNRT1.1B significantly weakened plant growth under adequate NO3 - supply under both hydroponic and field conditions. The 15 N-labelled NO3 - absorption assay indicated that ZmNRT1.1B mediated the high-affinity NO3 - -transport and root-to-shoot NO3 - translocation. Transcriptome analysis further showed, upon NO3 - supply, ZmNRT1.1B promotes cytoplasmic-to-nuclear shuttling of ZmNLP3.1 (ZmNLP8), which co-regulates the expression of genes involved in NO3 - response, cytokinin biosynthesis and carbon metabolism. Remarkably, overexpression of ZmNRT1.1B in modern maize hybrids improved grain yield under N-limiting fields. Taken together, our study revealed a crucial role of ZmNRT1.1B in high-affinity NO3 - transport and signalling and offers valuable genetic resource for breeding N use efficient high-yield cultivars.

Correlation between physiological and yield attributes in bread wheat genotypes for high temperature tolerance

Aim: The aim of the present study was to observe the role of heat stress in the correlation of physiological and yield attributes in bread wheat genotypes. Methodology: Seven wheat genotypes (PBW781, RWP-2018-30, PBW821, RWP-2018-31, WH1239, RWP-2018-26, and RWP-2018-32) along with three check varities namely DBW14, WH730, and RAJ3765 were grown under timely sown (TS) and late sown (LS) conditions in the field research area of Wheat Section, CCS HAU, Hisar (2018-19). For generating heat stress, delay in sowing (4 weeks) was done in late sown from timely sown. These wheat lines were assessed for several physiological and yield attributes under both conditions and one genotype was found to be heat-tolerant under late sown condition. Results: PBW821 was classified as thermo-tolerant due to maximum grain yield, higher normalized difference vegetation index, photosynthetic rate, chlorophyll content, and lower canopy temperature compared to other varieties under late sown conditions. Interpretation: Identification of a heat-resistant wheat genotype would be a valuable resource for developing high-yielding cultivars under high-temperature conditions, and these findings might also be used in breeding programs. Key words: Grain yield, Heat tolerance, Physiological traits, Triticum aestivum

Genome-wide association analysis identifies natural allelic variants associated with panicle architecture variation in African rice, Oryza glaberrima Steud.

African rice (Oryza glaberrima Steud), a short-day cereal crop closely related to Asian rice (Oryza sativa L.), has been cultivated in Sub-Saharan Africa for ∼ 3,000 years. Although less cultivated globally, it is a valuable genetic resource in creating high-yielding cultivars that are better adapted to diverse biotic and abiotic stresses. While inflorescence architecture, a key trait for rice grain yield improvement, has been extensively studied in Asian rice, the morphological and genetic determinants of this complex trait are less understood in African rice. In this study, using a previously developed association panel of 162 O. glaberrima accessions and new SNP variants characterized through mapping to a new version of the O. glaberrima reference genome, we conducted a genome-wide association study of four major morphological panicle traits. We have found a total of 41 stable genomic regions that are significantly associated with these traits, of which 13 co-localized with previously identified QTLs in O. sativa populations and 28 were unique for this association panel. Additionally, we found a genomic region of interest on chromosome 3 that was associated with the number of spikelets and primary and secondary branches. Within this region was localized the O. sativa ortholog of the PHYTOCHROME B gene (Oglab_006903/OgPHYB). Haplotype analysis revealed the occurrence of natural sequence variants at the OgPHYB locus associated with panicle architecture variation through modulation of the flowering time phenotype, whereas no equivalent alleles were found in O. sativa. The identification in this study of genomic regions specific to O. glaberrima indicates panicle-related intra-specific genetic variation in this species, increasing our understanding of the underlying molecular processes governing panicle architecture. Identified candidate genes and major haplotypes may facilitate the breeding of new African rice cultivars with preferred panicle traits.

Association Mapping of Quantitative Trait Loci for Agronomic Traits in a Winter Wheat Collection Grown in Kazakhstan

Central Asia is an important region for the growth of winter wheat, with a cultivation area of more than 15 million hectares (ha). However, the average yield is approximately 3 tons per ha, which is significantly lower than that in developed countries. Therefore, the development of new competitive high-yielding cultivars, including those based on the application of modern molecular genetics tools, is a key priority in winter wheat breeding projects. One of these tools is the result of the identification of new genes and quantitative trait loci (QTLs) for agronomic traits using diverse germplasm panels and genome-wide association studies (GWAS). In this work, a panel of winter wheat accessions was assembled using 115 accessions from Central Asia and 162 samples from other regions of the world. The GWAS, based on a two-year field evaluation of the collection in Kazakhstan’s southern and southeastern regions and 10,481 polymorphic SNP (single-nucleotide polymorphism) markers, allowed for the detection of 173 stable QTLs in nine studied agronomic traits. A survey of the published scientific literature suggests that 23 of these 173 stable QTLs have locations similar to those of previously reported QTLs, supporting the robustness of the research. In addition, 221 and 162 accessions surpassed local standards for grain yield at Kazakhstan’s southern and southeastern stations, respectively. Therefore, this study is an additional contribution to the identification of new QTLs for key agronomic traits and valuable genetic lines in winter wheat breeding projects.

Minor root and tuber crops in Africa: Cocoyams (Colocasia esculenta and Xanthosoma sagittifolium)

Cocoyams [taro: Colocasia esculentum (L.) Schott and tannia: Xanthosoma sagittifolium (L.) Schott] are staple tuber crops in many countries in Africa, Asia and the Pacific. This review aims to present the value of cocoyam as a minor tuber crop and the extent and challenges of its production in Africa. Cocoyams are primarily grown for their edible corms or cormels, although other parts, such as stalks, leaves and inflorescence, are used for human consumption. Cocoyams are categorized as neglected food crops mainly grown for subsistence use. Taro is more widely grown than tannia globally. Taro is cultivated all over Africa, although West and Central Africa are the main producing regions. Tannia is mainly grown in West Africa where it is still less common than taro. Production of tannia is generally minimal and rarely appears in cocoyam output statistics for the continent. Africa is the main producer of cocoyam, accounting for over 70% of the global output; the bulk of production occurs in the West and Central African region. Despite the high production, food value and economic opportunities, African cocoyam is rarely sold in the international markets. The crop is cultivated to meet food security at small-scale and family farms. It is mostly consumed and marketed locally in fresh state. Cocoyams are commonly produced by resource-limited smallholder farmers who are mostly women. The crop is cultivated on marginal lands where primitive technologies with little inputs are employed. The crop receives little attention from mainstream research organizations in Africa. Other constraints limiting cocoyam production in Africa include a shortage of planting materials, lack of improved high-yielding cultivars, and paucity of information on the proper agronomic practices, and insect pests and diseases, among others. Industrial use and new product developments of cocoyam in Africa should be explored to enhance the crop's economic value, and by extension attract research attention