Staple Food Grain Research Articles

Scouting rice (Oryza sativa L.) landraces for moisture stress tolerance using morphometric diversity analysis

Climate-change is a major threat to sustainable agriculture. Rice is one of the staple food grains that sustain 2/3rd of global population. Therefore, developing climate-resilient rice genotypes to combat moisture stress and other climate change factors are most important to address the challenges posed by climate change. The vast availability of genetic variance among the rice genotypes for different traits favours the selection of desirable donor parents. A field investigation was carried out to characterize 21 traditional rice landraces under induced moisture stress in 2 environments including induced moisture stress (S) and non-stress (NS). The response to the varied level of environments was observed in terms of biometric and yield parameters followed by multivariate analysis and variability analysis. The study revealed higher phenotypic-coefficient of variation (PCV) and genotypic-coefficient of variation (GCV) for plant height and single plant yield in both environments. High heritability was also recorded in the moisture stressed environment for plant height (98.63 %), single plant yield (98.19 %) and productive tillers (95.12 %), whereas under NS, the heritability is more for single plant yield only (99.56 %). The genotypes formed nine clusters under the S environment, based on the Euclidean distance, of which the three CMS lines segregated in cluster III distinctly. The principal component analysis exhibited three principal components with a cumulative variance of 86.13 % and 86.40 % in the NS and S environments respectively. The traits such as days to 50 % flowering, panicle height, panicle length, grains per panicle, productive tillers, thousand-grain weight and single plant yield were the positive contributors. Spikelet fertility (%) and harvest index were positively correlated with seed yield per plant. Path-coefficient analysis was significant for grain yield, harvest index, spikelet fertility, pollen fertility and plant height and positively influenced by productive tillers plant-1. The study concluded the prospect of using Mattaikar, Rajalakshmi, Mallikar and Kuliyadichan as potential donors for developing upland rice with moisture stress resilience.

First report of Curvularia spicifera (≡ Bipolaris spicifera) causing spathe blight and leaf spot disease of pearl millet (Cenchrus americanus) in India.

Cenchrus americanus (L.) Morrone (Poaceae), is an important millet crop cultivated mainly in arid and semiarid regions and is a staple food grain for millions of people. During 2021 July surveys in the pearl millet fields in Mysore (12°30'55" N; 76°56'54" E), Karnataka, India, plants showed spathe blight and leaf spot disease with an overall incidence ranging from 5 - 8% in the 15 hectares surveyed. Infected leaves appeared brown, and lesions extended to the sheath. Some spathes were also found infected with similar symptoms. Diseased leaves and spathes were collected (n = 5 each) for pathogen identification. Samples were cut into small pieces (0.5 cm2), sterilized with sodium hypochlorite (2%, v/v), and blotted dried. The associated fungal pathogen was isolated on potato dextrose agar (PDA) medium amended with Streptomycin (40 mg/L) and incubated at 28 ºC for 1 week. Colonies were grey, fluffy, cottony with an irregular margin, undulate and dark brown in the back of the plate. Conidiophores were pale brown, erect, slightly curved, septate, unbranched, verruculose and measured 27.1 - 94 µm in length × 2.3 - 4.5 µm in width (n = 20). Conidiogenous cells were brown, subcylindrical, irregularly shaped, and conidia were straight, mainly elliptical, dark brown smooth, with two to three septa, with measurements of 11.1 - 26.4 µm by 5.7 - 14.3 µm (n = 50). Based on morphological characters, the pathogen was identified as Curvularia sp. Two representative isolates (UOMPM1 & UOMPM2) were molecularly identified. The total genomic DNA was extracted with a CTAB method, and ITS, GAPDH and tef-1α loci were amplified using primers ITS1/ITS4 (White et al., 1990), GPD1/GPD2 (Berbee et al., 1999) and EF1983F/EF-2218R (Schoch et al., 2009) respectively. ITS sequence had 100% similarity (706/706bp) with reference sequence C. spicifera (MH863648; HF934915 & HF934916); tef-1α sequence had 100% (933/933bp) identity with C. spicifera (KM062878, KJ939505), and the GAPDH sequence was 99.8% identical to that of Curvularia sp. (MG979055), and C. spicifera (MH809681). Combined dataset of concatenated sequence (ITS-GAPDH-tef-1α) was used in a phylogenetic analysis and revealed that the isolates were in a common clade with the isolate of Curvularia spicifera (CBS 274.52) thus, confirming the identity of the isolated pathogen as C. spicifera. The sequences obtained in the present study were deposited in the GenBank (ITS: OQ253406, OQ253407; LSU: OQ253429, OQ253430; GAPDH: OQ263372, OQ263373 & TEF: OQ263374, OQ263375). Pathogenicity test was carried out by inoculating (foliar /whole plant spray) 60 healthy pearl millet plants (45-days old), grown in field plot with spore suspension (105 conidia/ml). Control plants (n=20) were treated with sterile water. The experiments were conducted in triplicates and repeated twice. Development of disease symptoms was recorded on 41 plants, and all control plants remained healthy. The identity was confirmed after re-isolation as C. spicifera based on cultural and molecular sequence analysis. To our knowledge, this is the first report of C. spicifera causing a leaf spot and spathe blight disease of pearl millet in India. This disease seriously affects grain production, and effective disease management strategies need to be investigated.

Characterization of spring and durum wheat using non-destructive synchrotron phase contrast X-ray microtomography during storage

Post-harvest losses during cereal grain storage are a big concern in both developing and developed countries, where spring and durum wheat are staple food grains. Varieties under these classes behave differently under storage, which affects their end storage life. High resolution imaging data of dry as well as spoiled seed are not available for any class of wheat; therefore, an attempt was made to generate 3D data for better understanding of seed structure and changes due to spoilage. Six wheat varieties (3 varieties for each class of wheat) were stored for 5 week at 17% moisture content (wb) before scanning. Seeds were also stored in a freezer (-18 °C) for further scanning to determine if any changes occur in the structure of seeds due to freezing. Spring varieties of wheat performed better than durum varieties and freezing did not affect seed structure. Data could also help plant breeders to develop varieties that do not easily spoil, adjust grain processing techniques, and develop post-harvest recommendations for other wheat varieties.

Seasonal Swings and Graphical Tale of Growth and Productivity of Wheat in Gujarat State in Comparison with National Market (India)

This study comprehensively analyzes the growth and variability in the area, production, and productivity of wheat, a staple food grain in Gujarat state, India, for the period 2001-2022. Wheat holds significant importance in India's agricultural landscape, being one of the staple crops vital for food security. Gujarat, known for its diverse agro-climatic conditions, plays a pivotal role in contributing to the nation's wheat production. Understanding the seasonal dynamics, growth patterns, and productivity trends of wheat in Gujarat which is the broader national market provides valuable insights into the agricultural dynamics of the region. Utilizing exponential fitting and statistical regression techniques, the research presents compound growth rates for India and Gujarat, revealing significant positive correlations between wheat cultivation area, production, and productivity. Graphical representations depict trends and fluctuations, highlighting periods of deviation from trend lines. Instability analyses for India and Gujarat shed light on the consistency and fluctuations in wheat cultivation, production, and productivity. Additionally, the study explores seasonal variations in wheat prices across markets in Gujarat, providing insights into intra-year price cycles and coefficient variations. The findings contribute valuable insights into the dynamics of wheat agriculture in Gujarat, offering implications for policy and agricultural practices.

Prediction of demand for staple food and feed grain by a novel hybrid fractional discrete multivariate grey model

Increasing geopolitical conflicts, extreme weather and other emergencies are continuously affecting global agriculture and food systems, threatening national and regional food security. Therefore, it is particularly important to accurately predict national or regional grain demand. In this paper, a novel fractional discrete dynamic multivariate grey model is proposed to predict grain demand. Based on the discrete modeling idea, the model considers the impacts of the change trend of the related factor sequences, adds the linear correction term and the random disturbance term, and applies the fractional order accumulation strategy, which improves the accuracy and robustness. An algorithm based on sailfish optimizer is introduced to optimize the fractional order accumulation parameter of the model. Taking the Yangtze River Economic Belt as an example, the fitting and prediction results of the novel and the existing three models are compared. The novel model can better fit and predict the demand for staple and feed grain, which is superior compared to other models. The predictions show that demand for staple food and urban feed grain in the Yangtze River Economic Belt will increase to varying degrees, while rural feed grain demand will remain stable overall. This paper will help the government to better grasp the changes in the structure and quantity of staple food and feed grain demand in the Yangtze River Economic Belt and formulate efforts to ensure food security.

Assessment of Genetic Diversity for Grain Yield in Rice (Oryza sativa L.) Genotypes under Humid South Eastern Plain of Rajasthan, India

Rice (Oryza sativa L.) is the most staple food source and grain for more than half of the world’s population, therefore identify the best suitable genotypes for proper crossing is important to produce high yielding potential varieties with best cooking and biochemical quality characters. Diversity helps the plant breeder in selecting the best parents for breeding programmes. The experimental material were evaluated in Randomized Block Design (RBD) with three replications. The 25 Rice genotypes were divided into 1 to 6 clusters grounded by Mahalanobis’s D2 statistics. Cluster II comprise with the highest number of (8) genotypes from differently originated and cluster I comprise of 7 cultivars exhibit supreme grain yield whereas cluster VI consisted with the least number of (1) genotypes. Maximum inter-cluster distance was recorded between cluster III and VI. Cluster I had the principle mean values for grain yield and Number of productive tillers per plant and Cluster VI had the head mean values for 1000-grain weight. These clusters of cultivars may serve as prospective donors for future hybridization programs to create high yielders if they possess the desired traits.

Multi stage wheat yield estimation using multiple linear, neural network and penalised regression models

Wheat is second most consumed staple food grain after rice, cultivated nearly 26 Mha areas in the northern part of India. Weather variables like Maximum temperature, Minimum temperature, Relative humidity, Rainfall, Bright sunshine hours, Evaporation etc. have a great impact on crop yield. Weather based pre harvest crop yield estimation is helpful for deciding marketing, pricing, import-export and policy making etc. Wheat yield and weather variable data were collected for last 35 years from Hisar, Ludhiana, Amritsar, Patiala and IARI, New Delhi. Multistage wheat yield estimation was done at tillering, flowering and grain filling stage of the crop by considering weather variables from 46th to 4th, 46th to 8th and 46th to 11th standard meteorological week for model development. Model was developed using stepwise multiple linear regression (SMLR), Principal component analysis in combination with SMLR (PCA-SMLR), Artificial Neural Network (ANN) alone and in combination with principal components analysis (PCA-ANN), Least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) and elastic net (ENET) techniques. Analysis was carried out by fixing 70% of the data for calibration and remaining dataset for validation. On examining these multivariate models for stage-wise estimation of wheat yield, percentage deviation of estimated yield by observed yield was ranged between -0.1 to 25.6, 0.9 to 22.8, -0.7 to 22.5% during tillering, flowering, and grain filling stage respectively. On the basis of percentage deviation and model accuracy Elastic net and LASSO model was found better and can be used for district level wheat crop yield estimation at different crop growth stage.

Market integration and price transmission in wheat markets of India: a transaction cost approach

PurposeWheat, which is one of the major staple food grain crops in India, continues to depict occasional fluctuation in the prices though Union government has adopted administered price policy for wheat by intervening in its procurement at assured prices and distribution. Such fluctuations in prices are usually attributed to inefficient functioning of the agricultural markets. Since spatially separated markets also play an important role to determine efficiency of the agricultural markets, the study has used market integration as one of the tools to analyze the price transmission across the spatially separated markets to identify causes of price fluctuations and suggest ways to stabilize wheat prices.Design/methodology/approachThe study utilizes monthly wholesale prices for January, 2006 to May, 2016 for dara wheat. First, the study employs augmented Dickey and Fuller (ADF), Phillips and Perron (PP) and Kwiatkowski, Phillips, Schmidt and Shin (KPSS) tests to check stationarity in wheat prices. Second, Johansen's cointegration test is applied to assess the integration of wholesale prices between selected pairs of wheat markets to determine long-run relationship among them. Third, Granger casualty test is used to find the direction of causality between the wheat market pairs. Finally, threshold vector error correction model (TVECM) and likelihood ratio (LR) tests are employed to examine long-run adjustment of prices towards the equilibrium in selected wheat markets.FindingsSince wheat wholesale prices for the selected markets are found to be integrated of the order one, that is [I(1)], Johansen's test of cointegration is employed and its findings reveal that the selected wheat market pairs exhibit cointegration and show a long-run price association among themselves. There exists a bi-directional causality among the wheat market pairs. Since LR test is in favor of threshold model (except for Etawah–Delhi pair), one and two threshold models were also performed accordingly. Findings show that wholesale prices of wheat in Delhi markets remain higher than the prices of all other regional markets as regional markets are found to adjust their prices towards Delhi market. Distance of the wheat markets from each other is directly associated with threshold parameters, which are analogous to the transaction costs. Geographically dispersed wheat markets incorporate high transaction and vice versa.Research limitations/implicationsThe study argues that there is need to improve rural infrastructure and connectivity of the agricultural markets and remove market asymmetries through unified market regulating mechanisms across the states. This will enable price adjustment process from primary wholesale markets (in production regions) to the secondary wholesale markets (in scarcity regions) quickly.Originality/valueThe contribution of the study in the existing literature lies in the fact that there are no empirical evidences in the context of India that use price transmission as a tool of market integration among spatially separated wheat markets using TVCEM as this model examines role of transaction costs in efficient functioning of the agricultural markets.

Higher Heat Stress Increases the Negative Impact on Rice Production in South China: A New Perspective on Agricultural Weather Index Insurance

Rice is a major staple food grain for more than half of the world’s population, and China is the largest rice producer and consumer in the world. In a climate-warming context, the frequency, duration and intensity of heat waves tend to increase, and rice production will be exposed to higher heat damage risks. Understanding the negative impacts of climate change on the rice supply is a critical issue. In this study, a new perspective on agricultural weather index insurance is proposed to investigate the impact of extreme high-temperature events on rice production in South China in the context of climate change. Based on data from meteorological stations in Anhui Province in China from 1961 to 2018 and the projected data from five Global Climate Models under three representative concentration pathway (RCP) scenarios from 2021 to 2099, the spatial–temporal characteristics of heat stress and its influence on rice production were analyzed by employing a weather index insurance model. The interdecadal breakpoints in the trends of the heat stress weather insurance index (HSWI) and the payout from 1961 to 2018 in 1987 were both determined, which are consistent with the more significant global warming since the 1980s. The largest increase after 1987 was found in the southeastern part of the study area. The projected HSWI and the payout increased significantly from 2021 to 2099, and their growth was faster with higher radiative forcing levels. The HSWI values were on average 1.4 times, 3.3 times and 6.1 times higher and the payouts were on average 3.9 times, 9.8 times and 15.0 times higher than the reference values for the near future, mid-future and far future, respectively. The results suggest that a more severe influence of heat damage on rice production will probably happen in the future, and it is vital to develop relevant adaptation strategies for the effects of a warmer climate and heat stress on rice production. This paper provides an alternative way to transform the evaluation of the extreme climate event index into the quantitative estimation of disaster impacts on crop production.

Deciphering the Crosstalk Mechanisms of Wheat-Stem Rust Pathosystem: Genome-Scale Prediction Unravels Novel Host Targets.

Triticum aestivum (wheat), a major staple food grain, is affected by various biotic stresses. Among these, fungal diseases cause about 15–20% of yield loss, worldwide. In this study, we performed a comparative analysis of protein-protein interactions between two Puccinia graminis races (Pgt 21-0 and Pgt Ug99) that cause stem (black) rust in wheat. The available molecular techniques to study the host-pathogen interaction mechanisms are expensive and labor-intensive. We implemented two computational approaches (interolog and domain-based) for the prediction of PPIs and performed various functional analysis to determine the significant differences between the two pathogen races. The analysis revealed that T. aestivum-Pgt 21-0 and T. aestivum-Pgt Ug99 interactomes consisted of ∼90M and ∼56M putative PPIs, respectively. In the predicted PPIs, we identified 115 Pgt 21-0 and 34 Pgt Ug99 potential effectors that were highly involved in pathogen virulence and development. Functional enrichment analysis of the host proteins revealed significant GO terms and KEGG pathways such as O-methyltransferase activity (GO:0008171), regulation of signal transduction (GO:0009966), lignin metabolic process (GO:0009808), plastid envelope (GO:0009526), plant-pathogen interaction pathway (ko04626), and MAPK pathway (ko04016) that are actively involved in plant defense and immune signaling against the biotic stresses. Subcellular localization analysis anticipated the host plastid as a primary target for pathogen attack. The highly connected host hubs in the protein interaction network belonged to protein kinase domain including Ser/Thr protein kinase, MAPK, and cyclin-dependent kinase. We also identified 5,577 transcription factors in the interactions, associated with plant defense during biotic stress conditions. Additionally, novel host targets that are resistant to stem rust disease were also identified. The present study elucidates the functional differences between Pgt 21-0 and Pgt Ug99, thus providing the researchers with strain-specific information for further experimental validation of the interactions, and the development of durable, disease-resistant crop lines.

Morphological and molecular characterization of Fusarium sp. causing Bakanae disease of rice (Oryza sativa) in western Uttar Pradesh, India

Rice (Oryza sativa L.) is considered as one of the main staple food grains. The Asian countries lead in production and consumption of rice i.e. more than 90% rice is produced and consumed in Asia. India is considered as one of the leading exporters of rice. Rice is affected by number of diseases and pests and among the several diseases which infects the rice crop, a fungal disease commonly known as Bakanae disease or Foot rot of rice is caused by Fusarium moniliforme (Gibberella fujikuroi) fungus. It is one of the important diseases of rice and leads to severe losses in rice yield particularly in basmati rice. According to some previous reports, some other Fusarium species were also found to be causing the disease. Therefore, the following study was conducted in the year 2018–19 at Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel University of Agriculture & Technology, Meerut, Uttar Pradesh, India, to find out and identify the Fusarium sp.mainly associated with the Bakanae disease in western Uttar Pradesh. Twelve isolates of Fusarium moniliforme were collected and isolated from different locations of western Uttar Pradesh and their characterization of morphological and molecular characters was carried out. Morphological characters, like fungal growth type, pigmentation, radial growth, colony characters were studied and compared with the standard culture of Fusarium moniliforme obtained from ITCC, New Delhi. The molecular characterization was done with specific primers. The results indicated that Bakanae disease of rice in western Uttar Pradesh is primarily caused by Fusarium moniliforme. The study also confirms that identification based on morphological and culture characteristics must be coupled with molecular characteristics for proper identification of specific fungal sp. causing Bakanae disease

WeCoNET: a host–pathogen interactome database for deciphering crucial molecular networks of wheat-common bunt cross-talk mechanisms

BackgroundTriticum aestivum is the most important staple food grain of the world. In recent years, the outbreak of a major seed-borne disease, common bunt, in wheat resulted in reduced quality and quantity of the crop. The disease is caused by two fungal pathogens, Tilletia caries and Tilletia laevis, which show high similarity to each other in terms of life cycle, germination, and disease symptoms. The host–pathogen protein–protein interactions play a crucial role in initiating the disease infection mechanism as well as in plant defense responses. Due to the availability of limited information on Tilletia species, the elucidation of infection mechanisms is hampered.ResultsWe constructed a database WeCoNET (http://bioinfo.usu.edu/weconet/), providing functional annotations of the pathogen proteins and various tools to exploit host–pathogen interactions and other relevant information. The database implements a host–pathogen interactomics tool to predict protein–protein interactions, followed by network visualization, BLAST search tool, advanced ‘keywords-based’ search module, etc. Other features in the database include various functional annotations of host and pathogen proteins such as gene ontology terms, functional domains, and subcellular localization. The pathogen proteins that serve as effector and secretory proteins have also been incorporated in the database, along with their respective descriptions. Additionally, the host proteins that serve as transcription factors were predicted, and are available along with the respective transcription factor family and KEGG pathway to which they belong.ConclusionWeCoNET is a comprehensive, efficient resource to the molecular biologists engaged in understanding the molecular mechanisms behind the common bunt infection in wheat. The data integrated into the database can also be beneficial to the breeders for the development of common bunt-resistant cultivars.

Evaluation of Functional Properties of Five Finger Millet Varieties and Their Flour Grown in Mecha District, Ethiopia

In this study functional properties of five finger millet grains and their flour were evaluated. Finger millets are staple food grains originated from Ethiopia. It is a gluten-free grain with smallest glycemic index and maximum nutritional content. Although finger millets have high nutrient value, it is neglected and underutilized grain not only in Ethiopia but also in the world. The grain is also rich sources of minerals such as calcium which is vital for growth and development of human being. Finger millet is also rich sources of essential amino acids like methionine, tryptophan and lysine. So in this study imperative physicochemical property of five finger millet grains and their flours were investigated. Pertinent physical properties of the grain like aspect ratio, thousand grain weight, true density, bulk density, porosity, sample volume, surface area, sphericity, dimensional properties and moisture content of grain finger millet varieties were analyzed. Bulk density, dispersibility, water absorption capacity and viscosity of five finger millet flours were evaluated. Neche-deke finger millet variety grain was significantly higher at (p < 0.05) than other grains in terms of weight, bulk density, true density, aspect ratio and sphericity. The research output provides basic information for engineers and food processors for designing and manufacturing of processing equipment’s for finger millet and for new food product development from the grain.

Identification of Potential Cytokinin Responsive Key Genes in Rice Treated With Trans-Zeatin Through Systems Biology Approach.

Rice is an important staple food grain consumed by most of the population around the world. With climate and environmental changes, rice has undergone a tremendous stress state which has impacted crop production and productivity. Plant growth hormones are essential component that controls the overall outcome of the growth and development of the plant. Cytokinin is a hormone that plays an important role in plant immunity and defense systems. Trans-zeatin is an active form of cytokinin that can affect plant growth which is mediated by a multi-step two-component phosphorelay system that has different roles in various developmental stages. Systems biology is an approach for pathway analysis to trans-zeatin treated rice that could provide a deep understanding of different molecules associated with them. In this study, we have used a weighted gene co-expression network analysis method to identify the functional modules and hub genes involved in the cytokinin pathway. We have identified nine functional modules comprising of different hub genes which contribute to the cytokinin signaling route. The biological significance of these identified hub genes has been tested by applying well-proven statistical techniques to establish the association with the experimentally validated QTLs and annotated by the DAVID server. The establishment of key genes in different pathways has been confirmed. These results will be useful to design new stress-resistant cultivars which can provide sustainable yield in stress-specific conditions.

The negative impact of increasing temperatures on rice yields in southern China

China is the main producer and consumer of rice in the world, and rice is a major staple food grain for more than half of the world's population. Reduced rice yields caused by climate factors not only affect the food security of China, but also has global repercussions. Thus, it is vital to assess the potential impact of climate warming on rice production. Using daily temperature and phenology records of double-cropping rice from agro-meteorological stations in southern China, the influence of increased temperatures on rice yields during the last several decades was investigated. Associated with an increase in average daily mean temperatures by 0.7 °C during 2009–2018 relative to 1961–1970, Killing Degree Days (KDD), an indicator for damaging high temperature, for early and late rice increased by 110% and 88.6% respectively. However, the negative influence of KDDs on yields was mainly evident for early rice, because high temperatures occurred frequently during the sensitive grain-filling period; early-rice yields showed a decrease of 8% per 1 °C increase in mean growing season air temperature. Late rice yields, on the other hand, were not as negatively influenced by increasing temperatures as early rice, because high temperature usually occurred during the vegetative growth stage, which was not so sensitive to high temperature.

Identification of the most appropriate adaptation for rice and wheat in the face of climate change in eastern India

AbstractThe changing climate affects natural resources that impart a negative impact on crop yield and food security. It is thus imperative to identify agro-climate wise, area-specific adaptation options to ensure food security. This study, therefore, evaluated some feasible adaptation options for two staple food grain crops, rice and wheat, in different agro-climatic regions (ACRs) of Eastern India. Alteration in transplanting date, seedling age, and fertilizer management (rate and split of fertilizer) for rice; and sowing date, fertilizer management, and deficit irrigation scheduling for wheat, are assessed as adaptation options. The crop environment and resource synthesis (DSSAT) model is used to simulate the crop yield using different plausible adaptation options to projected climate scenarios. Findings show that shifting transplanting/sowing date, and nitrogen fertilizer application at 120% of recommended nitrogen dose with four splits could be an effective adaptation for rice and wheat crops. Results also emphasize that transplanting of 18 days older seedlings may be beneficial in rice cultivation. In contrast, irrigation at a 30–40% deficit of maximum available water would sustain the wheat yield under climate change conditions. This study suggests the best combination of adaptation options under climate change conditions in diverse ACRs, which may assist agriculturists in coping with climate change.

Teaching Individuals with Down Syndrome and Moderate or Severe Intellectual Disability with The Aim of Their Acquiring, Retaining and Recalling Knowledge: An Intervention Programme for Discovering and Understanding The Environment

<div class="page" title="Page 1"><div class="layoutArea"><div class="column"><p><span>Three adults with Down syndrome (DS, hereafter) and moderate or severe intellectual disability were taught the growth stages of wheat (cultivation, tillage, threshing), the products that are derived from it and how this staple human food grain is produced, with the aim of their acquiring knowledge, retaining it and being able to recall it from memory. A quasi-experimental baseline design was implemented. The participants were taught using questions and images, and their answers were examined and re-examined after withdrawing the initial training tools (questions and images) in order to show whether they were able to acquire, retain and recall the knowledge. The intervention programme lasted two months. In order to check the effectiveness of the intervention and the maintenance of the new information, as well as to draw the respective conclusions, evaluations were carried out before the intervention, immediately after it and two weeks after its completion. The results showed that the three participants acquired knowledge about the growth stages of wheat, its products and this staple human food, they retained that knowledge and were able to recall and narrate it in two subsequent probes conducted one and two weeks after the initial probe without the help of questions and images. The results of this intervention show that individuals with DS and moderate or severe intellectual disability can be educated and acquire knowledge, as well as retain and recall it. An additional important finding is that repeated recalling of knowledge promotes long-term retention. </span></p></div></div></div>

Genome-Wide Assessment of Population Structure and Genetic Diversity of the Global Finger Millet Germplasm Panel Conserved at the ICRISAT Genebank.

Finger millet [Eleusine coracana (L.) Gaertn.] is an important climate-resilient nutrient-dense crop grown as a staple food grain in Asia and Africa. Utilizing the full potential of the crop mainly depends on an in-depth exploration of the vast diversity in its germplasm. In this study, the global finger millet germplasm diversity panel of 314 accessions was genotyped, using the DArTseq approach to assess genetic diversity and population structure. We obtained 33,884 high-quality single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers on 306 accessions after filtering. Finger millet germplasm showed considerable genetic diversity, and the mean polymorphic information content, gene diversity, and Shannon Index were 0.110, 0.114, and 0.194, respectively. The average genetic distance of the entire set was 0.301 (range 0.040 – 0.450). The accessions of the race elongata (0.326) showed the highest average genetic distance, and the least was in the race plana (0.275); and higher genetic divergence was observed between elongata and vulgaris (0.320), while the least was between compacta and plana (0.281). An average, landrace accessions had higher gene diversity (0.144) and genetic distance (0.299) than the breeding lines (0.117 and 0.267, respectively). A similar average gene diversity was observed in the accessions of Asia (0.132) and Africa (0.129), but Asia had slightly higher genetic distance (0.286) than African accessions (0.276), and the distance between these two regions was 0.327. This was also confirmed by a model-based STRUCTURE analysis, genetic distance-based clustering, and principal coordinate analysis, which revealed two major populations representing Asia and Africa. Analysis of molecular variance suggests that the significant population differentiation was mainly due to within individuals between regions or between populations while races had a negligible impact on population structure. Finger millet diversity is structured based on a geographical region of origin, while the racial structure made negligible contribution to population structure. The information generated from this study can provide greater insights into the population structure and genetic diversity within and among regions and races, and an understanding of genomic-assisted finger millet improvement.

Univariate stability analysis and relationship among parameters for grain yield of striga resistant sorghum [Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench] hybrids in Ethiopia

Sorghum (Sorghum bicolor) known as a Camel crop of cereals, is among the dominant staple food grains for the majority of Ethiopians. Forty nine sorghum genotypes (hybrids + open pollinated varieties) were tested at five locations in a simple lattice design with two replications during the 2016 main cropping season. The objectives of this study were to determine yield stability using univariate methods and to assess the association among stability parameters of striga resistant sorghum genotypes in the dry lowland areas of Ethiopia. The result of the combined analysis of variance for grain yield revealed highly significant (P≤0.001) difference among Environment (E), Genotype (G) and Genotype × Environment Interaction (GEI). Based on the combined ANOVA over locations, the mean grain yield of environments ranged from 588 kg ha-1 in Humera to 4508 kg ha-1 in Sheraro. The highest yield was obtained from ESH-1 (3278 kg ha-1), while the lowest was from K5136 (735 kg ha-1) and the average grain yield of genotypes was 2184 kg ha-1. Different stability models were used in measuring of genotype stability such as AMMI Stability Value (ASV), Yield Stability Index (YSI), coefficient of regression (bi) and deviation from regression (S2di). Yield was significantly correlated with bi (0.91), r2 (0.55) and ASV (-0.56), while it was not correlated with S2di (-0.26). The non-significant correlation among yield and stability statistics indicated that, stability statistics provide information that can not be collected from average yield. The high positive correlation among mean grain yield and stability parameters is expected as the values of these parameters were higher for high yielding genotypes and the vice versa. Highly correlated stability parameters indicate that they can measure stability similarly. However, there were inconsistencies with the univariate stability parameters used, which created uncertainty to select or recommend the stable genotypes. Therefore, as the data is from one year, it is necessary to repeat the experiment at least for one more year across diverse dry lowland areas of Ethiopia.

English

In Mali, studies on arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) characterization and diversity are still few, despite the important roles played by these microorganisms in plant growth and in degraded soils restoration. Sorghum is one of the staple food grains in Mali and as such plays a key role in food security in Mali. This study aims to determine diversity of AMF strains associated to sorghum in Sikasso region soils in Mali. For this, soils were sampled using sorghum plants in different fields of this region, which served as substrates for trapping AMF. These soils have been studied separately. Results gotten revealed 21 AMF morphotypes left between 6 genera (Glomus, Scutellospora, Gigaspora, Acaulospora, Entrophospora, Sclerocystis) of three families (Glomeracea, Gigasporacea, Scutellosporacea). Four of these morphotypes have been identified.   Key words: Diversity, arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF), Sikasso, Mali.