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TAFSSA stakeholder mapping: Nutrition policy and awareness in Bangladesh
No full textThe map provides a high-level view of the stakeholder network of the food and nutrition sub-system in Bangladesh including crop, livestock and aquaculture products. This is part of an effort to understand the networks of the agri-food system as integrated production, marketing, nutrition, and climate sub-systems. The leading question for this mapping exercise is: Who are the primary organizations, institutions and individuals in the public and private sectors that influence food (including crop, livestock and aquaculture products), nutrition policy, and nutrition awareness in Bangladesh? The following analysis uncovers the broader patterns of drivers, barriers and gaps within the nutrition sub-system network that inform potential stakeholder interventions to bring about the desired change in the agrifood system.19 page
Transitions to crop residue burning have multiple antecedents in Eastern India
No full textFar removed from the agricultural fire "hotspots" of Northwestern India, rice residue burning is on the rise in Eastern India with implications for regional air quality and agricultural sustainability. The underlying drivers contributing to the increase in burning have been linked to the adoption of mechanized (combine) harvesting but, in general, are inadequately understood. We hypothesize that the adoption of burning as a management practice results from a set of socio-technical interactions rather than emerging from a single factor. Using a mixed methods approach, a household survey (n = 475) provided quantitative insights into landscape and farm-scale drivers of burning and was complemented by an in-depth qualitative survey (n = 36) to characterize decision processes and to verify causal inferences derived from the broader survey. For communities where the combine harvester is present, our results show that rice residue burning is not inevitable. The decision to burn appears to emerge from a cascading sequence of events, starting with the following: (1) decreasing household labor, leading to (2) decreasing household livestock holdings, resulting in (3) reduced demands for residue fodder, incentivizing (4) adoption of labor-efficient combine harvesting and subsequent burning of loose residues that are both difficult to collect and of lower feeding value than manually harvested straw. Local demand for crop residues for livestock feeding plays a central role mediating transitions to burning. Consequently, policy response options that only consider the role of the combine harvester are likely to be ineffective. Innovative strategies such as the creation of decentralized commercial models for dairy value chains may bolster local residue demand by addressing household-scale labor bottlenecks to maintaining livestock. Secondary issues, such as timely rice planting, merit consideration as part of holistic responses to "bend" agricultural burning trajectories in Eastern India towards more sustainable practices
Perspectiva de los agricultores sobre una finca basada en soluciones positivas para la naturaleza en el Valle del Cauca, Colombia
No full textSe estudió la perspectiva de los agricultores hombres y mujeres sobre los sistemas alimentarios positivos con la naturaleza, para cocrear conocimiento y cerrar la brecha entre este enfoque y el punto de vista de los agricultores. Se hicieron entrevistas semi estructuradas y se llevó a cabo un análisis de frecuencia con la información recopilada. Desde un enfoque de producción de alimentos basado en soluciones positivas con la naturaleza, los agricultores del Valle del Cauca priorizaron la conservación de los recursos naturales. Favorecieron la implementación de prácticas de conservación de suelo, agua y bosques (36%), sobre prácticas agrícolas sustentables como la diversificación de cultivos (11.9%), abonos orgánicos (10.4%), manejo de coberturas (7.4%) y prácticas agroecológicas (4.4%). Consideraron que cultivar al mismo tiempo que cuidar la naturaleza tendrá un impacto en la sustentabilidad basada en la seguridad alimentaria al beneficiar a sus familias y la comunidad. Los obstáculos identificados por los agricultores para transitar a fincas positivas con la naturaleza incluyen la falta de conocimientos y capacitación, bajos recursos económicos y mal manejo de agroquímicos. Los agricultores coincidieron que los gobiernos e instituciones pueden apoyar con la capacitación, los subsidios a la producción y la comercialización para la implementación de fincas positivas con la naturaleza.18 page
Scenario of solar energy and policies in India
No full textSolar power is energy from the Sun that is converted into thermal or electrical energy. China, the USA, and India have the world’s richest solar energy sources. India receives solar radiation with an average intensity of 200 MW/km2 and 250–300 sunny days a year. The solar radiation in India varies from 4 to 7 kWh/m2/day, with 2300–3200 sunshine hours yearly, depending on the region. Badhla Solar Park, Jodhpur, India, is the world’s largest solar plant, with 2.25 GW of installed capacity. Solar energy is the best alternative electricity source used explicitly in the agricultural sector. In the farming sector, the consumption of solar energy has been increasing. The major issues were the installation costs, low availability of technicians, and poor quality of panels. The focus on skill development equips the workforce to drive innovation, efficiency, and sustained growth in the renewable-energy field. With the support of international collaboration and a skilled workforce, India’s progress in solar energy development is a boon for the industry.117–12
Screening of CIMMYT and South Asian bread wheat germplasm reveals marker-trait associations for seedling resistance to Septoria nodorum blotch
No full textWheat (Triticum aestivum L.) production is adversely impacted by Septoria nodorum blotch (SNB), a fungal disease caused by Parastagonospora nodorum. Wheat breeders are constantly up against this biotic challenge as they try to create resistant cultivars. The genome-wide association study (GWAS) has become an efficient tool for identifying molecular markers linked with SNB resistance. This technique is used to acquire an understanding of the genetic basis of resistance and to facilitate marker-assisted selection. In the current study, a total of 174 bread wheat accessions from South Asia and CIMMYT were assessed for SNB reactions at the seedling stage in three greenhouse experiments at CIMMYT, Mexico. The results indicated that 129 genotypes were resistant to SNB, 39 were moderately resistant, and only 6 were moderately susceptible. The Genotyping Illumina Infinium 15K Bead Chip was used, and 11,184 SNP markers were utilized to identify marker-trait associations (MTAs) after filtering. Multiple tests confirmed the existence of significant MTAs on chromosomes 5B, 5A, and 3D, and the ones at Tsn1 on 5B were the most stable and conferred the highest phenotypic variation. The resistant genotypes identified in this study could be cultivated in South Asian countries as a preventative measure against the spread of SNB. This work also identified molecular markers of SNB resistance that could be used in future wheat breeding projects
Multispectral and thermal infrared data, visual scores for severity of common rust symptoms, and genotypic single nucleotide polymorphism data of three F2-derived biparental doubled-haploid maize populations
No full textThree F2-derived biparental doubled haploid (DH) maize populations were generated for genetic mapping of resistance to common rust. Each of the three populations has the same susceptible parent, but a different resistance donor parent. Population 1 and 3 consist of 320 lines each, population 2 consists of 260 lines. The DH lines were evaluated for their susceptibility to common rust in two years and with two replications in each year. For phenotyping, a visual score (VS) for susceptibility was assigned. Additionally, unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) derived multispectral and thermal infrared data was recorded and combined in different vegetation indices (“remote sensing”, RS). The DH lines were genotyped with the DarTseq method, to obtain data on single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). After quality control, 9051 markers remained. Missing values were “imputed” by the empirical mean of the marker scores of the respective locus. We used the data for comparison of genome-wide association studies and genomic prediction when based on different phenotyping methods, that is either VS or RS data. The data may be interesting for reuse for instance for benchmarking genomic prediction models, for phytopathological studies addressing common rust, or for specifications of vegetation indices
Contenido de antocianinas y características físicas de granos de 300 accesiones de maíz pigmentado
No full textPigmented corn boasts more antioxidants and superior nutritional quality than white or yellow corn. Identifying varieties with high anthocyanin content is crucial due to their positive impact on human health. This research aimed to characterize 300 accessions of pigmented maize from Mexico based on the physical characteristics of the grain and total anthocyanin content, targeting to employ them in genetic improvement programs. The averages of total anthocyanin content, percentage of floating seeds (indicating hardness), weight of one thousand seeds, length, width, thickness, dimension, coloration percentage, and coloration location were estimated. Subsequently, a correlation analysis of anthocyanin content, hardness, length, width, thickness, dimension, and weight of one thousand seeds was conducted, followed by a principal component (PC) analysis using these variables. The anthocyanin content ranged from 136.53 (HIDA 247) to 723.9 (HIDA 250) mu g g -1 . Approximately 47.3% of the accessions exhibited a desirable degree of hardness, and 68% demonstrated acceptable hardness for the nixtamal industry. Moreover, 100% showed an average width greater than 4.76 mm, rendering them suitable for this industry. The weight of one thousand seeds ranged from 239 to 532 g for CHIS 1089 and MICH 86, respectively. Blue coloration predominated (70 %). Pigmentation was mainly in the aleurone (88 %). Anthocyanin content showed no correlation with physical characteristics, but hardness correlated with length and dimension ( p <= 0.05 ). In the first two principal components, the variables with the greatest relevance were thousand -seed weight, length, and thickness (PC1), and anthocyanin content, hardness, and kernel width (PC2). The variability observed in this research may enable the selection of maize accessions with high total anthocyanin content