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Intensifying agriculture in Southern Bangladesh: Unlocking mungbean productivity through innovative management practices
No full textThe study demonstrates that adopting BARC-recommended fertilizer rates, combined with rhizobium seed inoculation, significantly increases mungbean yields and profitability compared to current farmer practices. Treatments T3 (BARC-recommended fertilizer) and T4 (BARC-recommended fertilizer with rhizobium inoculation) produced the highest yields and gross margins, with T4 showing a synergistic effect between fertilizer and rhizobium inoculation. While rhizobium inoculation was effective in enhancing productivity, variability in its performance among farmers suggests the need for consistent application methods and training. Despite the profitability of these practices, broader adoption is limited by factors such as resource availability, and farmers’ limited knowledge about the benefits and application of these improved practices.12 page
Situation report on Nepal’s agrifood systems: March 2024
No full textIn February 2024, Nepal saw moderate inflation with year-on-year figures for overall consumer inflation at 5.0 percent and food and beverage inflation at 6.5 percent. Prices for cereals, pulses, and legumes rose, with spices surging by 32.1 percent. Staple food prices such as rice, wheat flour, lentils, and black beans stayed stable in January 2024. Seasonal price trend analysis from 2002 to 2023 showed that national coarse rice prices in Nepal and its Western provinces were below yearly averages in the first half. However, medium grain rice prices in Western provinces exceeded the yearly average in the first quarter, contrary to typical trends. Labor migration declined by 21.5 percent from July to February, signaling a reduction in out-migration from Nepal. 11.8 percent of this drop occurred in February 2024 compared to the previous month.11 page
Identification of synthetic wheat lines with broadly effective stripe rust resistance
No full textWheat stripe/yellow rust (WYR), caused by Puccinia striiformis f. sp. tritici (Pst), is a major constraint in global wheat production. A set of 766 hexaploid synthetic wheat lines, including primary crosses of Triticum turgidum x Aegilops tauschii and their derivatives, were screened in artificially rust inoculated field nurseries for three seasons. From this set, a core set of 94 non-lodging lines with unique pedigrees and resistance to Pst that was consistent across years was established. The core set was tested for adult plant field response under field conditions for three seasons in Australia and at least one crop season in Ethiopia, India, Kenya, Nepal and Pakistan. It was also challenged with an array of well-defined Pst pathotypes at seedling growth stages in the greenhouse, and genotyped with molecular markers linked to the adult plant resistance (APR) genes Yr18, Yr36 and Yr46. Combined analysis of field rust responses, multi-pathotype seedling phenotyping and marker genotyping resolved seven classes of Pst resistance: uncatalogued (new) APR (UAPR, 11%), uncatalogued seedling resistance (USR, 46%), known seedling resistance (KSR, 5%), KSR + USR (2%), Yr18 + UAPR (4%), Yr18 + USR (29%) and Yr18 + KSR (3%). A majority of the lines carrying UAPR and USR either singly or in combination showed high levels of field resistance across all field sites and years of testing, demonstrating that these lines represent a valuable resource for breeding wheat for resistance to Pst.221–23
Destructive insect pests and diseases of sunflower and their integrated management
No full text27 page
Resistance of Moroccan wheat lines against the root-lesion nematode Pratylenchus Thornei
No full textThe root lesion nematode, Pratylenchus thornei, causes high yield losses in rainfed wheat fields in Morocco, as well as worldwide. Growing resistant varieties is one of the most effective methods for controlling nematodes. Therefore, a collection of 69 wheat lines (Triticum aestivum and T. durum), provided by the National Institute of Agricultural Research (INRA-Meknes, Morocco) and the International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA-Rabat, Morocco), were screened for resistance to P. thornei in tubes (15 x 20 x 120 mm(3)) under greenhouse conditions. The resistance level was evaluated based on the number of nematodes extracted from roots and soil 9 weeks after infestation. Three lines, L3 (DW-37), L14 (DW-37), and L54 (USG3535), were found to be moderately resistant (Reproduction factor <1) to P. thornei.22-2
Characterization of adaptation mechanisms in sorghum using a multireference back-cross nested association mapping design and envirotyping
No full textIdentifying the genetic factors impacting the adaptation of crops to environmental conditions is of key interest for conservation and selection purposes. It can be achieved using population genomics, and evolutionary or quantitative genetics. Here we present a sorghum multireference back-cross nested association mapping population composed of 3,901 lines produced by crossing 24 diverse parents to 3 elite parents from West and Central Africa-back-cross nested association mapping. The population was phenotyped in environments characterized by differences in photoperiod, rainfall pattern, temperature levels, and soil fertility. To integrate the multiparental and multi-environmental dimension of our data we proposed a new approach for quantitative trait loci (QTL) detection and parental effect estimation. We extended our model to estimate QTL effect sensitivity to environmental covariates, which facilitated the integration of envirotyping data. Our models allowed spatial projections of the QTL effects in agro-ecologies of interest. We utilized this strategy to analyze the genetic architecture of flowering time and plant height, which represents key adaptation mechanisms in environments like West Africa. Our results allowed a better characterization of well-known genomic regions influencing flowering time concerning their response to photoperiod with Ma6 and Ma1 being photoperiod-sensitive and the region of possible candidate gene Elf3 being photoperiod-insensitive. We also accessed a better understanding of plant height genetic determinism with the combined effects of phenology-dependent (Ma6) and independent (qHT7.1 and Dw3) genomic regions. Therefore, we argue that the West and Central Africa-back-cross nested association mapping and the presented analytical approach constitute unique resources to better understand adaptation in sorghum with direct application to develop climate-smart varieties
Revisiting the size–productivity relationship with imperfect measures of production and plot size
No full textMonitoring smallholder agricultural productivity growth, one of the targets of the Sustainable Development Goals, rests on accurate measures of crop production and land area. Existing methods and protocols for measuring smallholder production and plot size are prone to various sources and forms of mismeasurement. Inaccuracies in production and land area measurement are likely to distort descriptive and predictive inferences. We examine the sensitivity of empirical assessments of the relationship between agricultural productivity and land area to alternative measurement protocols. We implement six production and six land area measurement protocols, and show that most of these protocols differ systematically in their accuracy. We find that an apparent inverse size–productivity relationship in our data is fully explained by measurement error in both production and plot size. Moreover, we show that some of the previously used “gold standard” measures are themselves prone to nonclassical measurement error, and hence can generate spurious inverse size–productivity findings. Our results also show that slight improvements in the precision of objective measures significantly reduce the inferential bias associated with the size–productivity relationship.595-61
Situation report on Nepal’s agrifood systems: May 2024
No full textIn April 2024, Nepal saw a 1.8 percent increase in the prices of food and beverages compared to the previous month. During the same period, the year-on-year inflation rate for food and beverages reached 5.2 percent, surpassing the overall consumer inflation rate of 4.6 percent. The main contributors to the rise in food prices in April were the annual spikes in the prices of spices (22.6 percent) and vegetables (17.0 percent). Moreover, staple food items such as cereal grains, pulses, and legumes also experienced significant price hikes over the course of the year. Food price inflation was highest in the Terai region (5.6 percent) and lowest in the Mountain districts (3.2 percent).10 page
Transforming food environments: a global lens on challenges and opportunities for achieving healthy and sustainable diets for all
No full textFood environments are rapidly changing globally, both in developed and developing contexts, contributing to poor dietary habits and environmental concerns. As a result, more than 80% of countries in the world face different forms of malnutrition, while the environment faces further degradation due to unsustainable production and consumption patterns. Understanding food environments in diverse settings via a global lens is critical for facilitating the global transition to sustainable and healthy food environments. A virtual workshop was held with stakeholders from five nations (Germany, Ghana, Malaysia, South Africa, and Tanzania) representing varying levels of development to interrogate global food environment concerns and propose cross cutting thematic areas that may be explored and addressed through policy change and intervention. The workshop initiated a transdisciplinary project to shape food environments for sustainable and healthy diets. The Reference Manual for Convenors of Food Systems Summit Dialogues for United Nations Food Systems Summit (UNFSS) (United Nations, 2020) was used as guidance to ensure that an inclusive mix of stakeholders were invited. The stakeholders included key players from public and private sectors in disciplines of agriculture, agro-forestry, environment and ecology, education, food retail and market, trade and commerce, health care and nutrition. Following the workshop discussion, the findings were analyzed using a general inductive approach. Through triangulation of findings, we identified the common challenges and opportunities for achieving collective nutritional, social and environmental sustainability in the modern food environments, which have become more universal globally. It is evident that research and data are essential for sustainable development of food systems, while Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 17 – Partnership for the Goals - should be placed at the core of the transformative process. We proposed several research-driven transdisciplinary interventions to facilitate a paradigm shift from the profit logic model over everything else, and to counter the existing policy fragmentation and systemic challenges to making food environments nutrition-sensitive and socially and environmentally sustainable