International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics
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Omics Approaches for Improving Sorghum Value Chains
No full textSorghum (Sorghum bicolor) holds global significance as a versatile crop, serving diverse purposes like food, animal feed, and more. It is the fifth most crucial grain crop, originating from Africa, and yields around 60 million tons annually. With advancements in sequencing and omics tools, we have seen improved crop enhancement and food security. The progress in high-tech experimental and data processing tools has greatly advanced genomic research in sorghum. By combining artificial intelligence and machine learning with omics methods, we can speed up genetic advancements in crops. This involves gaining profound insights in to the genetic and molecular underpinnings of key traits, allowing for targeted improvements. In this chapter, we delve into the different omics approaches used to enhance sorghum genetics
Urban effects on the adoption of soil conservation practices in urban and peri‑urban vegetable production of Yaoundé, Cameroon
Get PDFRapid urbanisation has put farming systems under stress. Yet, conservation agriculture promotes environmentally friendly and productive agriculture. This paper therefore aims at estimating the effects of urbanisation on the adoption of soil conservation practices (SCPs) in urban and peri‑urban vegetable production in Yaoundé, Cameroon. Data from a survey conducted by the World Vegetable Center among 185 vegetable producers and Google Maps were analysed using a Multivariate Probit model with robust standard errors to investigate the adoption of four interdependent SCPs. Descriptive results showed that the most SCP adopted was organic manure (85 %), the least adopted was mulching (61 %), and that the adoption intensity was relatively high as the mean number of SCPs adopted was 2.87 out of 4. In addition, the regression results showed that urbanisation reduces the adoption of SCPs; in particular, proximity to city centre reduces the adoption of crop rotation, organic manure, mulching, and fallow, while population density decreases the practice of fallow. Henceforth, to ease the perverse effects of urbanisation on the adoption of SCPs, decision-makers and local authorities should ensure the preservation of productive agricultural zones by elaborating urban master and zoning plans that take into account agricultural purposes, and by formalising property rights on agricultural lands in urbanising areas
Global Millet Trends, Outlook, Challenges, and Opportunities
Get PDFMillets are small-seeded coarse cereals grown mainly in Asia and Africa. Pearl millet represents about 3/4th of global millet area in the world. Africa accounts for about 64% of global millet area while Asia represents for nearly 34%. Globally, almost 3/4th of domestic supply is used for food purpose and the rest is used for feed and other uses. However, the utilization pattern is changing even in developing countries where its use in alcohol manufacture and as livestock and poultry feed is growing. The adoption of high-yielding and disease-resistant cultivars across the world (especially down mildew resistant) have increased the productivity gains consistently over time. The economic impacts of pearl millet research are well documented in literature by several studies. Except Asia region, rest of the millet growing regions in the globe are expected to supply the projected demanded of millets in their respective regions. Recurrent droughts followed by prolonged dryspells and soil moisture stress during crop growth period is the biggest challenge in both Africa and Asia. The major socio-economic challenges in case of pearl millet are follows: farmers grow it for self-sufficiency purpose rather than for market, thinly traded globally, low market demand, and lack of sufficient value addition opportunities, etc. Millet farming has a significant role in tackling the challenges of climate change, environmental degradation, and malnutrition due to its low water requirement and reduced dependency on synthetic fertilizers, etc., 2023 being the “International Year of Millets” (IYM) creating awareness among consumers about its nutritive value and other health benefits globally
The true costs of loss and damage in the agrifood sector: What's next?
Get PDFAgriculture is most impacted by climate change induced losses and damages as it is one of the most weather exposed sectors, with many vulnerable people dependent on this sector for their livelihoods. About one-third (or 35 percent) of current climate action plans explicitly refer to loss and damage, highlighting the urgency of the issue, especially among countries with agriculture as a priority. The Loss and Damage fund, as and when operationalized, should prioritize sectoral allocations to agriculture, and particularly smallholders to protect food security and livelihoods of the most vulnerable. Such finance must be new, additional and grant based
The impact of COVID-19 and capacities of farmers in small-scale irrigation schemes in sub-Saharan Africa
Get PDFDetrimental impacts from COVID-19 restrictions on households and agricultural productivity reinforce the need for resilience building and transformation in African food systems. Capitalizing on the opportunity to learn lessons from the ‘Transforming Small-scale Irrigation in Southern Africa’ (TISA) project (2013–2023), we summarize TISA’s outcomes and compare survey data on the perceived impact of COVID-19 between three schemes involved and three not involved with TISA. Overall, participating households had greater ability to manage the impacts of COVID-19. We highlight the need to build resilience in multiple interconnecting domains to enhance adaptability to crisis events that impact agricultural systems
Developments and Prospects in Imperative Underexploited Vegetable Legumes Breeding: A Review
Get PDFVegetable legumes are an essential source of carbohydrates, vitamins, and minerals, along with health-promoting bioactive chemicals. The demand for the use of either fresh or processed vegetable legumes is continually expanding on account of the growing consumer awareness about their well-balanced diet. Therefore, sustaining optimum yields of vegetable legumes is extremely important. Here we seek to present d etails of prospects of underexploited vegetable legumes for food availability, accessibility, and improved livelihood utilization. So far research attention was mainly focused on pulse legumes’ performance as compared to vegetable legumes. Wild and cultivated vegetable legumes vary morphologically across diverse habitats. This could make them less known, underutilized, and underexploited, and make them a promising potential nutritional source in developing nations where malnutrition still exists. Research efforts are required to promote underexploited vegetable legumes, for improving their use to feed the ever-increasing population in the future. In view of all the above points, here we have discussed underexploited vegetable legumes with tremendous potential; namely, vegetable pigeon pea (Cajanus cajan), cluster bean (Cyamopsis tetragonoloba), winged bean (Psophocarpus tetragonolobus), dolichos bean (Lablab purpureus), and cowpea (Vigna unguiculata), thereby covering the progress related to various aspects such as pre-breeding, molecular markers, quantitative trait locus (QTLs), genomics, and genetic engineering. Overall, this review has summarized the information related to advancements in the breeding of vegetable legumes which will ultimately help in ensuring food and nutritional security in developing nations
Preface: Allele Mining for Genomic Designing of Oilseed Crops
Get PDFThis book deliberates on the concept, strategies, tools, and techniques of allele mining in oilseed crops and its application potential in genome elucidation and improvement, including studying allele evolution, discovery of superior alleles, discerning new haplotypes, assessment of intra- and interspecific similarity, and studies of gene expression and gene prediction. Available gene pools in global germplasm collections, specifically consisting of wild allied species and local landraces for almost all major crops, have facilitated allele mining. The development of advanced genomic techniques, including PCR-based allele priming and Eco-TILLING-based allele mining, is now widely used for mining superior alleles. Allele's discovery has become more relevant now for employing molecular breeding to develop designed crop varieties matching consumer needs and with genome plasticity to adapt to climate change scenarios. All these concepts and strategies, along with precise success stories, are presented in the chapters dedicated to the major oilseed crops.
1. This is the first book on the novel strategy of allele mining in oilseed crops for precise breeding.
2. This book presents genomic strategies for mining superior alleles underlying agronomic traits from genomic resources.
3. This book depicts case studies of PCR-based allele priming and Eco-TILLING based allele mining.
4. This book elaborates on gene discovery and gene prediction in major oilseed crops.
This book will be useful to students and faculties in various plant science disciplines, including genetics, genomics, molecular breeding, agronomy, and bioinformatics; scientists in seed industries; and policymakers and funding agencies interested in crop improvement
Omics-assisted crop improvement under abiotic stress conditions
Get PDFClimate change-driven diverse abiotic stresses continue to negatively affect plant growth and development, ultimately altering sustainable agricultural production and food security. Multi-omics approaches have revolutionized how plant biologists explore stress-responsive, adaptation, and tolerance mechanisms and pathways, driven by improvements in scientific practices. Therefore, this special issue was designed to feature the latest advancements in omics studies to understand and improve the stress acclimation and tolerance mechanisms in diverse plant species
Monitoring temporal trends to assess infestation of water hyacinth in Lake Victoria using PolSAR
No full textWater hyacinth (WH) is a dreadful invasive species in Lake Victoria which spreads and forms vast floating mats. In this research, the temporal variability of WH is assessed using PolSAR data by applying the Optimization of Power Difference (OPDiff) change detection technique on Sentinel-1 IW SLC data. The detector separated WH from clear water using the minimum eigenvalues by selecting the contribution from unpolarized scattering. The algorithms allowed quantification of temporal monthly and annual trends which established that highest WH amounts were recorded in 2018 within the last 4 months of the year
Speed Breeding and High-Throughout Phenotypic Platforms to Accelerate Improvements in Cereal Crops
No full textA burgeoning population and yield ceiling in major cereal crops demand a shift from conventional breeding approaches to generation advancement to a rapid generation advancement (RGA) technique. Speed breeding through RGA is already a success, and well-defined protocols are readily available for several cereal crops like wheat, barley, oats, rice, and sorghum. Extensive efforts are underway to standardize speed breeding protocols for other cereal crops. Generation advancement through modifications in light intensity, duration of exposure to different spectrums of light, temperature, and relative humidity provides an opportunity to reduce the crop growth period to take up multiple cycles per year under controlled conditions. With technological advances, several automatic, semi-automatic, aerial, and ground-based precise phenotyping platforms for field and control conditions are available. Sensor- or image-based phenomics facilities have enabled screening for biotic and abiotic stress tolerance, profiling of nutritional quality traits, phenotyping for agronomic traits, and studying root architecture effectively. UAVs and drones are capable of recording the agronomic traits of large populations in order to assist breeders in their decision-making. Speed breeding and high-throughput phenotyping platforms, in combination with advanced genomic tools like marker-assisted selection, genomic prediction, genomic selection, and genome editing, can accelerate the genetic gains in several crop species, including cereals. With a view to harnessing the enormous potential of these technologies in cereal crops, a comprehensive study of the present scenario and future prospects is presented in this chapter