Sorghum: General Crop-Modelling Tools Guiding Principles and Use of Crop Models in Support of Crop Improvement Programs in Developing Countries

2020 ◽  
pp. 189-207
Author(s):  
J. Kholová ◽  
M. Adam ◽  
M. Diancoumba ◽  
G. Hammer ◽  
A. Hajjarpoor ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
Crop Improvement ◽  
Crop Modelling ◽  
Crop Models ◽  
Improvement Programs ◽  
Guiding Principles

Developing the culture and discipline of conducting and publishing scientific research: Guiding principles

2014 ◽  
Vol 1 ◽  
pp. 1-7
Author(s):  
Daniel Obeng-Ofori
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
Scientific Research ◽  
Scientific Writing ◽  
Weekly Schedule ◽  
Academic Activities ◽  
Heavy Workload ◽  
Guiding Principles ◽  
Mentoring System ◽  
Critical Constraints

The pressure to publish is a fact of life in academia. Academics are expected to demonstrate that they are active researchersand that their work has been vetted by peers and disseminated in reputable scholarly forums. In practice, however, a numberof critical constraints hamper effective publication of scientific research in most developing countries. These include lackof effective mentoring system, poor facilities and inadequate funding for effective research and heavy workload where toomuch time and effort are spent in teaching, grading, meetings and other non-academic activities. In spite of these seeminglyinsurmountable challenges, with proper planning and commitment, one can still conduct research and publish to advanceones career and exchange of knowledge. The paper discusses the critical guiding principles in scientific writing and publishingin an unfriendly research environment as pertains in most universities in the developing world. The overriding principle isto cultivate the discipline of scientific writing consciously and follow it through religiously. This could be achieved if time isallocated for scientific writing in the scheme of weekly schedule of activities and made to be functional through meticulousplanning and commitment. Equally important is to avoid procedural mistakes in scientific writing. While the quality of theresearch is the single most important factor in determining whether an article will be published, a number of proceduralmistakes can help tip the balance against its publication. It should also be noted that when a manuscript is submitted to ascholarly journal, there are two audiences to satisfy: first the editor and external reviewers, and then the journal’s readers.That first group must be satisfied to create the opportunity to appeal to the second. Thus, familiarity with the style and tone ofthe specific journal is crucial.

scholarly journals Genomics and breeding innovations for enhancing genetic gain for climate resilience and nutrition traits

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pallavi Sinha ◽  
Vikas K. Singh ◽  
Abhishek Bohra ◽  
Arvind Kumar ◽  
Jochen C. Reif ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Statistical Methods ◽  
Genetic Gain ◽  
Crop Improvement ◽  
Breeding Population ◽  
Breeding Cycle ◽  
Climate Resilience ◽  
Heritability Estimation ◽  
Improvement Programs ◽  
Statistical Designs ◽  
Novel Alleles

Abstract Key message Integrating genomics technologies and breeding methods to tweak core parameters of the breeder’s equation could accelerate delivery of climate-resilient and nutrient rich crops for future food security. Abstract Accelerating genetic gain in crop improvement programs with respect to climate resilience and nutrition traits, and the realization of the improved gain in farmers’ fields require integration of several approaches. This article focuses on innovative approaches to address core components of the breeder’s equation. A prerequisite to enhancing genetic variance (σ2g) is the identification or creation of favorable alleles/haplotypes and their deployment for improving key traits. Novel alleles for new and existing target traits need to be accessed and added to the breeding population while maintaining genetic diversity. Selection intensity (i) in the breeding program can be improved by testing a larger population size, enabled by the statistical designs with minimal replications and high-throughput phenotyping. Selection priorities and criteria to select appropriate portion of the population too assume an important role. The most important component of breeder′s equation is heritability (h2). Heritability estimates depend on several factors including the size and the type of population and the statistical methods. The present article starts with a brief discussion on the potential ways to enhance σ2g in the population. We highlight statistical methods and experimental designs that could improve trait heritability estimation. We also offer a perspective on reducing the breeding cycle time (t), which could be achieved through the selection of appropriate parents, optimizing the breeding scheme, rapid fixation of target alleles, and combining speed breeding with breeding programs to optimize trials for release. Finally, we summarize knowledge from multiple disciplines for enhancing genetic gains for climate resilience and nutritional traits.

Crop modelling as an aid for environmental characterisation and crop improvement

2009 ◽  
Vol 153 (2) ◽  
pp. S227 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karine Chenu ◽  
Scott C. Chapman ◽  
Greg McLean ◽  
Douglas Lush ◽  
Graeme L. Hammer ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Crop Improvement ◽  
Crop Modelling

Proteomics Variation in Nigella Sativa L. (Rananculaceae) Germplasm

2021 ◽  
Vol 50 (2) ◽  
pp. 289-294
Author(s):  
Muhammad Sajjad Iqbal ◽  
Abdul Ghafoor
Keyword(s):  
Euclidean Distance ◽  
Nigella Sativa ◽  
Crop Improvement ◽  
Band Formation ◽  
First Report ◽  
Sds Page ◽  
Genetic Pattern ◽  
Specific Variation ◽  
Improvement Programs ◽  
Single Seeds

Study revealed a first report of proteomics variation in Nigella sativa L. based on analyzing 32 accessions through SDS-PAGE. Three prominent regions along eight subunits were identified. Intra specific variation was observed low whereas the sharpness of bands was high between first and second regions. It was noted that in second region there was no clear evidence of band formation in N. sativa. Prominent and sharp protein peptide bands were recorded in four accessions, namely PK-020561, PK-020609, PK-020620 and PK-020646. Further investigation of single seeds showed almost similar genetic pattern within the single accession. Five clusters were formed on the basis of Euclidean distance. Cluster-I & II contain 1, 1 accession each, likewise Cluster-III and C-IV contain 2, 2 accessions whereas Cluster-V was found diversified as consisted of 26 accessions. Two accessions PK-020878 and PK-020877 were recommended for polymorphism and crop improvement programs. Bangladesh J. Bot. 50(2): 289-294, 2021 (June)

Multivariate analyses of indigenous bread wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) landraces of Oman

2021 ◽  
pp. 483
Author(s):  
Ali Hussain Al Lawati ◽  
Saleem Kaseemsaheb Nadaf ◽  
Nadiya Abubakar Al Saady ◽  
Saleh Ali Al Hinai ◽  
Almandhar Almamari ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Triticum Aestivum ◽  
Bread Wheat ◽  
Multivariate Analyses ◽  
Crop Improvement ◽  
Winter Season ◽  
Principal Component ◽  
Triticum Aestivum L ◽  
Plant Parts ◽  
Improvement Programs ◽  
D Values

Oman is endowed with enormous diversity of important food crops that have global significance for food security and has ancient history of cultivation of bread wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) with its divergent landraces, which are useful in crop improvement. 55 indigenous Omani accessions conserved at the USDA were evaluated in the winter season (November to April) of the years 2017-2018 and 2018-2019 on loamy soil under sprinklers in augmented design with 5 check varieties in 5 replications following crop husbandry practices as per national recommendations using 9 quantitative (descriptors) and 6 qualitative traits (anthocyanin pigmentation on plant parts). The data on traits were subjected not only for PC values and D values after varimax rotation through Kaiser normalization in Principal Component Analysis (PCA) but also for Agglomerative Hierarchical Clustering (AHC). The results indicated that indigenous bread wheat accessions were significantly different (p>0.05) for all the quantitative traits except number of tillers. The multivariate analyses led to formation of four diverse clusters from PCA analyses corresponding to four quadrants of bi-plot graphs and three clusters from AHC analysis corresponding to main clades of dendrogram. The parents were selected from common accessions of distinct clusters in all the multivariate analyses for hybridization for improving characters of growth for higher yield or productivity with pigmentation on one or two plant parts useful for DUS test of varieties. The indigenous bread wheat landraces / accessions were genetically diverse and have potential for use in national crop improvement programs for earliness and higher grain productivity with distinct identification markers.

scholarly journals Population structure and genetic diversity analysis in Sali (Oryza sativa) rice germplasm of Assam using microsatellite markers

2021 ◽  
Vol 58 (2) ◽  
pp. 279-286
Author(s):  
Sandhani Saikia ◽  
Pratap Jyoti Handique ◽  
Mahendra K Modi
Keyword(s):  
Genetic Diversity ◽  
Ssr Markers ◽  
Genetic Improvement ◽  
Crop Improvement ◽  
Mean Value ◽  
Diversity Analysis ◽  
Rice Cultivars ◽  
Improvement Program ◽  
Information Index ◽  
Improvement Programs

Genetic diversity is the source of novel allelic combinations that can be efficiently utilized in any crop improvement program. To facilitate future crop improvement programs in rice, a study was designed to identify the underlying genetic variations in the Sali rice germplasms of Assam using SSR markers. The 129 SSR markers that were used in the study amplified a total of 765 fragments with an average of 5.93 alleles per locus. The Shannon's Information Index was found to be in the range from 0.533 to 1.786. The Polymorphism Information Content (PIC) fell into the range from 0.304 to 0.691 with a mean value of 0.55. The overall FST value was found to be 0.519 that indicated the presence of genetic differentiation amongst the genotypes used in the study. The Sali population was divided into two clusters. The information obtained from the present study will facilitate the genetic improvement of Sali rice cultivars.

scholarly journals Analysis of the quinoa genome reveals conservation and divergence of the flowering pathways

2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
pp. 245-258 ◽  
Author(s):  
Agnieszka A. Golicz ◽  
Ursula Steinfort ◽  
Hina Arya ◽  
Mohan B. Singh ◽  
Prem L. Bhalla
Keyword(s):  
Crop Improvement ◽  
Chenopodium Quinoa ◽  
Flower Initiation ◽  
Flowering Genes ◽  
The Andes ◽  
Grain Crop ◽  
Improvement Programs ◽  
Flowering Regulation ◽  
High Yields ◽  
Modern Breeding

Abstract Quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd.) is a grain crop grown in the Andes renowned as a highly nutritious plant exhibiting tolerance to abiotic stress such as drought, cold and high salinity. Quinoa grows across a range of latitudes corresponding to differing day lengths, suggesting regional adaptations of flowering regulation. Improved understanding and subsequent modification of the flowering process, including flowering time, ensuring high yields, is one of the key factors behind expansion of cultivation zones and goals of the crop improvement programs worldwide. However, our understanding of the molecular basis of flower initiation and development in quinoa is limited. Here, we use a computational approach to perform genome-wide identification and analysis of 611 orthologues of the Arabidopsis thaliana flowering genes. Conservation of the genes belonging to the photoperiod, gibberellin and autonomous pathways was observed, while orthologues of the key genes found in the vernalisation pathway (FRI, FLC) were absent from the quinoa genome. Our analysis indicated that on average each Arabidopsis flowering gene has two orthologous copies in quinoa. Several genes including orthologues of MIF1, FT and TSF were identified as homologue-rich genes in quinoa. We also identified 459 quinoa-specific genes uniquely expressed in the flower and/or meristem, with no known orthologues in other species. The genes identified provide a resource and framework for further studies of flowering in quinoa and related species. It will serve as valuable resource for plant biologists, crop physiologists and breeders to facilitate further research and establishment of modern breeding programs for quinoa.

scholarly journals How Do Crops Balance Water Supply and Demand when Water Is Limiting?

Proceedings ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 36 (1) ◽  
pp. 208
Author(s):  
Andrew Borrell ◽  
Barbara George-Jaeggli ◽  
Erik van Oosterom ◽  
Graeme Hammer ◽  
Emma Mace ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Water Supply ◽  
Leaf Area ◽  
Supply And Demand ◽  
Crop Improvement ◽  
Limiting Factor ◽  
Crop Species ◽  
Stay Green ◽  
Canopy Development ◽  
Improvement Programs ◽  
Water Supply And Demand

Plants are sessile organisms requiring mechanisms that enable them to balance water supply and demand in dry environments. Demand (D) is largely driven by canopy size (transpirational leaf area), although differences in transpiration per unit leaf area also occur. Supply (S) is primarily driven by water capture via the root system. Drought stress can be defined as the situation where supply of water cannot meet demand of the crop, such that water availability is the limiting factor for biomass accumulation. Under such conditions, plants will need to reduce D in order to meet the limited S, access more water to increase S, or increase the efficiency with which water is utilised. We used sorghum, a model C4 crop species, to demonstrate how the stay-green trait can modulate canopy development and root architecture to enhance adaptation. We show how stay-green positively impacts the balance between S and D under post-flowering drought, including insights at the molecular level. We provide examples of how canopy and root traits impact the S/D balance in other cereals under water limitation. For example, on the supply side, the extent of genetic variation for root angle (RA) has been evaluated in sorghum, wheat and barley, and genomic regions associated with RA have been mapped. Furthermore, the relationship between RA and grain yield has been explored in barley and sorghum field trials. The capacity to manipulate components of S and D to optimise the S/D balance should assist crop improvement programs to develop enhanced ideotypes for dry environments.

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