Capacities of local maize seed enterprises in Mexico: Implications for seed systems development

Where maize plays a critical role in food security, governments and donors have invested heavily in support of local, privately owned, often small and medium sized, maize seed enterprises (maize SMEs). Underpinning these investments are strong assumptions about maize SMEs’ capacity to produce and distribute seed to smallholders. This study assesses the capacities of 22 maize SMEs in Mexico that engaged with MasAgro—a large-scale development program initiated in 2011 that has provided maize SMEs with improved genetic material and technical assistance. Data were collected onsite from in-depth interviews with enterprise owners and managers and complemented with other primary and secondary sources. Overall, maize SMEs showed high levels of absorptive capacity for seed production, but limited signs of learning and innovation in terms of business organization and strategic seed marketing. Asset endowments varied widely among the SMEs, but generally they were lowest among the smaller enterprises, and access to business development services beyond MasAgro was practically nonexistent. Results highlighted the critical role of MasAgro in reinvigorating the portfolios of seeds produced by maize SMEs, as well as the challenges ahead for maize SMEs to scale the new technologies in a competitive market that has long been dominated by multinational seed enterprises. Among these challenges were limited investment in seed marketing, weak infrastructure for seed production, and limited experience in business management. Achieving the food security goals through maize SMEs will require making national maize seed industry development a strategic imperative.

Image Recognition of Male Oilseed Rape (Brassica napus) Plants Based on Convolutional Neural Network for UAAS Navigation Applications on Supplementary Pollination and Aerial Spraying

To ensure the hybrid oilseed rape (OSR, Brassica napus) seed production, two important things are necessary, the stamen sterility on the female OSR plants and the effective pollen spread onto the pistil from the OSR male plants to the OSR female plants. The unmanned agricultural aerial system (UAAS) has developed rapidly in China. It has been used on supplementary pollination and aerial spraying during the hybrid OSR seed production. This study developed a new method to rapidly recognize the male OSR plants and extract the row center line for supporting the UAAS navigation. A male OSR plant recognition model was constructed based on the convolutional neural network (CNN). The sequence images of male OSR plants were extracted, the feature regions and points were obtained from the images through morphological and boundary process methods and horizontal segmentation, respectively. The male OSR plant image recognition accuracies of different CNN structures and segmentation sizes were discussed. The male OSR plant row center lines were fitted using the least-squares method (LSM) and Hough transform. The results showed that the segmentation algorithm could segment the male OSR plants from the complex background. The highest average recognition accuracy was 93.54%, and the minimum loss function value was 0.2059 with three convolutional layers, one fully connected layer, and a segmentation size of 40 pix × 40 pix. The LSM is better for center line fitting. The average recognition model accuracies of original input images were 98% and 94%, and the average root mean square errors (RMSE) of angle were 3.22° and 1.36° under cloudy day and sunny day lighting conditions, respectively. The results demonstrate the potential of using digital imaging technology to recognize the male OSR plant row for UAAS visual navigation on the applications of hybrid OSR supplementary pollination and aerial spraying, which would be a meaningful supplement in precision agriculture.

North American tree migration paced by climate in the West, lagging in the East

Tree fecundity and recruitment have not yet been quantified at scales needed to anticipate biogeographic shifts in response to climate change. By separating their responses, this study shows coherence across species and communities, offering the strongest support to date that migration is in progress with regional limitations on rates. The southeastern continent emerges as a fecundity hotspot, but it is situated south of population centers where high seed production could contribute to poleward population spread. By contrast, seedling success is highest in the West and North, serving to partially offset limited seed production near poleward frontiers. The evidence of fecundity and recruitment control on tree migration can inform conservation planning for the expected long-term disequilibrium between climate and forest distribution.

Spatiotemporal Variations in Seed Set and Pollen Limitation in Populations of the Rare Generalist Species Polemonium caeruleum in Poland

A vast majority of angiosperms are pollinated by animals, and a decline in the number and diversity of insects often affects plant reproduction through pollen limitation. This phenomenon may be particularly severe in rare plant species, whose populations are shrinking. Here, we examined the variability in factors shaping reproductive success and pollen limitation in red-listed Polemonium caeruleum L. During a 5-year study in several populations of P. caeruleum (7–15, depending on year), we assessed the degree of pollen limitation based on differences in seed set between open-pollinated (control) and hand-pollinated flowers. We analysed the effects of flower visitors, population size, and meteorological data on plant reproductive success and pollen limitation. Our study showed that pollen limitation rarely affected P. caeruleum populations, and was present mainly in small populations. Pollen limitation index was negatively affected by the size of population, visitation frequency of all insects, and when considering the visitation frequency of individual groups, also by honeybee visits. Seed production in control treatment was positively influenced by the population size, average monthly precipitation in June and visits of hoverflies, while visits of honeybees, average monthly temperature in September, and average monthly precipitation in August influenced seed production negatively. As generalist plant P. caeruleum can be pollinated by diverse insect groups, however, in small populations their main visitors, the honeybees and bumblebees, may be less attracted, eventually leading to the disappearance of these populations. In pollination of P. caeruleum managed honeybees may play a dual role: while they are the most frequent and efficient flower visitors, their presence decreases seed set in open-pollinated flowers, which is most probably related to efficient pollen collection by these insects.

Kochia (Bassia Scoparia) Growth and Fecundity As Influenced By Crop Competition and Weed Density

Kochia [Bassia scoparia (L.) A. J. Scott] represents one the most troublesome weeds in crop production systems in the North American Great Plains. The development of herbicide-resistant B. scoparia populations further exacerbated this problem. More ecologically driven approaches to its control are necessary. This study examined the competitive effects of four crops (sugar beet, soybean, barley, and corn) in combination with B. scoparia densities (3, 13, 24, 47, 94, and 188 plants m-2) on B. scoparia development and seed production across 2 years. Corn and barley had the greatest impact on B. scoparia growth and fecundity. B. scoparia biomass was 87 and 82% lower and seed production was 98 and 96% lower (p<0.001) in corn and barley, respectively, relative to fallow. Corn had greatest effect in reducing B. scoparia biomass and seed production. Barley had greatest effect in delaying B. scoparia flowering which occurred 113 days after B. scoparia emergence (p<0.001). Soybean and sugar beet had the least effect reducing B. scoparia biomass by 70 and 65% and seed production by 84 and 80% (p<0.001), respectively, relative to fallow. Increasing B. scoparia densities resulted in reductions in B. scoparia width, number of primary branches, biomass plant-1, and seeds plant-1 but increased B. scoparia height, biomass m-2, and seeds m-2 (p<0.001) under all cropping treatments except corn. Barley represents the greatest opportunity to impact B. scoparia through reduced fecundity and delayed flowering, with the latter providing a window of opportunity for post-harvest control. The effects observed here were isolated from differences in herbicide practices that are associated with each of these crops, differences that have a dramatic effect on B. scoparia in their own right.

Growing season climate affects phenological development, seed yield and seed quality of dill (Anethum graveolens)

Dill seed production was investigated over two seasons, comprising a spring growing cycle (SGC) and an autumn growing cycle (AGC). The effects of growing cycle on phenological traits, yield and quality of dill seeds formed on different umbels of the mother plant were investigated. Significant differences were noted in the flowering period, seed yield and quality parameters. The SGC resulted in a shorter time from sowing to bolting and flowering initiation compared with the AGC. Plant height, number of umbels/plant, number of umbelets/umbel, umbel diameter, umbel length and seed weight/plant increased in the AGC. In contrast, decreased germination at 20/30°C and at 13°C, and increased mean germination time at 20/30°C in AGC indicated lower seed quality compared with SGC. Primary umbels produced the best yield and higher quality seeds, followed by the secondary umbels while tertiary umbels gave poor yield and quality seeds in both SGC and AGC. In conclusion, AGC was advisable for higher seed yield, but SGC resulted in higher seed quality compared with the AGC. This highlights the need to select a suitable growing cycle to guarantee high seed yield and quality for each seed production environment.

Comparative analysis of rape seed production in Russia and Kemerovsk region

The purpose of the research is to conduct a comparative analysis of rapeseed production in the territory of the Russian Federation and the Kemerovo region. During 2011-2019, on the territory of the Russian Federation (RF) and the Kemerovo region, a comparative analysis of the sown area, yield, gross harvest of spring rape was carried out. The research results showed that over the past 9 years, from 2011 to 2019, the sown area, both in the Russian Federation and in the Kemerovo Region, has doubled. At the same time, there is a strong variation in this indicator. The variation coefficient ranged from 43.3% to 54.1%. On the territory of the Russian Federation and in the Kemerovo region, an increase in the yield of spring rape is observed by 1.13 times and 1.04 times, respectively. It was revealed that an increase in the gross harvest of spring rape seeds occurs on the basis of an extensive development of production due to an increase in the sowing area and yield.