Appraisal of the Sesame Production Opportunities and Constraints, and Farmer-Preferred Varieties and Traits, in Eastern and Southwestern Ethiopia

Sesame (Sesamum indicum L.) is an important oilseed crop with well-developed value chains. It is Ethiopia’s most valuable export commodity after coffee (Coffea arabica L.), contributing to socioeconomic development. The productivity of the crop is low and stagnant in Ethiopia and other major sesame growing regions in sub-Saharan Africa (<0.6 t/ha) due to a multitude of production constraints. The objective of this study was to document sesame production opportunities and constraints, as well as farmer- and market-preferred varieties and traits, in eastern and southwestern Ethiopia as a guide for large-scale production and breeding. A participatory rural appraisal (PRA) study was conducted in two selected sesame growing regions and four districts in Ethiopia. Data were collected from 160 and 46 sesame farmers through semistructured questionnaires and focus group discussions. Sesame is grown by all respondent farmers in the study areas for food and as a source of cash. Most respondent farmers (56%) reported cultivating sesame using seeds of unknown varieties often sourced from the informal seed sector. About 83% of the respondents reported lack of access to improved seeds as the most important production constraint, followed by low yield gains from cultivating the existing varieties (reported by 73.8% of respondents), diseases (69.4%), and low market price (68.8%). Other production constraints included insect pests (59.4%), lack of market information (55%), and high cost of seed (50%). The above constraints were attributed to the absence of a dedicated breeding programme, lack of a formal seed sector, poor extension services, and underdeveloped pre- and postharvest infrastructures. The most important market-preferred traits of sesame included true-to-type seed (reported by 36.3% of respondents), white seed colour (28.8%), and high seed oil content (23.8%). The vital farmer-preferred attributes included reasonable market price (reported by 11.3% of respondents), resistance to crop diseases (10.9%), drought tolerance (10.3%), resistance to crop insect pests (9.2%), higher seed yield (8.9%), higher thousand-seed weight (7.2%), higher oil content (6.3%), white seed colour (6.1%), early maturity (6.1%), and good oil qualities such as aroma and taste (5.7%). Therefore, there is a need for a dedicated sesame genetic improvement programme by integrating the above key production constraints and market- and farmer-preferred traits to develop and deploy new generation varieties to enhance the production, productivity, and adoption of sesame cultivars in Ethiopia.

Isolation, sequencing of the HvnHID gene and its role in the purple-grain colour development in Tibetan hulless barley

2-hydroxyisoflavanone dehydratase (HID) plays an important role in isoflavone biosynthesis. In this study, HID was isolated from the seeds of the purple-grained Tibetan hulless barley variety Nerumuzha and the white-grained variety Kunlun 10. The HvnHID gene includes the 981 bp open reading frame and encodes a protein of 327 amino acids. It has a typical Abhydrolase_3 domain (78–306) and belongs to the carboxylesterase (CXE) family of the Abhydrolase_3 (α/β hydrolase) superfamily. There are eight nucleotide differences in the HvnHID coding sequence and two amino acid differences (one in the Abhydrolase_3 domain) between Nerumuzha and Kunlun 10. The HvnHID of hulless barley has the closest relationship with the HID in Hordeum vulgare, and the most distant relationship in Panicum hallii. At the early-mid stage of the seed colour development, the HvnHID expression levels in the purple and black seeds were significantly higher than in the white and blue ones (P &lt; 0.01). During the seed colour development of purple-grained hulless barley, the expression of the key genes (HvnF3'H, HvnDRF, HvnANT1, and HvnGT) in the anthocyanidin biosynthetic pathway increased significantly, while the HvnHID expression decreased significantly (P &lt; 0.01). Thus, it is likely that HvnHID negatively regulates the anthocyanidin biosynthesis. This result provides an important basis for further study of the biological functions of HvnHID in the anthocyanidin biosynthetic pathway.

Characterization of Effect of Gamma Ray Induced Mutations on Morpho-Agronomic Traits of Dolichos Lablab (Lablab purpureus l.) Sweet

Lablab purpureus (L.) Synonym Dolichos lablab (L.) Sweet; is a minor and an important multipurpose legume. Despite this it classified as an orphaned crop hence few studies on its improvement have been undertaken. Limited studies have been carried out on use of mutation on dolichos improvement. Four elite Lablab genotypes coded G1, B1, M5 and W7 were mutagenized with two doses of gamma radiation 300Gy and 400 Gy with objective to study the effect of mutation on various agronomical traits at M2 generation. Data on effect of irradiation on lablab was collected 10 randomly selected plants of on each plot .The traits evaluated were leaf length, leaf width, number of raceme per plant, raceme length, pod length, pod width, plant height, dry seed yield per plant and seed length and seed width. For these traits mean of mutant plants was significantly different from mean of control plants at P≤0.05. Mutant accessions of B1, M5 and W7 genotypes exhibited wide mutation spectra after mutagenesis of albino, leafiness, upright single stem, seedless pod, short dwarf pod, variegated leaf, variation in flower colour, variation in growth habit, leaf shape, seed colour. Gamma irradiation doses of 300 Gy and 400 Gy were potent in mutagenesis of the studied dolichos lablab. The agronomically diverse mutants are an important resource for dolichos improvement through breeding and genetic studies. Mutants with variegated leafs and flower colour can be used in the landscaping while those different seed colour could be used in the improvement of sensory and cooking qualities of other native dolichos lablab beans.

Authentication, Micromorphology and Ultrastructure of Pollen Grains and Seeds of Endemic Taxa in Saint Katherine Protectorate, South Sinai, Egypt

The endemic taxa were restricted to a specific geographic region and they are essential for setting conservation priorities. This study aimed to update the endemic taxa list in Saint Katherine Protectorate (SKP) depending on literature reviews, field trips and herbaria consultation. Other characters also recorded viz, sex forms, dispersal types and flowering time. Also, the morphological characters of the pollen grains and seeds were examined and photographed using light microscope (LM) and scanning electron microscope (SEM). In addition, the mineral composition of pollens and seeds was detected using energy dispersive X-ray (EDX). The updated list included 13 taxa belonging to 11 genera and 8 families. All the recorded taxa were bisexual; ballochores were the most represented dispersal type. There was a gradual increase in the endemic taxa from March to August while decreasing from October to February. Pollens were isopolar and medium in size. They possessed colpate, colporate, or porate aperatus, as well as reticulate exine sculpture. Furthermore, operculum and margo were absent in most of the pollens. The seed colour ranged from light brown to black; elliptic; basal hilum; polygonal and irregular-shaped seeds were the most represented. All previous characters were diagnosed at generic and specific levels, which helped in the construction of artificial keys to facilitate the differentiation between the studied taxa. The present study has the priority in describing pollens and seeds of Astragalus fresenii and Micromeria serbaliana, in addition to the description of the seeds of Ballota kaiseri. The presence and percentage of twelve elements detected by EDX differed significantly within the investigated pollen grains and seeds. The present data indicated that pollen grains and seeds of studied taxa had high percentages of carbon, oxygen, phosphorous, magnesium, nitrogen and calcium. This study is the first attempt using EDX technique with these taxa. © 2021 Friends Science Publishers

Genetic variability in oilseed rape DH line population developed from F1 hybrids obtained by crossing black-and yellow-seeded DH lines. I. yield and yield components

The aims of this study were to estimate the diversity of doubled haploid population of winter oilseed rape (Brassica napus L.) in terms of yield, yield structure and seed colour, to determine the correlation between the studied traits and their heritability, and to select the best yellow-seeded genotypes. We studied 44 doubled haploids, obtained from F1 hybrids of a cross between a black-seeded DH H2-26 line and a yellow-seeded DH Z-114 line, as well as the parental forms. The greatest variation in DH line populations was observed for seed colour, seed yield and the number of pods per plant, while the smallest variability was obtained for thousand seed weight. Seed yield was positively correlated with the number of pods per plant and the number of seeds per pod, but negatively correlated with yellow seed colour. The broad-sense heritability coefficient was highest for seed colour and number of seeds per pod, and lowest for the number of pods per plant. When divided into 4 homogeneous groups according to seed colour, the genotypes differed significantly with respect to all the studied traits. A group of DH lines with black seed colour was characterized by the highest seed yield as well as highest thousand seed weight. The lowest yielding DH line group, that with yellow–brown seeds, had on average the highest number of seeds per pod and the lowest thousand seed weight. The best yellow-seeded genotypes were selected. Four yellow-seeded lines gave significantly higher yields than the yellow-seeded parental line.

Study of the possibilities of using sunflower lines with different colours of seeds to create poultry feed

Sunflower is used for the production of oil, confectionery and animal feed. Birds are very fond of sunflowers and can be pests of sunflower crops, and are consumers of seeds. Sunflower poultry feed is an emerging market that determines the direction of breeding. Its development is based on the determination of bird preferences and the available variety of sunflower lines. This is what our research is devoted to. Experimental feeding of chickens with a mixture of sunflower seeds of different colours was carried out. Chickens have been found to prefer contrasting striped seeds with white and dark stripes more than others. The white colour of the seeds was eaten less than others. Studies of the genetics of sunflower colour allow us to distinguish two groups of lines by seed colour. The first has white seeds with the EwEwPP genotype, suitable for use in human confectionery and more protected from being eaten by wild birds in the fields. The second is striped seeds with the EstrEstrPP genotype, which can be fed whole seeds to birds. Donors of seed colour traits and other traits important for hybrid breeding were selected from the evaluated collection of sunflower lines. InK1039 line is a donor of small striped seeds and pollen fertility restoration. InK1587 line is a sterility fixer and donor of striped and early maturing seeds. To create hybrids with white seeds for human consumption and thus more resistant to ingestion by wild birds, white seed donors were isolated with KG9 to restore pollen fertility and I2K2218 in a pollen sterility fixer.

Phenotypic characterisation and linkage mapping of domestication syndrome traits in yellow lupin (Lupinus luteus L.)

The transformation of wild plants into domesticated crops usually modifies a common set of characters referred to as ‘domestication syndrome’ traits such as the loss of pod shattering/seed dehiscence, loss of seed dormancy, reduced anti-nutritional compounds and changes in growth habit, phenology, flower and seed colour. Understanding the genetic control of domestication syndrome traits facilitates the efficient transfer of useful traits from wild progenitors into crops through crossing and selection. Domesticated forms of yellow lupin (Lupinus luteus L.) possess many domestication syndrome traits, while their genetic control remains a mystery. This study aimed to reveal the genetic control of yellow lupin domestication traits. This involved phenotypic characterisation of those traits, defining the genomic regions controlling domestication traits on a linkage map and performing a comparative genomic analysis of yellow lupin with its better-understood relatives, narrow-leafed lupin (L. angustifolius L.) and white lupin (L. albus L.). We phenotyped an F9 recombinant inbred line (RIL) population of a wide cross between Wodjil (domesticated) × P28213 (wild). Vernalisation responsiveness, alkaloid content, flower and seed colour in yellow lupin were each found to be controlled by single loci on linkage groups YL-21, YL-06, YL-03 and YL-38, respectively. Aligning the genomes of yellow with narrow-leafed lupin and white lupin revealed well-conserved synteny between these sister species (76% and 71%, respectively). This genomic comparison revealed that one of the key domestication traits, vernalisation-responsive flowering, mapped to a region of conserved synteny with the vernalisation-responsive flowering time Ku locus of narrow-leafed lupin, which has previously been shown to be controlled by an FT homologue. In contrast, the loci controlling alkaloid content were each found at non-syntenic regions among the three species. This provides a first glimpse into the molecular control of flowering time in yellow lupin and demonstrates both the power and the limitation of synteny as a tool for gene discovery in lupins.

Morphological Characterization of 22 Accessions of Pigeon Pea [Cajanus cajan (L) Millsp.]

Pigeon pea (Cajanus cajan [L] Millsp.) is a multipurpose legume crop that provides food fodder and wood for small scale farmers. However, it remains one of the underutilised crops with limited research done so far for the crop diversification and improvement. In this study, the phenotypic diversity of 22 accessions of pigeon pea was evaluated. The Seeds were collected from ICRISAT Niamey, Niger. The study was carried out at the biological garden and at the central research laboratory of the University of Lagos. Viability test was done on the collected seeds before planting in a polythene pot. The phenotypic traits measured include both the quantitative and qualitative traits. Analysis of variance revealed significant differences among accessions for all quantitative traits, except the seed length, seed breadth, seed thickness and the number of germinated seeds per pot. For qualitative traits, seed colour pattern and primary seed colour were diverse, other qualitative traits measured in this study showed moderate level of variation. The results for cluster analysis for both qualitative and quantitative traits grouped the accessions into two major clusters. In all the dendrograms, accessions ISC 147, ISC 24, ISC 157 and ISC 185 were varied and showed good performance for morphological traits analysed as well. The result of the phenotypic diversity observed in this study can help in parental selection for subsequent plant breeding.