Effective Categorization of Tolerance to Salt Stress through Clustering Prunus Rootstocks According to Their Physiological Performances

The effects of climate change on traditional stone fruit producing areas, together with the generation of new varieties with lower chilling requirements that allow the cultivation of previously unexplored areas, are setting up a challenging scenario for the establishment of productive orchards that must be more efficient in their capacity to adapt to new edaphoclimatic conditions. In this context, the rootstock breeding programs are a key piece in the agronomic strategy to achieve this adaptation through the development of rootstocks compatible with the new varieties and capable of transferring their tolerance to stress. An effective categorization of phenotypes within the germplasm involved in a plant breeding program is of utmost importance. Through the measurement of physiological parameters in both roots and leaves, tolerance to saline stress (120 mM NaCl) was evaluated in seven Prunus rootstocks whose genetic background included representatives of the subgenera Prunus, Cerasus, and Amygdalus. To group the genotypes according to their physiological performance under salt stress, an agglomerative hierarchical clustering was applied. The genotypes were grouped into three clusters containing rootstocks very sensitive (‘Mazzard F12/1’), moderately tolerant (‘Maxma 60’, ‘Cab6P’ and ‘AGAF 0204-09’), and tolerant (‘Mariana 2624’, ‘Garnem’ and ‘Colt’) to salt stress. ‘Mariana 2624’, a plum-based rootstock, was identified as the most tolerant Prunus rootstock. The information reported is valuable both in the productive context, for the selection of the most appropriate rootstocks to establish an orchard, and in the context of plant breeding programs, when choosing parents with outstanding traits to obtain progenies tolerant to salt stress.

The first report of iron-rich population of adapted medicinal spinach (Blitum virgatum L.) compared with cultivated spinach (Spinacia oleracea L.)

Folk medicine such as herbal and natural products have been used for centuries in every culture throughout the world. The Chenopodiaceae family with more than 1500 species is dispersed worldwide. The Iranian wild spinach (Blitum virgatum L.) is an important traditional medicinal plant used for antiviral diseases such as pneumonia and other respiratory track infections. This plant is a mountainous herb and is growing upper than 3000 m. We performed a mass selection plant breeding program on wild populations of this Iranian wild spinach during 2013–2020. Based on experimental and field characteristics this plant was identified as B. virgatum, |abbaricum|, and related characteristics were prepared with reference to the International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants (UPOV). Mass selection program resulted from an adapted population named as medicinal spinach (MSP) population. To compare the mineral content of the mass-selected population with cultivated spinach (Spinacia oleracea L. |Varamin 88|), both plants were planted in pots and fields under similar conditions. In five leaves stage, plant samples were taken from both leaf and crown sections and used for experimental analysis. Atomic absorption spectroscopy was used to determine the mineral content including iron (Fe), zinc (Z), manganese (Mn), and copper (Cu). Our results showed the selected medicinal spinach population (MSP) with about 509 ppm iron was an important iron-rich population with about 3.5–4 times more than the amount of iron in cultivated spinach in the same conditions. Because iron is an important essential element for blood production, respiration process, energy metabolisms, synthesis of collagen, and some neurotransmitters are needed for proper immune function, so the supply of absorbable adequate iron is very important. The reasons such as the prevalence of the COVID-19 pandemic, which affects the amount of exchangeable oxygen in the lungs and historical local evidences of the use of this plant (MSP) for pneumonia, could open new horizons for focusing on studies related to the use of ancestral human experiences in addition to scientifically modern research.

Genetic Variability, Heritability, and Genetic Advance Estimates in Garlic (Allium sativum) from the Gamo Highlands of Southern Ethiopia

Genetic variability is the fundamental requirement for any plant breeding program to develop a superior cultivar. This study aimed to estimate the genetic variability and determine the correlation between the various quantitative characteristics of garlic accessions. The experiment was carried out in the Ezo-Otte area of the Chencha district in the Gamo highlands of southern Ethiopia and 28 garlic accessions were evaluated in a Randomized Complete Block Design with three replicates. Various morphological descriptors were measured to evaluate the variability and correlation coefficients. The analysis of variance showed a highly significant variation for all characters, which indicates greater variability in the accession. High and moderate heritability in broad sense estimates were obtained for the majority of the traits examined. Days to maturity (28.09), bulb weight (22.33), and bulb diameter (equatorial) (21.33) showed higher genetic advance. The maximum value of the genetic progress as a percentage of the mean was observed in bulb yield, clove weight, bulb diameter (equatorial), and number of leaves. In addition, bulb diameter (equatorial), clove weight, bulb weight, and plant height were observed to be highly hereditary coupled with high genetic advance as a percentage of the mean, suggesting that they can be improved by direct selection. Coefficient analysis has shown that maximum attention should be paid to bulb diameter (equatorial), the number of cloves, bulb diameter (equatorial), bulb weight, plant height, and leaf length, as these traits also correlate positively and significantly with bulb yield.

blupADC: An R package and shiny toolkit for comprehensive genetic data analysis in animal and plant breeding

SummaryGenetic analysis is a systematic and complex procedure in animal and plant breeding. With fast development of high-throughput genotyping techniques and algorithms, animal and plant breeding has entered into a genomic era. However, there is a lack of software, which can be used to process comprehensive genetic analyses, in the routine animal and plant breeding program. To make the whole genetic analysis in animal and plant breeding straightforward, we developed a powerful, robust and fast R package that includes genomic data format conversion, genomic data quality control and genotype imputation, breed composition analysis, pedigree tracing, analysis and visualization, pedigree-based and genomic-based relationship matrix construction, and genomic evaluation. In addition, to simplify the application of this package, we also developed a shiny toolkit for users.Availability and implementationblupADC is developed primarily in R with core functions written in C++. The development version is maintained at https://github.com/TXiang-lab/blupADC.Supplementary informationSupplementary data are available online

Field Phenomics: Will It Enable Crop Improvement?

Field phenomics has been identified as a promising enabling technology to assist plant breeders with the development of improved cultivars for farmers. Yet, despite much investment, there are few examples demonstrating the application of phenomics within a plant breeding program. We review recent progress in field phenomics and highlight the importance of targeting breeders’ needs, rather than perceived technology needs, through developing and enhancing partnerships between phenomics researchers and plant breeders.

Efektivitas Waktu Persilangan Tiga Genotipe Cabai (Capcicum sp) pada Persilangan Dialel

Chili is an important horticultural commodity in Indonesia. However, its production is still not optimal because there are not many superior seeds available, which causes low productivity. One solution to this problem is to improve planting material (seeds) by a plant breeding program through a hybridization process. Crossing different types of chili requires the right time to increase the chances of success. The purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of crossing three genotypes of chili (two introduced and one local). The study was carried out with a factorial randomized design. The first factor was a combination of crosses of three parents, namely Sweet Italian, Garda and Katokkon by dialel crosses. The second factor was the time of crossing, namely at 04.00, 05.00, 06.00, 07.00, 08.00. The results of the analysis showed that the combination of parents had an interaction with crossing time in increasing the dsuccess of the crosses. Each parent combination hah a specific time for crossing. If the female parent was Sweet Italian, the time of crossing early in the morning (low temperature) was more optimal, which was between 04.00-07.00. For Katokkon×Garda crosses and their reciprocals, the percentage of successful crosses increased if it was done at 06.00-08.00. None of the crosses between Garda×Sweet Italian were successful or were entirely lethal. Keywords: chili, crossing time, dialele , introduction genotype ABSTRAK Cabai merupakan komoditas hortikultura yang penting di Indonesia. Namun produksinya masih belum optimal karena belum banyak tersedia benih unggul, yang menyebabkan rendahnya produktivitas. Salah satu solusi masalah tersebut adalah dengan perbaikan bahan tanam (benih) melalui program pemuliaan tanaman dengan proses persilangan (hibridisasi). Persilangan cabai yang berbeda jenis memerlukan waktu yang tepat untuk dapat meningkatkan peluang keberhasilannya. Tujuan penelitian ini adalah untuk mengetahui efektivitas waktu persilangan tiga genotipe cabai (dua introduksi dan satu lokal). Penelitian dilaksanakan dengan rancangan acak kelompok faktorial, Faktor pertama adalah kombinasi persilangan dari tiga tetua, yaitu Sweet Italian, Garda dan Katokkon secara dialel. Faktor kedua adalah waktu persilangan, yaitu pada pukul 04.00, 05.00, 06.00, 07.00, 08.00. Hasil analisis menunjukkan bahwa kombinasi tetua memiliki interaksi dengan waktu persilangan dalam meningkatkan keberhasilan persilangan. Tiap kombinasi tetua memiliki waktu yang spesifik untuk persilangan. Jika tetua betina Sweet Italian, waktu persilangannya semakin pagi (suhu rendah) semakin optimal, yakni di antara pukul 04.00-07.00. Untuk persilangan Katokkon×Garda maupun resiproknya, persentase keberhasilan persilangan semakin meningkat jika dilakukan pada pukul 06.00-08.00. Tidak ada penyerbukan silang antara Garda×Sweet Italian yang berhasil persilangan atau seluruhnya letal. Kata kunci: cabai, dialel , genotipe introduksi, waktu persilangan

Morpho-agronomic characterization and genetic divergence in lentil genotypes

ABSTRACT Lentil production has been increasing in Brazil, due to strong national and international demand. Despite the economic importance, few cultivars are available on the Brazilian market. The aim of this study was to evaluate 48 lentil inbred lines and one commercial cultivar (Silvina), based on morpho-agronomic traits and to identify genotypes which can be used in a plant breeding program. Twenty-one morpho-agronomic descriptors (nine qualitative and twelve quantitative) were used. The descriptors showed genetic variability among the genotypes. Clustering techniques using characterization data allowed to identify genetically divergent genotypes as well as identify superior genotypes in relation to agronomic traits: FLIP2010-8L and FLIP2010-12L (similarity group I), FLIP2010-99L, FLIP2010-20L and FLIP2010-106L (group II), FLIP90-25L and 6031 (group III), FLIP2007-16L (group IV) and the commercial cultivar Silvina (group V). We concluded that these genotypes have the potential to be used in lentil breeding programs.

Progress of Rubber Breeding Program to Support Agroforestry System in Indonesia

The use of superior rubber planting materials is one of the most important components of technology to support the cultivation and sustainability of the natural rubber industry. The effect of the genetic components of planting materials to the rubber productivity can reach 60%, and the rest is the influence of agro-climatic conditions. The aim of the rubber plant breeding program is to obtain the new superior rubber clones that have a high latex yielding potential and good agronomic characters. The fluctuations of natural rubber price and climate changes also influence the direction and objectives of the rubber plant breeding program. To deal with the conditions, it is important to provide the rubber agroforestry technology by through intercropping of rubber with various other crops. The article will provide the information about progress of rubber breeding program in Indonesia and it is role in supporting agroforestry system. Several of new superior rubber clones have been released by IRRI, and some of these clones such as IRR 112 and IRR 118 had been planting with rice, corn, and other crops by through rubber agroforestry system. The system was estimated be able to maintain latex yielding potential of clones as well as farmers’ income can be improved.

Screening Rice Genotypes for Brown Spot Disease Resistance

A field experiment was conducted to screen 20 rice genotypes against brown spot disease caused by Bipolaris oryzae under natural epiphytotic field conditions at Bangaun, Dang, Nepal, from June 2018 to March 2019. The experiment was carried out in a randomized complete block design with 3 replications. Sawa Mansuli was taken as susceptible check and Sabitri as a resistant check in the experiment. Disease assessment was done by calculating disease severity and Area Under the Disease Progress Curve (AUDPC). Among the evaluated genotypes, disease severity and AUDPC varied in the field experiments. Rice genotypes showed the resistance to highly susceptible reactions based on AUDPC value which ranged from 88.51 to 260.65. Among the evalauted rice genotypes in the field experiment, the highest mean AUDPC value was recorded with Basmati (260.65) followed by Radha-13 (172.80) and the lowest was recorded with Kathe Jhinuwa (88.51). Similarly, the highest severity rate was recorded with Basmati (25.91) followed by Radha-13 (21.00) and Tilki (20.75) and the lowest was recorded with Kathe Jhinuwa (11.03) which was at par with Radha-4 (11.11) followed by Sukhadhan-1 (12.02) and Sabitri (12.06). The highest grain yield was recorded with Sarju-52 (4.32 t/ha) followed by Sabitri (4.19 t/ha). Grain yield was negatively correlated with mean AUDPC by 14.77%. Kathe Jhinuwa, Radha-4, and Sabitri can be used for higher grain yield purposes under similar field conditions and also can be utilized as the source of resistance in a plant breeding program.

Proline, Total Antioxidant Capacity, and OsP5CS Gene Activity in Radical and Plumule of Rice are Efficient Drought Tolerance Indicator Traits

The success of a plant breeding program is linked with the rapid screening of crop germplasm. In the following study, the germination stage of rice seeds has been examined for the rapid screening of drought-tolerant genotypes. The rice genotypes (10 drought tolerant, 5 moderately drought tolerant, and 5 drought susceptible) were sown in Petri dishes under control and osmotic stress of 15% PEG6000. Data were recorded after four days of sowing for the osmotic stress-induced change in imbibition rate, speed of germination, radical and plumule length, radical and plumule total fresh and dry weight, proline contents, total antioxidant capacity, and malondialdehyde level in radical and plumule of seeds. Moreover, the change in expression of OsP5CS gene was also recorded in one of each drought tolerant, moderately drought tolerant, and drought susceptible genotypes. Under osmotic stress, the level of proline, total antioxidant capacity, and the expression of OsP5CS were increased in drought-tolerant genotypes as compared to moderately drought tolerant and drought susceptible genotypes. While, the change in imbibition rate, speed of germination, radical and plumule length, and fresh and dry weight were not symmetrical in drought tolerant, moderately drought tolerant, and drought susceptible genotypes. In short, the symmetrical change in proline, total antioxidant capacity, and expression of OsP5CS gene within radical and plumule of drought tolerant, moderately drought tolerant, and drought susceptible genotypes can help rapid screening of drought-tolerant rice genotypes.