Globally, 38% of the land area is agricultural land, of which 45% are located on drylands, mainly in Africa and Asia, constituting the basis for about 60% of the world’s food production. Of all farms worldwide, 83% are smallholder farm systems, whose livelihoods depend on effective land management and allocation. While land is often cultivated by the various members of a farm household, land allocation decisions depend on the approval, the ambition and the abilities of influential household members, ...

Though studies in biological control belong to the best documented research in ecology the actual decision to release a beneficial organism is often influenced by diffuse fears of anything foreign. Yet, agriculture is largely based on exotics; others remain inconspicuous and integrate themselves without problems into the existing ecosystems; and only few actually cause damage. It is against this latter group that the introduction of adapted predators from the region of origin, so-called classical ...

The impact of Phenacoccus manihoti Matile-Ferrero on growth and tuber yield of cassava, and the results of its biological control by the exotic parasitoid Epidinocarsis lopezi (De Santis) were investigated in a survey of 60 farmers' fields in Ghana and Ivory Coast over an area of 180 000 km2 of the savana and forest ecosystems. Twenty-nine variables associated with plant growth, agronomic and environmental factors, and insect populations were recorded. Densities of P. manihoti were closely correlated ...

Global efforts are underway to develop cassava with enhanced levels of provitamin A carotenoids to sustainably meet increasing demands for food and nutrition where the crop is a major staple. Herein, we tested the effectiveness of genomic selection (GS) for rapid improvement of cassava for total carotenoids content and associated traits. We evaluated 632 clones from Uganda’s provitamin A cassava breeding pipeline and 648 West African introductions. At harvest, each clone was assessed for level of ...

Aims In low-input agricultural systems, arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) play a role in plant nutrition, protection and water use. Evaluating how agricultural practices affect the composition of AMF communities is therefore an important step towards sustainable intensification. We characterized the AMF communities in enset (Ensete ventricosum) roots in smallholder enset-based farming systems in south Ethiopia and assessed the effects of soil fertility management on those communities. Methods We ...

Bambara groundnut (Vigna subterranea) is an underexploited legume indigenous to sub-Saharan Africa with high protein content. Production constraints of Bambara groundnut include the root-knot nematodes (Meloidogyne spp.), which causes substantial losses that present an additional burden that growers need to manage. In this study we: i) assessed genetic resistance against Meloidogyne incognita in Bambara groundnut; and ii) evaluated an improved, more efficient screening method for Bambara. Fifty ...

The study evaluated the fodder potential of 42 promising drought-tolerant (DT) three-way cross maize (Zea mays L.) hybrids, 11 commercial hybrid checks, and 1 local variety check under irrigation. Agronomic and laboratory trials were conducted to determine their morphological traits and fodder potential. Hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA) to group cultivars into clusters is based on quantity, quality, and the combination of both variables. Selection of potential food-feed cultivars was based on ...

Background White Guinea yam (Dioscorea rotundata) is primarily a dioecious species with distinct male and female plants. Its breeding is constrained by sexual reproduction abnormalities, resulting in low success rates in cross-pollination. An accurate method for early detection of this plant’s sex and compatible fertile parents at the seedling stage would improve levels of cross-pollination success in breeding. We used the genome-wide association studies (GWAS) to dissect the molecular basis of ...