International Journal of Plant Breeding and Genetics

International Journal of Plant Breeding and Genetics ISSN 5756-2148 Vol. 4 (4), pp. 265-270, April, 2017. © International Scholars Journals

Full Length Research Paper

Resistance in Kenyan bread wheat to recent eastern African isolate of stem rust, Puccinia graminis f. sp. tritici, Ug99

P. N. Njau¹*, R. Wanyera¹, G. K. Macharia¹, J. Macharia², R. Singh³ and B. Keller⁴

¹Kenya Agricultural Research Institute (KARI) Njoro, Kenya.

²Egerton University Njoro. P. O. Box 536 Njoro, Kenya.

³CIMMYT Mexico. Apdo - Postal 6-641, 06000 Mexico, DF.

⁴Institute of Plant Biology, University of Zurich, Switzerland

*Corresponding author. E mail: [email protected]. Tel.: 073 3775229, 5161576.

Accepted 31 March, 2009

Abstract

Stem or black rust, caused by Puccinia graminis, has historically caused severe losses to wheat (Triticum aestivum) production worldwide. The causal race, commonly known as Ug99 and designated as TTKS based on the North American nomenclature, carries virulence for several genes commonly present in wheat germplasm. All Kenyan germplasm are known to be susceptible or partially susceptible to Ug99 although no proper documentation has been done. This study was aimed at evaluating the Kenyan bread wheat varieties on their response to Ug99. The varieties were screened for resistance at seedling stage and adult plant resistance stage. None of the varieties apart from Bonny were resistant at seedling stage. Some old Kenyan varieties were found to have adult plant resistance probably due to the presence of non-race specific gene Sr2 complex which among others can be exploited in breeding for resistance in Kenyan wheat.

Key words: Race specific resistance, adult plant resistance, genetic erosion.

International Journal of Plant Breeding and Genetics ISSN 5756-2148 Vol. 4 (2), pp. 256-258, February, 2017. © International Scholars Journals

Review

Intercropping and its application to banana production in East Africa: A review

George Ouma

Department of Botany and Horticulture, Maseno University, P. O. BOX 333, Maseno, Kenya. E-mail: [email protected] or [email protected]. Tel.: 254-725-512-646.

Accepted 11 January, 2009

Abstract

Bananas are very important in Kenya for domestic consumption and export. They are extensively grown where they are mainly intercropped with short term crops. There has been an increase in the grower interest in using intercropping, growing two or more crops simultaneously on the same land in the development of new cropping systems for their land. Intercropping could reduce management inputs and result in sustainable systems that more effectively use and even potentially replenish natural resources used during crop production for long term management of farmland. While intercropping has been practiced more widely in the developing countries of Central America, Asia and Africa, developed countries have not adopted it well. Some benefits of intercropping to the grower are risk minimization, effective use of available resources, efficient use of labour, increased production per unit area of land, erosion control and food security. This paper discusses the effects of intercropping on pest and disease control, physiology of the crops grown, cultural practices such as date of planting, spacing and plant density, soil fertility and time of planting among other effects and lastly banana production in East Africa in relation to intercropping and declining soil fertility in banana-based cropping systems.

Key words: Sustainable, cultural, food security, crops, efficient, cropping system, management.

International Journal of Plant Breeding and Genetics ISSN: 5756-2148 Vol. 4 (1), pp. 249-255, January, 2017. © International Scholars Journals

Full Length Research Paper

Standard heterosis of pipeline maize (zea mays l.) hybrids for grainyield and yield related traits at pawe, Northwestern Ethiopia

Ziggiju Mesenbet Birhanie*, Habtamu Zeleke Utta and Legesse Wolde Beyene

Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research Ethiopia, Haramaya University Ethiopia.

E-mail:   [email protected]

Received 25 July, 2016; Revised 29 August, 2016; Accepted 03 October, 2016 and Published 11 January, 2017

Abstract

The knowledge of gene action and heterosis also helps in identification of superior F₁ hybrids in order to use further in future breeding programs. The objective of this study was to estimate the amount of standard heterosis of the pipeline maize hybrids for grain yield and yield related traits. A total of eleven pipeline maize hybrids and two standard checks (BH546 and BH547) were evaluated using randomized complete block design with three replications during the 2015 main cropping season at Northwestern Ethiopia. Mean squares due to genotypes were highly significant (P ≤ 0.01) for most grain yield and yield related traits indicating the existence of genetic variation among the evaluated genotypes. The standard heterosis ranged from -38.72 to 33.65%and the highest heterosis was recorded for CML395/CML202//CML464 cross. The observed highest heterosis for grain yield and related traits indicated the possibility of increasing yield by exploiting heterotic potential of maize genotypes.The information generated by this study could be useful for researchers who need to develop high yielding maize hybrids.

Keywords: Grain, heterosis, hybrid, Maize. 

International Journal of Plant Breeding and Genetics ISSN: 5756-2148 Vol. 3 (7), pp. 241-248, December, 2016. © International Scholars Journals

Full Length Research Paper 

The magnitude of G x E interaction for corn yield of enset cultivars under Ethiopian conditions

Genzebe H. Goirgis¹*, Aster B. Nega², Birtukan K. Aweke³, Mesfin Eleni Dego³ and Tafari Gebre Nega³

¹Southern Agricultural Research Institute, Areka Agricultural Research Center, P.O. Box 79, Areka, Ethiopia.

²Department of Microbial, Cellular and Molecular Biology, Collage of Natural Sciences, Addis Ababa University, P.O. Box 1176, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

³Southern Agricultural Research Institute, Hawassa Agricultural Research Center, P.O. Box 06, Hawassa, Ethiopia.

Email: [email protected]

Accepted 15 October, 2016

Abstract

Enset (Ensete ventricosum (Welw.) Cheesman) is a multipurpose crop used for food, fuel, housing materials, fencing and livestock feed. The major food types obtained from enset are kocho, bulla and amicho. Kocho is fermented starch obtained from decorticated (scraped) leaf sheaths and grated corms. Bulla is obtained by squeezing out the liquid containing starch from scraped leaf sheathes and grated corm and allowing the resultant starch to concentrate into white powder. Amicho is boiled enset corm pieces that are prepared and consumed in a similar manner to other root and tuber crops. Thirty-five cultivars of Ensete ventricosum were grown in RCBD (two replications) to study the different quantitative morpho-agronomic characters contributing to the diversity analysis at Areka and Chichu during 2012 to 2013 cropping season. Data on 10 quantitative traits were collected and exposed to statistical analysis. Analysis of variance revealed that there was significant difference between the two locations in all tested phenotypic characters. The mean squares due to cultivars, locations and cultivars x locations interaction were highly significant (P ≤ 0.001) for all the quantitative traits. The highest corm yields were recorded for varieties Chohot, Ashakit, Bose and Gazner. Farmers in the two locations ranked cultivar Ashakit first and Kataniya took second place whereas the first best performing cultivars (Chohot) was among the least preferred genotypes with low score (3). Among the studied character, phenotypic and genotypic coefficient of variation was highest for corm weight (36.17 and 27.28 tha-1 y-1). High heritability was estimate for plant height (77%). The phenotypic and genotypic coefficients of correlation indicated that corm yield ha-1 y-1 was positively correlated with most of the characters. The present study indicated a considerable amount of variability for the majority of the characters of interest in Ensete for exploitation.

Key words: Corm, enset, genotype-by-environment interaction, quantitative traits.

International Journal of Plant Breeding and Genetics ISSN: 5756-2148 Vol. 3 (6), pp. 233-240, November, 2016. © International Scholars Journals

Full Length Research Paper

Introgression of Striga resistance gene into farmers’ preferred cowpea varieties in Niger

M. Salifou¹, J. B. L. S. Tignegre², P. Tongoona³, S. Offei³, K. Ofori³  and E. Danquah³

¹National Agricultural Research Institute of Niger, Maradiregionalresearch center, Niger.

²The world Vegetable Centre, West and Central Africa Samanko research station, Bamako, Mali.

³West Africa Centre for Crop Improvement, University of Ghana, Accra, Ghana.

E-mail: [email protected]

Received 11 October, 2016; Revised 11 November, 2016; Accepted 14 November, 2016 and Published 23 November, 2016                                                                                                                                                   

Abstract

Striga gesnerioides (Wild.) Vatke, a parasitic flowering plant is one of the main biotic sources of stresses that challenge cowpea production in drought-prone areas. At least seven races of S. gesnerioides with differential virulence on cowpea cultivars have been identified in West and Central Africa. This renders breeding effort very delicate. However the identification of molecular markers tightly linked to the various Striga races opened the way to the marker assisted selection for the resistance to S. gesnerioides in cowpea.The objective of this study was to introgress one Striga resistant gene (Rsg1) into susceptible and adapted cowpea genotypes. Marker assisted selection with backcross breeding was used to transfer Rsg1Striga resistant gene from the breeding line IT93K-693-2 into three farmers’ preferred varieties; IT90K-372-1-2, KVx30-309-6G and TN5-78. The microsatellite marker SSR₁ was used to tract and introgress the resistant marker were selected in BC₂F₃, BC₃F₃ and F₆ populations derived from the crosses IT90K-372-1-2 x IT93K-693-2 and TN5-78 x IT93K-693-2. Further evaluations and improvement of these genotypes will accelerate the release of varieties combining farmers’ preferred traits with stable resistance to Striga.

Key words: cowpea, farmers’ preferred varieties, introgression, Striga gesnerioides, Striga resistant gene.