Plant Breeding Articles
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How negative product attributes alter consumer perceptions of folate biofortified rice in a high risk region of China
Folate biofortified rice is recently developed as a future strategy to reduce folate deficiency, particularly in poor, rural high risk regions, like Shanxi Province. Although 62% of rice consumers in this Chinese region are likely to accept this GM product, biofortification could negatively change product attributes, which may hamper acceptance. The results of this ex–ante evaluation show ...
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Getting seed to smallholders needs a business approach
A locally owned, alternative model of supplying affordable seed is working for Africa’s framers, says Joe DeVries. Smallholder farmers in Africa — mostly women — wage silent battles against the elements and other forces beyond their control to feed their families, their villages, their countries. They have historically taken the lead in feeding Africa and are destined to ...
By SciDev.Net
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Investing in people and evidence for sustainable farming
Evaluation of farming systems, new ideas and learning with practitioners should be part of a transformed agriculture. Food security is difficult to pin down. It can be explained simply as access to enough food. But behind that simplicity lies an interconnected web of factors — from food prices to agricultural practices, nutrition, natural resources, technology, trade and social ...
By SciDev.Net
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New approaches are needed for another Green Revolution
Twenty-first century agriculture needs low-input advances like the System of Rice Intensification, says Norman Uphoff. According to the principle of diminishing returns, continuing to produce something in the same way, with the same inputs and technology, usually becomes less productive over time. This appears to apply to agriculture's 'Green Revolution', as yield improvement has slowed in ...
By SciDev.Net
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Contribution of action researching to institutional innovation: a case study of access and benefit sharing (ABS) mechanisms in the participatory plant breeding (PPB) in Southwest China
This article investigates the contribution of action research to systemic institutional innovation, through a case study of access and benefit sharing (ABS) mechanisms developed in the context of a participatory plant breeding programme in Southwest China. The processes of purposeful change are examined as critical events, in eight episodes. Evidence is presented in these episodes of the role of ...
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Assessing quality, content, and accessibility of web information about plant biotechnology
The ability to obtain reliable information is critical for decision makers. We examined sources of information about plant biotechnology available on the internet to identify credible, high calibre websites. Google–based searches were performed using: 'plant biotechnology', 'plant genetic engineering', 'genetically modified organisms', 'GMO', 'living modified organisms' and 'LMO'. Lists of ...
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Intellectual property and Freedom To Operate in the flax breeding world: Canada in the global context
Through one-on-one in-depth interviews of Canadian public sector flax breeders, this study explores issues around Intellectual Property (IP) and Freedom To Operate (FTP) in flax breeding from a Canadian perspective. The results are supported by a scan of flax breeding efforts worldwide, an in-depth patent analysis (using Patent Lens and the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) databases) and a ...
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How to create resilient agriculture
Durable food security and agricultural growth depend on development strategies with resilience built in from the start, says Gordon Conway. Economic growth with resilience to environmental threats will be central to the agenda of the UN Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20) in June this year, which aims to map out a pathway of sustainable development for the planet. The 'zero draft', ...
By SciDev.Net
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Stud case study
A major vegetable grower in Lantokia, Fiji, using soilless culture systems began to trial Amnite A-100. His crops consisted principally of lettuce, tomatoes, capsicums, cucumbers, zucchinis and melons. Before the trials they had been plagued with root diseases, mosaic virus and insect attack, control of which required constant use of pesticides and ultraviolet lighting. The first trials ...
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Earth out of sync rising temperatures throwing off seasonal timing
A newly hatched chick waits with hungry mouth agape for a parent to deliver its first meal. A crocus peaks up through the snow. Rivers flow swiftly as ice breaks up and snows melt. Sleepy mammals emerge from hibernation, and early frog songs penetrate the night. Spring awakening has long provided fodder for poets, artists, and almanac writers. Even for a notoriously fickle time of sunshine, ...
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Study of genotype x environment interaction for chickpea yield in Iran
Plant breeders aim to select genotypes with stable phenotypes across environments. Multienvironment trials (METs) including 3 yr and six locations for 17 genotypes of chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) were performed in Iran. Bartlett's test of homogeneity of variances was not significant and so the combined analysis was done. This analysis indicated that the environment (E), genotype (G), and the ...
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Variability for freezing tolerance among 42 ecotypes of green-type annual bluegrass
Limited information exists on the extent of genetic variability for freezing tolerance among perennial biotypes of annual bluegrass (Poa annua L.) that evolved under golf greens management. We characterized the freezing tolerance of 42 ecotypes collected across the United States and in Québec using plants hardened to low temperatures during fall and winter. We subsequently analyzed cold-induced ...
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Breeding maize for a bioeconomy: a literature survey examining harvest index and stover yield and their relationship to grain yield
The use of maize (Zea mays L.) stover as a feedstock for cellulosic biofuels production will create demand for maize hybrids with greater stover yield. It is expected that grain yield will remain the most critical trait and continue to drive hybrid sales, requiring that any increases in stover yield be made without sacrificing grain yield potential. The objective of this review was to determine ...
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Combining ability and heterosis for forage yield among elite alfalfa core collection accessions with different fall dormancy responses
Understanding genetic parameters of populations that are being considered for inclusion into plant-breeding programs provides critical knowledge to enhance economic traits of interest. The objective of this study was to determine the genetic parameters influencing forage yield for nine populations selected from the USDA National Plant Germplasm System alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) core collection ...
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Heterosis decreasing in hybrids: Yield test inbreds
Yield testing finished inbreds to replace preliminary single-cross corn (Zea mays L.) yield tests will increase rate of commercial hybrid yield gains. Studies have shown that heterosis decreased 25%/50 yr, 10%/60 yr, and 35%/100 yr. Natural selection and artificial selection by plant breeders for adaptedness have increased parental inbred and hybrid seed yields, whereas percentage heterosis ...
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Meta-analysis of QTL associated with fusarium head blight resistance in wheat
Quantitative trait loci (QTL) associated with resistance to Fusarium head blight (FHB), which is mainly caused by Fusarium graminearum Schwabe [telomorph: Gibberella zeae Schw. (Petch)], have been identified in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) from different countries. Due to the differences of genetic backgrounds and analysis methods, the linked marker and significance levels of QTL are not ...
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Consequences of ex situ conservation on the genetic integrity of germplasm held at different gene banks: a case study of bread wheat collected in Pakistan
Genetic diversity and genetic integrity were tested for wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) landraces conserved in two gene banks with considerably different germplasm management systems. We identified two sets of 17 wheat accessions derived from identical sources collected in Pakistan, which were later deposited at the National Institute of Agrobiological Sciences, Japan (NIAS) and the Plant Genetic ...
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Comparison of weighting in two-stage analysis of plant breeding trials
Series of plant breeding trials are often unbalanced and have a complex genetic structure. To reduce computing cost, it is common practice to employ a two-stage approach, where adjusted means per location are estimated and then a mixed model analysis of these adjusted means is performed. An important question is how means from the first step should be weighted in the second step. Our objective ...
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When is early generation selection effective in self-pollinated crops?
Despite widespread use of early generation testing and selection (EGT) in breeding for self-pollinated crops, its effectiveness remains largely an unresolved issue. This issue is tackled here using elaborated genetic models that enable genetic and nongenetic effects to be assessed for the effectiveness of EGT in terms of (i) the selection response at one or more early generations relative to the ...
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Ancestral landraces of common bean from the South of Europe and their agronomical value for breeding programs
Selection among breeding lines has been widely used to identify important cultivars and favorable alleles for adaptation, and resistance to abiotic and biotic stress. The objective of this work was to study the variability among common bean breeding lines selected from ancestral landraces, to evaluate the reaction of these lines to anthracnose (ANT) rust, common bacterial blight (CBB), halo ...
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