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In Rwanda, sweetpotato (Ipomoea batatas [L.] Lam) is a highly valued crop in a crop-livestock mixed farming system. The objective of this study was to assess the role of sweetpotato in the crop-livestock farming system, to identify farmer-preferred traits, and to establish farmer-led priorities in breeding dual-purpose varieties (DPVs) in Rwanda. A participatory rural appraisal (PRA) study was conducted in three selected districts of Rwanda, namely, Bugesera, Huye, and Nyagatare. Data on the uses of sweetpotato and farmers’ trait preferences in sweetpotato varieties were collected and analysed. In Huye District, a high percent (56.7%) of respondents consumed sweetpotato every day, followed by Nyagatare with 53.3% consuming it at least twice a week. Most farmers (52.2%) used sweetpotato vines for livestock feed, depending on their availability. All respondents wanted to grow new sweetpotato varieties with improved root production combined with high aboveground biomass. About 87.7, 66.6, 56.6, and 51.1% of the respondents indicated that root-related traits of the crop such as high dry matter content (DMC), red skin colour, marketable root size, and yellow flesh colour were additional preferred traits, respectively. Therefore, farmers-preferred DPVs with improved root and green fodder yields could be developed to enhance the sustainable production and adoption of sweetpotato in a mixed farming system in Rwanda.

Groundnut (Arachis hypogaea L.) is one of the most important oils, food, confectionery, and feed crops due to its high oil quality and richness in all classes of nutrients. Coheritability helps in determining the pattern of coinheritance of two or more traits. This study was aimed at determining the coheritability of oil and yield traits to provide means of conducting improvement of oil traits through breeding for yield traits. The coheritabilities of the traits were estimated by a pooled analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) for agromorphological and oil traits. The result indicated that all oil traits have shown medium to high coheritability with oil content, oil quality, and seed yield. The coheritability and genetic advance of the three agronomically important traits in oil crops including oil content, oleic to linoleic acid (O/L) ratio, and seed yield (SY) is greater than oil content, linoleic acid, and SY can be further evidence showing that both oil content and oil quality traits can be improved with seed yield, indicating that there is the possibility of making a selection for genotypes with high oil content, oil yield, and oil quality with high seed yield traits.

Information on the nutrient contents of newly developed orange-fleshed sweetpotato (OFSP) varieties is required for recommendations to growers and the food industry. Therefore, the objectives of this study were to determine the nutritional value of newly developed OFSP clones and to establish the associations between β-carotene content and micro-nutrients for targeted large scale production to alleviate nutrient deficiencies. Seventeen OFSP and eight white/cream-fleshed sweetpotato clones were evaluated across six diverse environments (Halaba, Kokate, Areka, Arbaminch, Hawassa and Dilla) in southern Ethiopia in 2014 using a 5 × 5 simple lattice design. Nutritional traits data were collected on dry-weight basis and subjected to analysis of variance and correlation analyses. Environment, genotype, and genotype × environment interaction effects were highly significant (p

Knowledge on farmers’ perspectives is of paramount importance in order to design appropriate agricultural research and development interventions attuned to local farming systems. A participatory rural appraisal was conducted in order to understand perceived causes and indicators of soil acidity under multiple land-uses in three Districts of northwest Ethiopia. Soil samples were also collected from five dominant land-uses. The samples were analysed for soil pH, exchangeable acidity and other physico-chemical properties. The result indicated that the pH(H2O) of most of the soils in the study sites were in a strongly acidic range (4.6–5.5). Gashena Akayita of the Banja District was the most acidic of all. Among the land-uses, eucalyptus fields were the most acidic followed by crop outfields and grazing lands in that order. At all the study sites, exchangeable Al was detected in soils having a pH of less than 5.0. Overall, the nutrient dynamics showed variation across land-uses and study sites. Farmers’ perceived causes of soil acidity included: soil erosion; contending use of fertility replenishing local resources; abandoning traditional fertility management practices and minimal use of external inputs. The farmers attributed the exclusive use of acid-forming inorganic fertilizers to exhaustion of the soil. Various land and soil characteristics, plant growth attributes, changes in genetic diversity were mentioned as indicators of soil acidity. Particularly, the farmers used prevalence of acidophilic weed species on crop fields and grazing lands as marker of strongly acidic soil. Farmers’ perceived causes and indicators were in agreement with scientific facts and can be utilized as input in designing sustainable acid soil management strategies. Decline in genetic diversity of the once widespread crop species and land races, and expansion of newly introduced soil acidity tolerant species, suggests the need to undertake rescue collections in these areas.

About 15,000 M2 seeds of ethyl-methane-sulphonate (EMS)-mutagenized population were screened along with Al-tolerant and sensitive checks and the M0 variety. Strongly acidic soil with an external application of a toxic Al-solution and exposure to moisture stress was used to maximize selection pressure. Twenty-one M2 plants with root lengths of greater than the mean of the tolerant check were selected and planted for seed production. Candidate M3 plants were investigated for Al-tolerance and for morpho-agronomic traits under greenhouse and field conditions, respectively. Highly significant differences were observed for Al-tolerance between the candidate mutant lines and the M0 (P

ABSTRACT African horned melon (Cucumis metuliferus E. Meyer ex Naudin, 2n = 2x = 24) is an under‐researched and under‐utilised cucurbit crop primarily grown for its nutritious fruit. In its centre of diversity, the crop is valued for its relatively high tolerance to insect pests, diseases, drought and heat stress. It is a potential opportunity crop and a valuable source of genes to major Cucumis species, including cucumber (Cucumis sativas L.) and melon (C. melo L.). Its climate resilience and nutrient‐rich fruit provide niche market opportunities. Hence, production and value‐adding will make African horned melon a crop of choice globally. There is a need for an in‐depth investigation into the genetic diversity, breeding and food composition of the crop. Therefore, the objective of this review was to provide perspectives on the production and breeding status of African horned melon to appraise its genetic value for human welfare, strategic production, genetic conservation and breeding of market‐preferred varieties, including closely related Cucumis species. The first section described the botany, production status, germplasm resources and characterisation based on phenotypic and genetic markers. This is followed by breeding progress for biotic and abiotic stress tolerance, utilities and challenges of gene transfer and potential rootstock to Cucumis species, especially cucumber and melon. The review summarised the main breeding goals and approaches, including mutation breeding to fast‐track the development of new varieties. Information presented in the review will guide cultivar design in African horned melon or related cucurbits, aiming for superior agronomic and nutritional quality traits and tolerance to biotic and abiotic stresses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Integrating grain yield, component traits and metabolite profiles aids in selecting drought‐adapted and climate‐smart crop varieties preferred by end users. Understanding the trends and magnitude of grain‐based metabolites is vital for selecting wheat genotypes with higher grain yield, drought tolerance, water use efficiency and product profiles. The aim of this study was to determine the response of newly developed wheat genotypes for grain yield and component traits and metabolites under drought stress to guide selection. One hundred wheat genotypes were preliminarily evaluated for agro‐morphological traits and water use efficiency under drought‐stressed and non‐stressed conditions during the 2022 and 2023 growing seasons using a 5 × 20 alpha lattice design with two replications. Ten high‐yielding genotypes were selected based on grain yield and were validated for agronomic traits and water use efficiency (WUE), and grain samples were assayed to profile their key metabolites under drought‐stressed conditions. Significant differences existed (p < 0.05) among the tested wheat genotypes for yield and yield components, WUE, drought tolerance and major metabolites to discern trait associations. The grain yield of the 10 genotypes ranged from 590.00 g m−2 (genotype LM70 × BW140) to 800.00 g m−2 (BW141 × LM71) under drought‐stressed treatment, whilst under non‐stressed it ranged from 760.06 g m −2 (LM70 × BW140) to 908.33 g m−2 (LM71 × BW162). Grain yield‐based water use efficiency of the assessed genotypes was higher under non‐stressed (0.18 g mm−1) than drought‐stressed (0.17 g mm−1) conditions. The highest drought tolerance index (211.67) and stress susceptibility index (0.77) were recorded for BW162 × LM71, whilst the lowest tolerance index (23.33) and stress susceptibility index (0.09) were recorded in BW141 × LM71. Grain metabolites, including the apigenin‐8‐C‐glucoside (log2Fold = 3.00) and malate (log2Fold = 3.60) were present in higher proportions in the high‐yielding genotypes (BW141 × LM71 and LM71 × BW162) under drought‐stressed conditions, whilst fructose (log2Fold = −0.50) and cellulose (log2Fold = −3.90) showed marked decline in the two genotypes. Based on phenotypic and metabolite profile analyses, genotypes BW141 × LM71 and LM71 × BW162 were selected for being drought‐tolerant, water‐use efficient and recommended for production or breeding. The findings revealed associations between yield components, water use efficiency and grain metabolites to guide the selection of best‐performing and drought‐tolerant wheat varieties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]