Evaluation of Diversity among North American Accessions of False Indigo (Amorpha fruticosa L.) for Forage and Biomass

False indigo (Amorpha fruticosa L.) is a perennial leguminous shrub native to North America. The species could potentially be used for livestock forage, biomass energy, reclamation of degraded environments, or as green manure. Future work with the species will depend upon knowledge of available accessions. Our objectives were to determine (1) the range of diversity among accessions, (2) the correlations among traits across locations, and (3) the distribution of variation among accessions. We studied 21 accessions grown at two locations and a subset of 15 accessions grown at a third location. We measured 47 morphological, agronomic, and phenological traits. All traits were influenced by accession in at least one location (p < 0.05). The mean dry matter (DM) biomass yield of accessions in August ranged from 53 to 1515 g plant⁻¹ and was correlated across locations. False indigo had a high second-year leaf concentration, averaging 660 g kg⁻¹ DM at one location in August. Forage quality of false indigo leaves was high, with average crude protein (CP), acid detergent fiber (ADF), and neutral detergent fiber (NDF) concentrations in July of 205, 226, and 235 g kg⁻¹, respectively. Accession means of forage quality traits were poorly correlated across locations, indicating that it would be difficult to improve forage quality through selection. Diversity among accessions was often related to geographic origin. The two southern accessions were distinct from all other accessions, indicating that accessions from distant geographic regions will likely contribute valuable diversity to a plant breeding program.     

Genetic relationship among selected heat and drought tolerant bread wheat genotypes using SSR markers,agronomic traits and grain protein content

ABSTRACT

Assessing the genetic variation and relationships present in crop germplasm is a pre-requisite for parental selection and breeding. The objective of this study was to determine the genetic relationships present among selected heat and drought tolerant wheat genotypes using simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers, agronomic traits and grain quality parameters to select desirable parents for breeding. Twenty-four agronomically selected wheat genotypes sourced from the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Centre (CIMMYT)’s heat and drought tolerance nursery and four local check varieties were genotyped using 12 selected polymorphic SSR markers. The test genotypes were phenotyped using yield and yield-component traits, and grain protein content (GPC) under non-stressed (NS) and drought-stressed (DS) conditions. Expected heterozygosity mean value of 0.58 indicated moderate genetic diversity for breeding. The studied wheat genotypes were delineated into six genetic groups using cluster analysis. Significant genotypic differences were observed for agronomic traits and GPC under NS and DS conditions. Genetically unrelated breeding parents including LM02, LM13, LM23, LM41, LM44, LM71, LM73 and LM75 were selected for population development and breeding for enhanced grain yield and protein content under heat and drought-stressed environments.     

Germplasm Sources for Improvement of Forage Quality in Lotus corniculatus L. and L. uliginosus Schkuhr (Fabaceae)

Extensive germplasm resources are present in collections of Lotus corniculatus and L. uliginosus, two forage species that are valuable in situations where other legumes are not persistent. Naturalised populations in many regions are the primary gene pool for genetic improvement of these species and interspecific hybrids are an important source of variation for agronomic and forage quality traits. Although previous research has provided evidence that selection for optimal levels of condensed tannins and herbage productivity are feasible breeding objectives, less is known about correlations of condensed tannin with other parameters of nutritive value. A germplasm collection of 38 accessions in both species from 9 geographic regions was used as a data base to determine these correlations. Forage of each accession was sampled in two successive years from a field site in south-eastern Australia and analysed for condensed tannin, in vitro digestible dry matter, nitrogen, acid detergent fibre and neutral detergent fibre. In both species condensed tannin was negatively correlated with in vitro digestible dry matter and nitrogen. This result helped to identify potentially valuable accessions with low condensed tannin (<4% of dry weight) and high in vitro digestible dry matter (>70%). One of these was an interspecific hybrid of L. uliginosus and L. corniculatus, confirming the view that interspecific hybridization would be a valuable avenue for improvement of agronomic and forage quality characters in Lotus species.     

Diversity evaluation of wheat germplasm resources in China

A great number of wheat genetic resources are distributed in China, and more than 40,000 accessions have been conserved in the National Crop Gene Bank. The diversity of these wheat genetic resources was evaluated for the following fields: distribution areas and growth environments; collection status; genetic diversity in agronomic characters, grain quality, resistance to diseases, pests and environmental stresses, and crossability. According to the results of diversity evaluation, some collections with desirable characters have been obtained.     

Relationships among different geographical groups,agro-morphology,fatty acid composition and RAPD marker diversity in Safflower (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Carthamus tinctorius</Emphasis>)

Patterns of geographical diversity, and the relationship between agro-morphological traits and fatty acid composition were assessed for 193 safflower (Carthamus tinctorius) accessions representing forty countries. Accessions were assigned to eight groups based on geographical proximity. Cluster and Principal Component analyses were performed to assess patterns of diversity among the accessions and to select the most distant accessions from each of eight groups for analysis of randomly amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) markers. There was a large amount of diversity for agro-morphological traits, fatty acid composition, and RAPD markers. Most correlations among different traits were rather low. Plant height showed a positive correlation with days to flowering (r = 0.63**). Palmitic acid was positively correlated with stearic acid and oleic acid values, and negatively correlated with linoleic acid (P < 0.01). Oleic acid and linoleic acid showed a strong negative correlation (r = −0.89**). The first three principal components together explained 59% of the variation, however, neither principal component analysis (PCA) nor marker analysis revealed a clear relationship between diversity pattern and geographical origin. Accessions from some geographical regions tended to group together, such as accessions from South Western Asia, Central Western Europe, and the Mediterranean region. The correlation between the morphological matrix and the genetic matrix based on RAPD markers was not significant (r = 0.027). Wide diversity in safflower germplasm indicates a considerable potential for improving this crop for both agronomic and quality traits.     

Pheno-morphological,agronomic and genetic diversity among natural populations of sulla (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Hedysarum coronarium</Emphasis> L.) collected in Sicily,Italy

Sulla (Hedysarum coronarium L.) is a short-lived perennial forage legume that plays a key role in cereal-based systems in semi-arid Mediterranean regions, particularly in organic production and low-input oriented agriculture. In Sicily, the species is widespread both as a wild and cultivated plant. The present study assessed the phenotypic and genetic variation among natural populations of sulla collected from different environments throughout Sicily and analysed how the patterns of phenotypic diversity varied according to the environmental parameters of each collection site. Two commercial varieties and two Sicilian agro-ecotypes were also included in the study as controls. Principal components analysis (PCA) was performed on the sites using geographic, climatic, and pedological data to assess the differences in types of collection sites. PCA was also performed on the accessions (using pheno-morphological and agronomic data) to establish the importance of different traits in explaining multivariate polymorphisms. The results showed a large degree of genetic diversity (based on ISSR markers) and variability in pheno-morphological and agronomic traits. PCA did not clearly differentiate the accessions according to their habitats of origin, but in some cases accessions from the same habitat had a tendency to group together. The agronomic attributes of several populations were more pronounced than those of the controls. The observed variability may be valuable when selecting for H. coronarium varieties suitable for various uses (e.g., hay production, grazing, soil protection).     

Effects of drought stress on some agronomic and bio-physiological traits of Trititicum aestivum,Triticale, and Tritipyrum genotypes

ABSTRACT

Drought tolerance is a complex trait that involves different biochemical and physiological mechanisms in plants. It was the objective of the present study to evaluate the agronomic and biochemical responses of triticale, tritipyrum, and wheat to drought stress. For this purpose, twenty-seven genotypes were evaluated under two levels (non-stress and drought stress) of irrigation during 2015?2017. The metabolic traits studied included relative water content (RWC), membrane stability index (MSI), chlorophyll a (Chla), chlorophyll b (Chlb), carotenoids (Car), leaf proline content (Pro), leaf soluble carbohydrates (LSC), glycine betaine (GB), malondialdehyde (MDA), hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂), seeds per spike (SS), seed weight (SW), biological yield (BY) and seed yield (SY). Drought stress increased Pro, LSC, and GB contents as well as lipid peroxidation through increasing MDA and H₂O₂ activities. However, both RWC and MSI indices as well as SS, SW, SY and BY reduced as a result of drought treatment although the least decrease of SY was observed at triticale group. During the two years of study, the tritipyrum genotypes exhibited their drought tolerance by accumulation of more LSC and GB as well as lower decrease in SW while the triticale ones responded by maintaining higher levels of RWC but producing less MDA and H₂O₂. It may, therefore, be concluded that the three species studied exploit different mechanisms to maintain tolerance against drought stress. Finally, correlation analysis indicated the positive effects of LSC on SY under both drought and normal conditions, which is obviously a promising trait in wheat, triticale, and tritipyrum that can be beneficially exploited in drought tolerance improvement programs.     

Drought-tolerant naturalized populations of Lotus tenuis for constrained environments

Abstract

A perennial forage legume species tolerant to water stress would be useful to improve pasture and animal productivity in the central zone of Chile. The growth, dry-matter (DM) production, and drought tolerance of twelve accessions of Lotus tenuis Waldst & Kit, Syn. L. glaber, naturalized in Chile were evaluated with the objective to select contrasting genotypes, tolerant and sensitive to drought, for future breeding programmes. The accessions were sown in pots of 1.3 L containing a volcanic soil (Andisol). A completely randomized design with all combinations of Lotus accessions and four water treatments [100, 70, 40, and 10% of soil water availability (SWA)] was used. The relative rate of stem elongation (RRSE), the shoots and roots DM production, the relative water content (RWC), and the specific leaf area (SLA) were measured. A drought-sensitivity index (DSI) and the interaction genotype×environment were calculated. The RRSE, the DM production, RWC, and SLA all showed a significant reduction (P<0.05) in the treatment with the higher water restriction (10% SWA). There were significant differences (P<0.05) within RRSE and DM production genotype means, but the RWC and SLA did not differ among populations. The DSI varied broadly among genotypes, from 0.49 to 1.34, and was correlated negatively with DM production under water stress (10% SWA). It was concluded that the Lotus tenuis populations showed water-stress tolerance genetic variability, with accessions Lt14 and Lt4 the most contrasting. These findings will permit us to identify chromosomal regions associated with drought-tolerant genotypes which will allow us to accelerate the development of cultivars adapted to water-restricted environments.     

Screening for pre- and post-anthesis drought responses in selected bread wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) genotypes

ABSTRACT

Wheat genotypes with pre- and post-anthesis drought tolerance offer enhanced yield gains under water-limited environments. This study determined pre- and post-anthesis drought responses of selected bread wheat genotypes in order to identify and select candidate genotypes for breeding. Fifteen genetically differentiated wheat genotypes were evaluated under non-stressed (NS), pre-anthesis drought stress (PrADS) and post-anthesis drought stress (PoADS) in glasshouse (GH) and field (FLD) environments. Data were collected on agronomic and physiological traits including number of days to heading (DTH), days to maturity (DTM), plant height (PH), number of spikelet per spike (NSPS), number of kernels per spike (NKPS), thousand kernel weight (TKW), grain yield (GY) and canopy temperature (CT). Analysis of variance revealed significant effects of genotypes, environments and their interactions for studied traits. Weak and positive correlations were recorded between GY with PH (r?=?0.47 and 0.32), NSPS (r?=?0.37 and 0.52) and TKW (r?=?0.30 and r?=?0.20) under PrADS and PoADS conditions, respectively. Genotypes SMY-006, SMY-008, SMY-016, SMY-042 and SMY-044 were identified with pre- and post-anthesis drought tolerance and high yield potential and suitable yield-component traits. These are useful genetic stocks for breeding or cultivation in water-limited environments to improve yield gains.     

Variations in morphological and agronomic traits among Jerusalem artichoke (Helianthus tuberosus L.) accessions

Jerusalem artichoke is a diversely-utilized crop. Selection for high yield, inulin content and other economically important traits are useful for improving this crop. The objectives of the present study were to evaluate genetic variability for qualitative and quantitative traits among Jerusalem artichoke accessions and to identify different groups of accessions using morphological and agronomic traits. Seventy-nine accessions were evaluated in a randomized complete block design with two replications in the late rainy season 2008, the early rainy season 2009 and the late rainy season 2009 at Khon Kaen University agronomy farm, Thailand. Morphological and agronomic characteristics were evaluated for genetic variations. High variations were found among Jerusalem artichoke accessions for qualitative and quantitative characters, and selection for these characters is possible. High variations were observed for tuber width, number of tubers/plant, biomass, fresh tuber yield and tuber size. Correlation coefficient between fresh tuber yield and tuber size was positive and significant (0.58, P ≤ 0.01). Improvement of tuber size is a means to improve yield and tuber quality. Based on morphological and agronomic characteristics, Jerusalem artichoke accessions were clustered into four distinct groups (R² = 0.88). These groups may be used as parental material to generate progenies for further improvement of this crop. This information will enable breeders to make informed decisions about possible heterotic groups for their breeding programs and germplasm conservation.     

耐盐小麦品种在干旱条件下的农艺性状分析

干旱、盐碱等逆境胁迫是影响小麦产量的主要自然灾害, 培育抗旱抗盐高产小麦品种是我国北方小麦育种的主要任务之一。本文对来自新疆的"新冬26"和来自河北沧州的"沧麦6001"、"沧麦6002"、"沧麦6003" 共4个小麦品种, 进行了苗期耐盐性初步鉴定, 了解4个耐盐小麦品种的耐盐能力差异, 并对2010-2011年2年中大田干旱条件下4个小麦品种的相关农艺性状进行了分析, 为小麦耐盐、耐旱品种改良与遗传育种提供参考信息。研究结果表明, 在100 mmol·L^-1 NaCl处理下, "新冬26"的根与苗的相对生长量高于3个沧麦品种; 在200 mmol·L^-1 NaCl处理下, "沧麦6003"根与苗的相对生长量较高; 同时经过100 mmol·L^-1 NaCl处理后, 4个品种的根苗长度比均有所降低, 但"新冬26"在200 mmol·L^-1 NaCl处理下, 较100 mmol·L^-1 NaCl处理下根苗长度比增大, 说明这个品种对高盐胁迫具有一定的耐受能力。在大田干旱条件下, 耐盐品种"新冬26"与沧麦"6001"表现耐旱高产。进一步分析干旱条件对耐盐小麦品种农艺性状的影响, 对农艺性状相关性分析表明: 单株籽粒产量与分蘖、穗粒数、小穗数、单株生物学产量呈极显著正相关, 与经济系数呈显著正相关。多元回归分析表明: 分蘖、小穗数、穗粒数、单株生物学产量4个农艺性状决定了单株产量75.9%的变异。以上试验结果说明, 在筛选耐盐耐旱小麦品种时, 应考虑选择分蘖、小穗数、穗粒数、单株生物学产量等指标比较高的品种。     

Evaluation of yield and agronomic traits and their genetic variation in 488 global collections of Brassica napus L.

It is important to evaluate yield and agronomic traits when selecting for elite lines in Brassica napus L. In this study, 488 global collections of B. napus L. were evaluated for yield and agronomic traits during two consecutive years under growing conditions in central China. A series of phenotypic data for yield and agronomic traits were obtained. Large variations in yield and agronomic traits were found among these accessions, making selection possible for these characters. Chinese accessions, in general, tended to have higher plot yield (POY), higher seed yield per plant (PY), higher thousand-seed weight (TSW), more seeds per silique (SS), and fewer siliques per plant (PS) than foreign accessions. Comparing winter, semi-winter, and spring accessions, semi-winter accessions tended to have the highest POY, highest PY, highest TSW, most SS and fewest PS. Genotypic variation for TSW accounted for 71.23 % of the total variation, and it was the highest for all 12 of the phenotypic traits. Significant correlations were observed between different traits. Principal component analysis (PCA) revealed that significant variation among the traits with the first four principal components could explain 49.8 % of the total variation. Three major groups (winter, spring and semi-winter oilseed rape accessions) could be distinguished when projecting the accessions onto the first two PCAs. The information on variations in yield and agronomic traits detected in this study provided useful parents for rapeseed breeding. Moreover, the phenotypic data on yield and agronomic traits obtained may be used in our subsequent genome-wide association studies for B. napus.     

Landraces of cowpea, <Emphasis Type="Italic">Vigna</Emphasis><Emphasis Type="Italic">unguiculata</Emphasis> (L.) Walp., as potential sources of genes for unique characters in breeding

Cowpea landraces belonging to Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp. subsp. unguiculata cv.-gr. unguiculata and cv.-gr. sesquipedalis collected from part of the Deccan Plateau and West Coast of India were evaluated to (i) identify the diverse source(s) of variation for improved characters like pods/peduncle and seed index (ii) study the response of landraces for adaptation to drought and heat stress and (iii) understand the breeding value of a landrace in the genetic improvement of a popular cowpea cultivar. Landraces were evaluated for various morphological characters, pods/peduncle, seed index and other economically important agronomic traits, rust resistance and drought and heat tolerance in different years and environments. Landraces were found as an important source of genetic variability for pods/plant, pods/peduncle, better pod filling ability (seed index), grain yield/plant as well as drought and heat tolerance and rust resistance. Hybridization between C 152 (cv.) and DWDCC 016 (landrace) resulted in release of new variation not present in the two parents. Thus the landrace, DWDCC 016, can be utilized to improve cultivated varieties by transferring to them the economically valuable traits like pods/peduncle and seed index thereby enhancing realisation of sink potential and ultimately grain yield in a sustainable way.     

Wild melon diversity in India (Punjab State)

We present here the first comprehensive genetic characterization of wild melon accessions from northern India. The genetic diversity among 43 wild melon accessions collected from the six agro-ecological regions of the Punjab State of India was assessed by measuring variation at 16 Simple Sequence Repeat (SSR) loci, morphological traits of plant habit and fruit morphological traits, two yield-associated traits, root nematode resistance and biochemical composition (ascorbic acid, carotenoids, titrable acidity). Variation among accessions was observed in plant habit and fruit traits and wild melon germplasm with high acidity and elevated carotenoid content and possessing resistance to Meloidogyne incognita was identified in the collection. A high level of genetic variability in wild melon germplasm was suggested by SSR analysis. Comparative analysis using SSRs of the genetic variability between wild melons from the north and other melons from the south and east regions of India and also reference accessions of cultivated melon from Spain, Japan, Korea, Maldives, Iraq and Israel, showed regional differentiation among Indian melon accessions and that Indian germplasm was not closely related to melon accessions from other parts of the world. A highly drought tolerant accession belonging to var. agrestis Naud. was also identified.     

Screening different crested wheatgrass (Agropyron cristatum (L.) Gaertner.) accessions for drought stress tolerance

A pot experiment was conducted in a greenhouse to evaluate the effect of drought stress on growth and turf quality of 24 accessions of crested wheatgrass (Agropyron cristatum (L.) Gaertner.) and ‘Rembrandt’ tall fescue, and to find the most drought-tolerant accession(s) of crested wheatgrass. The grasses were treated in well-watered or exposed to drought stress by withholding water for 20 days. Visual turf quality of drought-stressed plants had no significant differences with well-watered plants until day 8 of drought and 1727 P10 had the highest turf quality at day 20 of drought. Cluster analysis classified the accessions and Rembrandt into five clusters comprised of drought tolerant (I), intermediate (II, IV and V) and susceptible (III) in response to soil drying. Turf quality, green tissue, relative water content and electrolyte leakage of cluster I (1727 M, 208 M, 4056, 2854 and 1727 P1) were 1.8-, 2.0-, 1.6- and 0.6-fold of cluster III (Rembrandt) under drought stress conditions, respectively. Genetic diversity of cluster I could be used for plant breeding programmes and introduction of the drought-tolerant accessions to turfgrass breeders for drought tolerance varietal development programme.     

南瓜栽培品种的SSR分子标记分析及农艺性状多样性研究

为了研究南瓜栽培品种的遗传多样性,本研究利用43个简单序列重复(SSR)分子标记,对35份南瓜育成品种及地方品种进行了分子标记分析,并调查了农艺性状。结果表明,43个SSR标记均能扩增出多态性条带,共检测到155个等位基因,平均每个标记能检测到3.6个等位基因,多态性信息含量(PIC)为0.130 8~0.775 4,平均值为0.487 2。利用非加权组平均法(UPGMA)进行聚类分析,结果表明35份材料可分为三大类,分别与中国南瓜、印度南瓜和美洲南瓜三个种吻合,且印度南瓜与美洲南瓜之间的亲缘关系较近。农艺性状调查结果表明,不同栽培种之间以及同一栽培种内的不同品种之间,都发现有农艺性状差别明显的情况。本研究为南瓜种质资源的保护、品种指纹图谱的建立及分子育种提供了理论依据。     

Agro-morphological characterisation and selection of sorghum landraces

Sorghum [Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench] grown under rain-fed conditions is frequently affected by drought stress at different stages, resulting in reduced grain and biomass yield. The aim of this study was to characterise sorghum landraces and to select farmer-preferred medium-maturing genotypes under rainfed and irrigated conditions. Hundred and ninety-six sorghum accessions were evaluated at Kobo site of the Sirinka Agricultural Research Center in 2014/2015 in Ethiopia. Data collected from 14 traits were subjected to analysis of variance, cluster analysis, Pearson’s correlation coefficient analysis, path coefficient analysis and principal component analysis (PCA). Significant genotypic differences (p?<?0.05) were observed. Medium-maturing and drought tolerant sorghum genotypes including E-72457, E-72438, E-72435, E-206214, E-72449, E-75460 and E-75458 with superior agronomic performance were recommend for large-scale production or for further breeding. The genotypes evaluated under rain-fed and irrigated conditions were grouped into five and six clusters, respectively, representing varied different heterotic groups. Grain yield had significant and positive correlation with yield-related traits assessed under the two test conditions. Further, path coefficient analysis revealed that days to maturity under rainfed condition and harvest index under irrigated condition had the highest positive direct effects on grain yield, therefore can be targets for direct selection. Overall, there was marked genetic diversity among the tested genotypes. Suitable medium-maturing farmers-preferred accessions selected from the study will be useful for effective breeding for drought tolerance and medium-maturity.