RAPD data do not support a second centre of barley domestication in Morocco

A RAPD analysis was conducted to clearify the mode of evolution of barley in the western Mediterranean basin. Twenty-nine barley accessions (Hordeum vulgare) and 13 populations of the wild progenitor (H. v. subsp. spontaneum) together with two outgroup species were analysed with seven RAPD primers, resulting in 101 polymorphic amplified fragments. Phenetic and cladistic analyses of the RAPD data resulted in trees indicating a monophyletic origin of cultivated barley, thus making a secondary domestication in Morocco unlikely. In Morocco spontaneous back mutation to wild type and crossing between wild barley (introduced from the E Mediterranean) and cultivated lines occurred, which gave rise to the local weedy forms of barley.     

Savadkouh (Iran) – an Evolutionary Centre for Fruit Trees and Shrubs

Fieldwork was carried out in the north of Iran in April/May 2004. Four zones according to altitude including 20 villages and especially surrounding forests were visited. Data on uses and ethnobotany was collected through interviews that were one-on-one with respondents carefully selected to represent both male and female. Additionally a general survey of the area including other places of Savadkouh has been performed. The fruit trees and shrubs include Berberis sp., Crataegus sp., Cydonia oblonga, Diospyros lotus, Ficus carica, Malus orientalis, Mespilus germanica, Prunus cerasifera ssp. macrocarpa, Prunus spinosa, Punica granatum, and Rubus sp. Most of these are gathered from the wild, or occasionally cultivated in homegardens. The results of this study show that all of these species are used as sources of local foods and medicines. The area should be considered as an important evolutionary centre for fruit trees and shrubs and should be taken into serious consideration for discussions about fruit tree and shrub evolution. Germplasm collection activities, in situ conservation programs and interdisciplinary analysis of socioeconomic aspects of rural communications will be necessary in future studies.     

荷叶离褶伞分离驯化研究

试验表明,PDA培养基和金露梅葡萄糖琼脂培养基适宜对荷叶离褶伞进行组织分离和孢子分离;孢子分离获得的菌种之生长速度显著快于组织分离获得的菌种;在10～25℃的温度范围内两种分离方法都可获得成功,最适温度25℃;适宜原种与栽培种生长的配方为小麦89%、麦麸10%、葡萄糖0.5%、过磷酸钙0.5%;用棉籽壳75%、高粱12%、麦麸12%、白糖0.5%、过磷酸钙0.5%这一配方进行瓶栽,生物学效率为47.5%,显著高于其他配方和袋栽.     

假色槭驯化苗木物候特征观察

对假色槭驯化苗进行生物学物候观测发现:(1)假色槭驯化苗木随着龄级的增长,树皮由光滑趋于粗糙,颜色由绿转红最后趋于深灰,皮孔从有趋于消失.(2)假色槭观赏期约20天左右,最佳观赏时间在9月下旬至10月初.(3)假色槭驯化苗的树形分化明显,灌木状株型占明显优势.(4)灌木状植株的萌生条生长迅速,当年生长量达80cm以上;有明显主干植株的生长量小,仅在30cm左右.     

黑皮油松引种试验初报

20世纪80年代初,黑皮油松由哈尔滨引入伊春,经过20多年的栽培、驯化,获得成功并繁育了子代。文中介绍了黑皮油松引种、育苗、造林、子代培育等试验情况。     

Do Farm Characteristics Explain Differences in Tree Species Diversity among Western Kenyan Farms?

With the objective of planning diversification of on-farm tree species composition, a survey was conducted in western Kenya involving a complete tree census (trees were defined as all woody or ligneous plants, including shrubs and lianas) and collection of ethnobotanical information on 201 farms. Differences between farms in diversity of the 12 most frequent use-groups were analysed by species richness, Shannon, Simpson and Berger-Parker diversity indices, and Shannon evenness and equitability. A large range of values was detected among farms and use-groups. Multiple linear regression of diversity statistics on household characteristics indicated significant relationships. However, these relationships generally explained low percentages of variation (ranging 2-44%). The connection between household characteristics and use-group diversity allows targeting specific household types with lower diversity. Farm size had a positive relationship with diversity of most use-groups. However, accumulation curves revealed that the same area carried a larger abundance and diversity when it was composed of a greater number of smaller farms. If the pattern of further subdivision of farmland in the survey area continues and the same differences between smaller and larger farms prevail, then larger diversity per unit area can be expected. Because smaller farms contain smaller diversity, however, diversification with the aim of enhancing or stabilising productivity of individual farms may become an important priority in the survey area. The results presented allow for the identification of individual farms, use-groups, and household types for which diversification is more relevant, and at the same time allow for impact monitoring.     

Diversity and Traditional Knowledge Concerning Wild Food Species in a Locally Managed Forest in Nepal

This study documents wild food species in a locally managed forest by the inhabitants of nine villages in the Dolakha district, Nepal. It presents data on their diversity, and traditional knowledge on plant use, propagation and local domestication collected through household and key informant interviews, forest transects inventories and herbaria verifications. Sixty-two wild food plants belonging to 36 families were recorded; most of them (80%) have multiple uses. Many of the food plants are herbaceous (24 species) and produce fruits for consumption (46%). Most of the food plants are consumed by the local communities as snacks, and are supplementary and nutritionally important especially prior to the harvest of staple foods. Elder women (>35 years) are the most knowledgeable group, being able to describe the use of 65% of all edibles as compared to only 23% described by young men (<35 years). Many villagers also possess knowledge on the modes of propagation for the food plants that may be used in the process of domestication. The local communities expressed a strong desire for the establishment of community enterprises based on the wild food resources for long-term income generation sources. To accomplish this, development of collective co-operative strategies based on assessments of the biology, size of harvestable population, sustainable harvesting techniques, and marketing value and demand of promising species would be required. Moreover domestication potential based on species identified in this paper and other species that local communities have knowledge on ought to be encouraged through incentive and policy interventions.     

Planning tree species diversification in Kenya based on differences in tree species composition between farms. II. Analysis of tree niches.

Concerns exist about the limited diversity of tree species in agricultural landscapes. Complete tree inventories were carried out on 201 farms from four villages in western Kenya to establish whether significant differences in tree species composition existed between farms, and if so their magnitude and implications for new introductions and plantings. Novel types of ordination using the Hellinger ecological distance and polynomial Redundancy Analysis indicated wide heterogeneity between farms with respect to tree species composition of five niches, including homestead, cropland, fallow, woodlot, and external boundary (p ≤ 0.05). Multiple regression analysis confirmed the ordination results using the abundance of dominant species as the response variable. The relationship between location and species composition differed with those of two previous surveys. Methodological differences in sampling intensity, locations and time of sampling between these surveys could have caused the difference. The maps of spatial distribution of compositional types provided in the previous surveys were not confirmed, whereas villages were found to contain several farms with a species composition that was not typical of their village. Meaningful results about the species composition of a landscape should include several farms per village and use a sampling grid finer than 5×5 km².     

Domestication potential of Marula (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Sclerocarya birrea</Emphasis> subsp. <Emphasis Type="Italic">caffra</Emphasis>) in South Africa and Namibia: 3. Multiple trait selection

An understanding of the inter-relationships between the traits characterising tree-to-tree variation in fruits and kernels is fundamental to the development of selected cultivars based on multiple trait selection. Using data from previously characterised marula (Sclerocarya birrea) trees in Bushbuckridge, South Africa and North Central Region of Namibia, this study examines the relationships between the different traits (fruit pulp, flesh/juice mass, and nut shell and kernel mass) as a means to determine the opportunities to develop cultivars. Strong and highly significant relationships were found between fruit mass and pulp mass in trees from South Africa and Namibia, indicating that size is a good predictor of fruit pulp production. However, fruit size is not a good predictor of nut or kernel production, as there were weak relationships between fruit and nut and/or kernel mass, which varied between sites and landuses. Generally, the relationships between fruit mass and kernel mass were weaker than between fruit mass and nut mass. Relationships between kernel mass and shell mass were generally weak. The lack of strong relationships between fruit and kernel mass does, however, imply that there are opportunities to identify trees with either big fruits/small nuts for pulp production, or trees with large kernels in relatively small fruits for kernel oil production. However, within fruits from the same tree, nuts could contain 0–4 kernels, indicating that even in trees with an inherent propensity for large kernels, improved pollination may be required to maximise kernel mass through an increase in kernel number. Finally, the relationships between percentage kernel oil content and the measured morphological traits were also very weak. The conclusions of these results are that there is merit in identifying different combinations of traits for the selection of trees producing either pulp or kernels. Consequently, fruit and kernel ‘ideotypes’ are presented as guides to the selection of elite trees for cultivar development. These results have important implications for the domestication of the species as a producer of fruits or kernels for food/beverages or cosmetic oils.     

不同种植模式对野生蕨菜生理生化的影响

为研究适于野生蕨菜生长的驯化种植模式,采用塑料大棚、小拱棚、露地3种种植模式,研究了蕨菜不同生长时期各项生理生化指标的变化规律。结果表明：塑料大棚模式不同生长期叶绿素含量、根系活力及SOD、POD、CAT活性均较高,MDA含量相对较低而且变化稳定,NR活性在蕨菜生长前期高于其它种植模式,更有利于野生蕨菜的驯化栽培。小棚种植也较利于蕨菜栽培,但没有塑料大棚效果明显。