Identification and validation of root length QTLs for water stress resistance in hexaploid wheat (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Titicum aestivum</Emphasis> L.)

Thorough understanding of the genetic mechanisms governing drought adaptive traits can facilitate drought resistance improvement. This study was conducted to identify chromosome regions harbouring QTLs contributing for water stress resistance in wheat. A RIL mapping population derived from a cross between W7984 (Synthetic) and Opata 85 was phenotyped for root length and root dry weight under water stress and non-stress growing conditions. ANOVA showed highly significant (p ≤ 0.01) variation among the RILs for both traits. Root length and root dry weight showed positive and significant (p ≤ 0.01) phenotypic correlation. Broad sense heritability was 86% for root length under stress and 65% for root dry weight under non-stress conditions. A total of eight root length and five root dry weight QTLs were identified under both water conditions. Root length QTLs Qrln.uwa.1BL, Qrln.uwa.2DS, Qrln.uwa.5AL and Qrln.uwa.6AL combined explained 43% of phenotypic variation under non-stress condition. Opata was the source of favourable alleles for root length QTLs under non-stress condition except for Qrln.uwa.6AL. Four stress specific root length QTLs, Qrls.uwa.1AS, Qrls.uwa.3AL, Qrls.uwa.7BL.1 and Qrls.uwa.7BL.2 jointly explained 47% of phenotypic variation. Synthetic wheat contributed favourable alleles for Qrls.uwa.1AS and Qrls.uwa.3AL. Two stable root dry weight QTLs on chromosomes 4AL and 5AL were consistently found in both water conditions. Three validation populations were developed by crossing cultivars Lang, Yitpi, and Chara with Synthetic W7984 to transfer two of the QTLs identified under stress condition. The F_2.3 and F_3.4 validation lines were phenotyped under the same level of water stress as RILs to examine the effect of these QTLs. There were 13.5 and 14.5% increases in average root length due to the inheritance of Qrls.uwa.1AS and Qrls.uwa.3AL, respectively. The result indicated that closely linked SSR markers Xbarc148 (Qrls.uwa.1AS) and Xgwm391 (Qrls.uwa.3AL) can be incorporated into MAS for water stress improvement in wheat.     

Screening oat germplasm for better adaptation to cold stress in the Southern Great Plains of the United States

Oat (Avena sativa L.) is one of the most important forage crops in the Southern Great Plains of the United States. However, it is more sensitive to cold stress than other small grains. In this study, diverse oat germplasm was evaluated for winter survival across multiple years and locations in the region. Field screening started with an observation trial of 1,861 diverse genotypes in the 2012–2013 season and was followed by four seasons of replicated trials from 2013 to 2017. Selection of good winter survivors was started in 2014–2015 season. All trials were laid out in randomized complete blocks with replications of two in 2013–2014 and 2014–2015, four in 2015–2016, and three in 2016–2017. Winter survival was scored in a 1‐to‐9 scale. Data were analysed for each year and location separately. Additive main effects and multiplicative interaction (AMMI) analysis were carried out on combined data of 35 genotypes that were commonly grown in each year and location. Highly significant (p < 0.001) variations were observed among genotypes, environments and genotype‐by‐environment interaction (GEI). The first three interaction principal components (IPCs) were highly significant (p < 0.001), explaining 96% of GEI. Broad sense heritability ranged from 46% to 93%, while heritability for all environments combined was relatively low (24.6%). At the end of the two cycles (2014/2015‐to‐2016/2017) of selection, mean winter survival was improved by more than 38% per cycle compared with the base population mean. Genotypes CIav 4390, CIav 6909 and CIav 7618 showed significantly higher winter survival than the standard checks Okay and Dallas. Genotypes CIav 4390 showed 20% and 35% improvement over the standard checks Okay and Dallas, respectively. Winter survival improvement in oat will remain a difficult task because of high GEI and low heritability. The identified superior genotypes will be used as crossing parents to transfer cold tolerance genes to other elite lines.     

Hydatidosis of slaughtered cattle in Wolaita Sodo Abattoir,southern Ethiopia

The study was carried out from July 2007 to June 2008 in Wolaita Sodo Abattoir to assess the status of hydatidosis in cattle. Routine meat inspection, hydatid cyst count and characterization were conducted. Out of 400 cattle slaughtered in Wolaita Sodo Abattoir 64 (16%) animals were found harboring hydatid cysts. Thorough meat inspection in the abattoir revealed that 74 visceral organ were found harboring one or more hydatid cysts. The infection of the lung, liver, spleen and kidney were found to be 45.94% 45.94%, 6.75% and 1.35% respectively. From the total of 283 hydatid cysts counted 153(54.06%), 17(6.00%), 5(1.76%), 108(38.16%) were found to be small, medium, large and calcified cysts respectively and 170(60.28%), 5(1.76%) and 108(38.16%) were sterile, fertile and calcified cysts respectively. The rate of cyst calcification was higher in the liver than in the lung while fertility rate was higher among the cysts of the lung. Hydatid cyst viability rate of 40% was observed.     

Production of Biscuit from Chinese Sturgeon Fish Fillet Powder (Acipeneser sinensis): A Snack Food for Children

ABSTRACT

Malnutrition in children is a current global burden. A common snack for children is biscuits prepared from cereals. However, these types of biscuits have low protein content. Therefore, producing healthier biscuits enriched with essential amino acids (EAAs) and other micronutrients is of great interest to researchers and manufacturers. In this study, biscuits produced from low gluten wheat flour fortified with sturgeon fillet powder (SFP) in various mixing ratios (100:0, 95:5, 93:7, and 90:10, respectively) were investigated. The results revealed that the nutritional and proximate composition of biscuits were significantly (P ≤ 0.05) improved: moisture (6.77 ± 0.06–7.65 ± 0.06), protein (13.23 ± 0.35–17.12 ± 0.02), fat (15.57 ± 0.18–15.85 ± 0.25), ash (0.84 ± 0.07–0.92 ± 0.06), spread ratio (14.0 ± 0.92–14.33 ± 0.21), and hardness (2,057.90 ± 28.33–3,089.02 ± 51.53). Total amino acids were 6.91, 9.34, 10.32, and 10.58; and EAAs were 2.43, 3.97, 4.48, and 4.22 g/100 g for 0%, 5%, 7%, and 10% SFP, respectively. Leucine was the major amino acid with 5% and 10% SFP, while methionine was the major amino acid with 7% SFP. Fungal counts were not observed, and quality indices were below the maximum acceptable limits in the products. Biscuits supplemented with 7% SFP showed the highest sensory evaluation score. Overall, the inclusion of 7% SFP could produce protein enriched cereal-based fortified biscuits with acceptable sensory and quality attributes and ultimately could insure effective fish utilization and solve malnutrition problems.     

Progression of chocolate spot (Botrytis fabae) and grain yield of faba bean as influenced by integration of fungicide rate and host resistance in Southern Ethiopia

Journal of Crop Science and Biotechnology - Chocolate spot is economically the most important and destructive disease of faba bean. Field studies were conducted to develop and determine an...     

Growth of juvenile tilapia, Oreochromis niloticus L. from Lakes Zwai, Langeno and Chamo (Ethiopian rift valley) based on otolith microincrement analysis

Abstract – Age and growth of juvenile tilapia, Oreochromis niloticus , from Lakes Zwai, Langeno and Chamo (Ethiopia) were studied from microincrements in otoliths. Growth in length was best described by the Gompertz model. Average growth rate of the fish was most rapid in Lake Chamo (0.39 mm  ·  day⁻¹, 1.14%  ·  day⁻¹), intermediate in Lake Zwai (0.20 mm  ·  day⁻¹, 0.72%  ·  day⁻¹) and slowest in Lake Langeno (0.16 mm  ·  day⁻¹, 0.62%  ·  day⁻¹). Similarly, back-calculation from otolith increment widths gave growth rates of 0.28 to 0.43 mm  ·  day⁻¹, 0.15 to 0.32 mm  ·  day⁻¹ and 0.11 to 0.28 mm  ·  day⁻¹ for Chamo, Zwai and Langeno fish, respectively. In addition, Fulton's condition factor was largest for Chamo tilapia and smallest for Langeno tilapia; the difference between fish from Langeno and Zwai was small. Rapid growth of juvenile O. niloticus in Lake Chamo was attributed to warm temperature and better food quality. ^Note     

Distribution and association of faba bean gall (Olpidium viciae) disease with agro-ecological factors in northwestern Ethiopia

Journal of Plant Diseases and Protection - Faba bean (Vicia faba L.) is an important food legume crop used for various dishes due to its high protein and essential nutrients content. In recent...     

Influence of phosphorus application on yield,yield components,and quality of linseed

Abstract

Soil fertility depletion coupled with improper fertilization is one of the major constraints limiting linseed production in Ethiopia. Experiment was conducted in 2014/2015 on Nitisol in southeastern Ethiopian highlands to study the effect of phosphorus (P) fertilizer rate on yield, yield components, and oil content of linseed. It comprised of six levels of P fertilizer (0, 5, 10, 15, 20, and 25?kg?P?ha^?1) arranged in randomized complete block design with three replications. Results revealed that P fertilization brought significant effect on biomass yield, harvest index, plant height, number of capsules per plant, and kernel size. However, it didn’t significantly increase seed yield and oil content on linseed. Considering its influence on increasing biomass yield and improving yield components, application of 5?kg?P?ha^?1 has been recommended for replenishing the extracted P, maintaining soil fertility and improving linseed production on Nitisols of southeastern Ethiopian highlands and other similar agro-ecologies.     

Farmers' highland maize (Zea mays L.) selection criteria: Implication for maize breeding for the Hararghe highlands of eastern Ethiopia

Despite the presence of large numbers of improved maize cultivars, farmers in the Hararghe highlands of eastern Ethiopia persistently grow local cultivars and are not benefiting from the varietal improvement program. By growing local cultivars farmers obtain an average yield of 1.2 t ^-1 whereas research has released cultivars yielding 5–11 t ^-1under on-station conditions. Recognizing this and the important role maize is playing in the livelihood system of farmers in eastern Ethiopia; Participatory Varietal Selection (PVS) was conducted for three consecutive seasons (1996–1998) in three locations. The objectives of the study were to identify farmers' cultivar selection criteria for future breeding, to enable farmers to assess the performance of improved cultivars under their management, to increase farmers' access to the cultivars of their preference by injecting source seed into the local seed system, and to investigate whether breeding for wide adaptation like for the Hararghe highlands has any drawbacks or not. The study indicated farmers' maize varietal selection criteria together with the differences in selection criteria across locations classified under the same adaptation zone. Though farmers selected some of the many improved cultivars tested, no improved cultivar had all the characteristics, which farmers want in a single cultivar. To be able to combine cultivar selection traits farmers considered cultivar combinations in all locations, but not the single `best' cultivar. Despite the yield advantage of hybrids, farmers selected Open Pollinated Varieties (OPVs) because they had more preferred traits. Farmers also preferred to retain their local cultivars despite their lower yield compared to most of the improved cultivars. Both situations confirmed how resource poor farmers' cultivar requirements are much more diverse than yield per se. Gender and social group-driven difference in cultivar preference was also observed. The study revealed the need for proper zoning of the Hararghe highlands as a prerequisite to developing better adapted maize cultivars to the varied agro ecological and socioeconomic niches. As shown in this study, proper zoning, due consideration to farmers' relevant selection traits and wider use of participatory approaches should be adapted to develop cultivars which can gain farmers acceptance. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Risk assessments of lumpy skin diseases in Borena bull market chain and its implication for livelihoods and international trade

Risks of introduction of lumpy skin disease (LSD) through traded Borena bulls to market chain and its consequences were assessed. The assessment used the framework that has been recommended by the World Animal Health Organization (OIE) for risk analysis. Likelihoods for release and exposure were estimated by a qualitative scale ranging from negligible to very high, whereas the consequences which resulted from disease occurrences were assessed quantitatively. The likelihood of the introduction of LSD to the market chain through traded Borena bulls is found to be high (medium uncertainty), whereas the probability of exposure is very high (medium uncertainty). From the total of 11,189 bulls observed during outbreak investigation of LSD in six sites of feedlot operation in and around Adama, 681(6.1 %) and 204 (1.8 %) bulls were found to be affected and dead with LSD, respectively. The total economic loss due to LSD was estimated to be 667,785.6 USD. The risk estimates for LSD are greater than negligible; therefore, disease prevention and control strategy along the chain should be carefully considered by the Ethiopian veterinary services.