Mitigating the challenges of transboundary viral disease in Sub Saharan Africa – Maize Lethal Necrosis (MLN): A global model to stop transboundary plant disease threats and secure Africa’s maize future

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Unlocking the potential of dryland underutilised crops through market linkages approaches

Zambia’s dryland underutilized crops, including sorghum, millets, cowpeas, groundnuts, and pigeon peas, present a transformative opportunity to enhance food security, climate resilience, and economic growth in the country’s semi-arid regions. These drought-tolerant, nutrient-rich crops are well-adapted to thrive in marginal environments where staple crops like maize struggle, yet they remain undervalued due to policy gaps, limited market access, and low awareness of their benefits. The Business-to-Business (B2B) Forum on dryland crops, held in Zambia, Lusaka on 22nd October 2025, brought together stakeholders from research institutions, government, the private sector, and farmer organizations to discuss these challenges and catalyse investment and partnerships. Drylands crops discussed in this forum are known to be inherently resilient to water scarcity, making them ideal for climate change adaptation in regions with erratic rainfall. They are also nutrient dense (protein, vitamins (A and C), minerals (iron, calcium), dietary fibre) offering a solution to malnutrition and dietary diversity. Economically, scaling up their cultivation and use could boost rural incomes, create jobs across value chains (from production to processing), and spur industrial growth. Despite these benefits, the crops face significant hurdles: low adoption of improved varieties, fragmented value chains, inadequate storage and processing infrastructure, and policy biases. To unlock the potential of these crops, the forum recommended six priority actions: (1) Strengthen Research & Development by investing in breeding, agronomic research, and value chain analysis to develop region-specific varieties; (2) Enhance Policy Support through national strategies, subsidies, and inclusion in food programs; (3) Boost Market Linkages by facilitating partnerships between farmers, processors, and buyers, and improving infrastructure; (4) Build Capacity by training farmers on climate-smart practices and business skills; (5) Raise Awareness through campaigns to promote their nutritional and environmental benefits; and (6) Mobilize Investment via public-private partnerships and donor funding. Immediate next steps include developing policy briefs to integrate these crops into Zambia’s agricultural strategies, organizing follow-up stakeholder meetings to create action plans, piloting community processing hubs, distributing improved seeds, and establishing a multi-stakeholder platform to track progress. By scaling up these “forgotten crops,” Zambia can achieve food security, improve livelihoods, and build a climate-resilient agricultural system. The forum emphasized that coordinated efforts can transform these underutilized crops into drivers of sustainable development, ensuring a more prosperous and resilient future for Zambian communities.33 page

Tied ridges compensate for crop residue removal in conservation agriculture

Soil cover with crop residues can increase soil health and water availability, leading to improved production under dryland conditions, but crop residues can be in high demand as animal fodder. In a 21-year-long experiment in central Mexico, we compared the yield and profitability of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) and maize (Zea mays L.) on conventional tilled beds to permanent beds with varying residue levels and evaluated whether tied ridges could offset the negative effects of residue removal. The maize and wheat grain yields from permanent beds with full residue retention were 2.1 Mg ha−1 (30%) and 0.5 Mg ha−1 (13%) greater, respectively, than the yields from conventional tilled beds. Permanent beds with full residue retention increased yields by over 10% compared to beds with partial retention, while partial residue retention with tied ridges achieved similar yields to full retention. Adding tied ridges to permanent beds without residues increased yields by 20%. Yield stability did not differ among treatments. Permanent beds with full residue retention generated six times higher net income compared with beds with conventional tillage, while the treatment that involved removing all residues and adding tied ridges doubled the profit generated by the treatment using full residue retention. Overall, permanent beds with partial residue retention improve yields, and tied ridges could mitigate some of the adverse effects of partial residue removal, making partial retention with tied ridges a more profitable system, contingent on the residue market

Exploring arabinoxylans in durum wheat: Contrasting genotypes and environments across different crop seasons

Wheat is a major source of dietary fibers (DF), with arabinoxylans (AX) being the primary component found in cell walls. Apart from structural functions, AX also influence the technological and nutritional properties of wheat-based foods. Nevertheless, it is still unclear how changes in the wheat growing environment could impact AX composition and concentration. The objective of this research is to enhance our understanding of wheat AX variability as determined by abiotic stress, and to better understand the impact that the genotype, the environment, and their interaction have on this component’s variation. A set 6 durum wheat (DW) samples with contrasting quality characteristics were grown across 3 cropping seasons (2014-2015, 2015-16 and 2016-17) in Ciudad Obregón, Sonora, under 7 environments: 3 environments with no heat or drought stress but different plot size and growing conditions (flat vs bed); intermediate and severe drought; and early or late heat. Total (TOT-AX) and water-souble AX (WE-AX) fractions were measured in duplicate. ANOVA showed significant genotype × environment interactions across all conditions. Intermediate drought was the most stable environment for both fiber fractions. PCA indicated Mexicali had the lowest, and Cirno the highest, variability across environments. Based on these preliminary results it is clear that both the growing cycle, the genotype and their interaction, play a role in the quantity and quality variation of the AX. Further work on the same wheat samples grown under drought and heat stress will help reveal the effect that these stresses have on the biosynthesis of AX.2 pag

Integration of physiological and remote sensing traits for improved genomic prediction of wheat yield

Genomic selection is an extension of marker-assisted selection by leveraging thousands of molecular markers distributed across the genome to capture the maximum possible proportion of the genetic variance underlying complex traits. In this study, genomic prediction models were developed by integrating phenological, physiological, and high-throughput phenotyping traits to predict grain yield in bread wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) under three environmental conditions: irrigation, drought stress, and terminal heat stress. Model performance was evaluated using both five-fold cross-validation and leave-one-environment-out (LOEO) schemes. Under five-fold cross-validation, the model incorporating vegetation indices derived from spectral datasets from the grain-filling phase achieved the highest accuracy. In LOEO validation, the model that included days to heading performed best under irrigation, whereas under drought stress, the model utilizing vegetation indices from the vegetative stage showed the highest accuracy. Under terminal heat stress, three models performed best: one incorporating genotype by environment interaction, one using vegetation indices during the vegetative stage, and one integrating spectral reflectance data from both the vegetative and grain-filling phases. Although incorporating multiple covariates can improve prediction accuracy or reduce the normalized root mean square error, using an extended model with all available covariates is not recommended due to the marginal predictive accuracy gains, increases in phenotyping, costs and complexity of data collection analysis. Overall, our findings show the importance of tailored phenomic inputs to specific environmental contexts to optimize genomic prediction of wheat yield

Harnessing novel genetic markers for scald resistance from gene bank spring barley genotypes

Background: Scald caused by Rhynchosporium graminicola is a common foliar disease affecting barley production worldwide. Identifying and utilizing scald resistance genes and quantitative trait loci (QTL) to develop barley cultivars with durable and effective resistance to scald is crucial. Results: In the present study, we evaluated 275 spring barley genotypes together with 4 commercial check cultivars under controlled conditions and examined the underlying genetics of scald resistance in these genotypes. A significant genetic variation (P value < 0.0001) for scald resistance was observed among the tested barley germplasms. A genome-wide association study (GWAS) identified eight markers-trait associations (MTAs) forming seven QTL located on chromosomes 3H, 6H, and 7H, of which three are novel. The allelic effects of these MTAs were further examined, and favorable alleles associated with scald resistance were identified. Conclusions: The identification of QTL for scald resistance, along with favorable allele identification, will be crucial for marker-assisted breeding programs. These findings will facilitate the development of new scald-resistant cultivars and contribute to the sustainability of barley production. Further studies, such as fine-mapping of candidate genes within these identified QTL regions, will help to narrow down the potential causative genetic variants and understand their functional effects on scald resistance

Réseau Africain pour l’Amélioration des Cultures des Zones Sèches

Le Réseau Africain pour l’Amélioration des Cultures des Zones Sèches (ADCIN), établi en août 2023, est un reseau collaboratif mis en place la suite d’une réunion de consultation tenue au Sénégal en février 2022 et d’une reunion des membres du réseau organisée au Ghana en janvier 2023. Il regroupe plus de 17 pays et plus de 200 chercheurs issus de diverses disciplines et organisations agricoles. Notre vision est de créer un réseau dynamique et durable pour l’amélioration des cultures des zones sèches en Afrique, en tirant parti des forces collectives de ses membres afin d’accélérer l’accès des agriculteurs à des variétés améliorées.2 page

Feeding a fast-growing population by 2050 through accelerated agricultural transformation: potential avenues for Ethiopia

In recent years, Ethiopia has recorded noteworthy progress in boosting agricultural productivity. Compared with many countries in Africa, Ethiopia’s achievement has been remarkable, especially considering the dire historical challenges, marked by the devastating famine in the 1980s. Despite notable strides in enhancing food production across the country, a significant segment of the population continues to face persistent food insecurity. The agricultural sector struggles to generate sufficient output to match the pace of population growth, facing challenges such as low yield, limited arable land, high population density intensified by persistently high fertility, environmental degradation, climate change, and water scarcity. Ethiopia stands at the forefront of Africa’s burgeoning population growth, with an estimated population of 213 million by mid-century, compared to 120 million people in 2023. In this chapter, we explore potential avenues for accelerated agricultural transformation. Our goal is to propose strategies that can enhance productivity, encourage off-farm employment opportunities, and augment agricultural output through value addition. We particularly emphasize the importance of land consolidation, inclusive structural changes in the agricultural sector, and a vibrant non-agricultural sector to absorb excess rural labour. Although this chapter primarily focuses on Ethiopia, we draw inferences and offer insights for other African countries where relevant.35-4

Tester selection for combining ability estimation of storage root yield and sweetpotato virus disease in sweetpotato breeding

General combining ability (GCA) is the major selection criterion for new sweetpotato (Ipomoea batatas) parents in a reciprocal recurrent selection (RRS) scheme. Here we aimed to estimate GCA and specific combining ability (SCA) by using 16 potential testers involved in an 8 x 8 partial diallel and propose a procedure to identify testers in sweetpotato breeding. Data on storage root yield in tons per hectare (rytha), and sweetpotato virus disease (vir2) from 64 families (1,913 clones) were collected in five trials at two locations in Uganda. The estimates of the female GCA accounted for the largest additive genetic variation for storage root yield compared to the male GCA for both traits. Mid-parent heterosis ranged from - 6.2 to 7% for rytha, and - 1.1 to 1.3% for vir2 in the progeny families. A stepwise procedure to identify testers top-ranked 'NASPOT 7' as a dual tester for both traits. Besides this parent, 'Ejumula' and 'NASPOT 10 O' for rytha, and 'NASPOT 1', 'NK259L', 'SPK004', and 'NASPOT 11' for vir2 are particularly suitable as respective single-trait testers. Testers are important in many plant breeding programs to enhance efficiency of RRS, and thus other crop species might benefit from the strategy and methods applied herein

Del campo a los datos: aprendizajes de la temporada P-V2024 en Texcoco. Resultados de ensayos con maíz, trigo, cebada, frijol y girasol, y experiencias con productores del ciclo Primavera-Verano 2024

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