Descriptors for juta (Corchorus olitorius L.)

Detailed information about genetic differences among individuals or groups of accessions can be helpful for management and utilization of germplasm collections. So, descriptor assist scientists to improve their capacity to describe, store, manage and share information about plant resources, whether stored in genebanks or growing in natural environments. It is also an important tool to enable information sharing for crops, facilitate the international exchange and use of plant resources, uniformity in data description. Provide an international format and a universally understood language for plant genetic resources data. They are targeted at farmers, curators, breeders and users and facilitate the exchange and use of resources (Rana et al. 1991, Van Hintum in Genet Resour Crop Evol 40:133–136, 1993). This test guideline was developed to apply to all varieties of C. olitorius and C. capsularis. It is an important tool to enable gathering and sharing information about the two cultivated species, C. olitorius and C. capsularis biodiversity. C. olitorius and C. capsularis, are tall, usually annual herbs, reaching a height of 2.4 m. They are used as a major source of natural fibres mainly in Asian and Latin American countries. C. olitorius (jute mallow) is an important green leafy vegetable in many areas. Different parts of C. olitorius are also used in folk medicine (Patel and Datta in Grana Palynol 1:18–24, 1958; Rao in Sydowia 30:164–185, 1977; Sajib et al. in Plant Cell Tissue Organ Cult 95:333–340, 2008).Peer Revie

Collection and evaluation of pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum L.) germplasm from the arid regions of Tunisia

Pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum (L.) R. Br.) is the most important summer cereal crop in the arid regions of Tunisia. A total of 283 accessions from 18 landraces were collected during the growing season of 1997 and evaluated in vivo at IRA, Benguerdane (during growing season 1998). Landrace (populations) grown by the farmers were shown to be mixtures of several types. Considerable variation was observed for all characters studied according to the descriptors developed by IBPGR and ICRISAT (1993). Time to flower varied from 30 to 66 days after sowing. Plant height ranged from 59 to 314 cm with a mean of 197.86 +/- 0.43. Number of tillers varied between 0 and 19 per plant. Considerable variation in spike shapes was observed. Frequency distribution analysis of different spike shapes shows predominance of lanceolate (23.7%) followed by oblanceolate (23.5%) over cylindrical (18.3%), conical (15.7%), candle (8.7%), spindle (6.6%), club (3.1%) and globose (0.3%) types. The landraces collected mostly produced large, grey-coloured, obovate seeds, with partly corneous endosperm. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) was performed to evaluate variation amongst the different landraces. The differences are highly significant at (alpha = 0.05) for all characters studied. Duncan analysis and hierarchical clustering were carried out to (1) estimate resemblance between provenances; and (2) group landraces into homogeneous classes (clusters). The resulting dendrogram shows three principal clusters regrouping landraces according to their geographical origins or farming conditions. Pearl millet germplasm from Tunisia's arid region presents a wide range of genetic variability. It can be used as a starting basis for breeding programmes to select high yielding varieties tolerating adverse arid conditions

Sélection clonale de Stipa lagascae R & Sch. Une graminée pastorale prometteuse pour la réhabilitation des parcours degradés

N° spécialinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishe

Response to Salinity in Legume Species: An Insight on the Effects of Salt Stress during Seed Germination and Seedling Growth

The process of soil salinization and the preponderance of saline water sources all over the world represent one of the most harmful abiotic stress to plant growth. This pointed to the importance of obtaining plants which are tolerant or resistant to salt, considering that projection of climate change for the coming years indicate an increase in temperature and rain scarcity. In the current study, the effect of NaCl was investigated on germinating seeds of Lathyrus sativus L., Vicia sativa L., Vigna radiata L. R.Wilczek and Vigna unguiculata L. Walp., by combining physiological, biochemical, biostatistical and ultrastructural analyses. Our results revealed that germination was not influenced by high NaCl concentrations, while seedling growth was affected even at low NaCl concentrations, probably due to an alteration in water uptake and in organic matter biosynthesis. Nevertheless, the synthesis of antioxidant enzymes, phenolic acids and flavonoids was registered in all species, which tended to cope with the increasing salt stress, allowing a response mechanism such as cytoplasm detoxification and cellular turgor maintenance. Besides, the ultrastructural analysis evidenced plasmolyzed cells close to cells with a normal ultrastructure with no appreciable differences among the species. This research deeply investigates the mechanism of salt-stress response focusing on species never tested before for their possible tolerance to salinity

Data from: Conservation priorities for endangered coastal North African Pennisetum glaucum L. landrace populations as inferred from phylogenetic considerations and population structure analysis

The increasing anthropologic pressure and the modernization of agriculture have led to a forsaking of pearl millet traditional cultivars inducing a progressive loss of the genetic variability encompassed in this locally-adapted germplasm. Imperatively, national efforts based on robust data gleaned from genetic surveys have to be undertaken in order to set up suitable conservation priorities. Inthis study, in addition to the assessment of the genetic diversity and population structure among and within a set of seven pearl millet landrace populations from coastal North Africa, demographic and phylogenetic data, conservation priority scores were calculated according to Vane-Wright et al. (1991). To date, genetic diversity of pearl millet in North Africa is still poorly documented. The present survey reports for the first time the use of highly informative nSSR markers (PIC =0.74) on P. glaucum landraces representative of the Mediterranean coastline of North Africa. A high level of genetic diversity was obtained within the investigated landraces (He=0.80) at the population level. FST, AFC-3D and Bayesian clustering underlined significant differentiation and an apparent genetic structure according to geographical origin. Phylogenetic considerations integrated with demographic and genetic information enabled conclusive inferences of highly prioritized populations for conservation. Populations Haouaria, Hammem Laghzez, Mahdia and Medenine representatives of the main pearl millet growing areas in Tunisia and cultivated in the North African littoral should be strongly recommended for an ex-situ conservation program. Dynamic on-farm conservation method is also required as it allows to the local landraces to evolve in different environments while maintaining their adaptation potentials