Divergência genética em cultivares de morangueiro, baseada em caracteres morfoagronômicos

Os caracteres morfoagronômicos são tradicionalmente usados na caracterização de cultivares e no estudo da divergência genética, contribuindo na definição de estratégias para o melhoramento genético. Este trabalho teve por objetivo avaliar a divergência genética por meio de caracteres morfoagronômicos de 11 cultivares de morangueiro (Aromas, Camarosa, Camino Real, Campinas, Diamante, Dover, Oso Grande, Sweet Charlie, Toyonoka, Tudla e Ventana), nas condições climáticas da região Centro-Sul do Paraná. Foram analisados 29 caracteres morfoagronômicos relacionados com a planta, folha, flor, fruto e aquênios do morangueiro. As similaridades genéticas foram calculadas por meio de análise multivariada e, os cultivares, agrupados com base na matriz de similaridade genética, usando-se UPGMA. Dentre os 29 caracteres morfoagronômicos avaliados, oito apresentaram diferenças não significativas (p < 0,05). A similaridade média foi de 38%, variando de 19 (aromas e camino real) a 62% (Camino Real e Camarosa; Aromas e Sweet Charlie). O dendrograma alocou os cultivares em quatro grupos, contudo, essa divisão não foi coerente com a origem e genealogia dos cultivares. O cultivar Tudla apresenta elevado potencial "per se" para utilização em programas de melhoramento. O cruzamento mais promissor com base nos caracteres morfoagronômicos é entre os cultivares Camarosa e Campinas

Crops that feed the world 9. Oats- a cereal crop for human and livestock feed with industrial applications

Oats are a low input cereal widely grown across the world as both a grain and forage crop. Significant areas of production are in Northern Europe and North America and also in China and Australia. Although a traditional crop in many countries, in the last 50 years there has been a significant shift in oat production as a consequence of changing agricultural production and competition from other cereal crops. Oats are of significant economic importance for human consumption, for livestock feed and increasingly as a source of high value compounds with industrial applications as a consequence of the many unique properties of the oat grain. Traditional use in human diets in many countries has been boosted by the recent recognition of oats as a health food. This is attributed to the presence of β-glucan, the major endospermic cell wall polysaccharide. As a result, there has been an increase in the use of oats and a broadening of oat based products. Increasing knowledge of the composition of the oat grain and its value for the various end-users is leading to new opportunities for the crop. While the value of oats as a break crop in cereal based rotations is widely recognised, maintaining the profitability of the crop whilst meeting the needs of end users is essential for future production. Opportunities exist for plant breeders and agronomists to introduce new oat varieties with tailored agronomic approaches to address this challenge and to ensure the sustainability of oats for the future

Functional agrobiodiversity and agroecosystem services in sustainable wheat production. A review

Agrobiodiversity can improve the sustainability of cropping systems in a context of low external inputs and unpredictable climate change. Agrobiodiversity strategies to grow wheat are breeding ad hoc cultivars for organic and low-input systems, wheat–legume intercrops and living mulches, cultivar mixtures, and the use of genetically heterogeneous populations. However, applying those strategies can fail due the lack of a well-focused framework. Therefore, we need a better integration between breeding and management and a clear focus on crop traits related to key agroecosystem services. Here, we review the use of agrobiodiversity in wheat production, focusing on breeding and management. We discuss five agroecosystem services: (1) weed reduction, (2) nitrogen use efficiency, (3) abiotic stress tolerance, (4) disease and pest reduction and (5) yield and yield stability. We categorise agrobiodiversity into functional identity, functional composition, and functional diversity, in order to link crop traits to agroecosystem services. Linking crop traits to agroecosystem services could in turn lead to concrete options for farmers and policy. We discuss the relations between crop identity and crop heterogeneity. We also discuss the partitioning of crop heterogeneity between functional composition and functional diversity