Biosensor-based spatial and developmental mapping of maize leaf glutamine at vein-level resolution in response to different nitrogen rates and uptake/assimilation durations

Replicate versus treatment variability of the GlnLux in situ imaging protocol. Three replicates of raw GlnLux agar plate images (Fig. 3) were analysed for each N treatment (+/-) and leaf (1-3) combination (6 plates total per leaf). A 1 x 10-2 M Gln agar disk was also included on each plate for standardization. The ratios of luminescence produced by each standard disk against the GlnLux agar background were pooled to generate SEM and an estimate of plate-to-plate variability. The luminescence output of all three replicates for each N treatment was pooled to generate SEM, and an estimate of the comparative variability due to N uptake/assimilation. Values represent the SEM of 6 plates each. Significant difference at P<0.05 between the variance of the standardization ratio and leaf luminescence is indicated with an asterisk, as determined with F tests. Quantification of luminescence was performed using WinView software (version 2.5.16.5, Princeton Instruments, Trenton, USA). (DOCX 43 kb

A picture book of best practices for subsistence farmers : North African version

This presentation is graphic only, showing illustrations from a best practices handbook as part of sustainable agriculture kits (SAK) developed for subsistence farmers. The illustrations cover the entire preparation, planting/sowing, and growing cycles of specific crops; utilization of appropriate technologies such as mechanical tilling, weed control, fertilizer and pesticide use; and expectations of harvest results depending of the method of cultivation. SAKGlobal is an effort to bring inexpensive technologies to the world’s one billion subsistence farmers. SAK kits are based on the principles of sustainable, ecological agriculture.Global Affairs Canad

Picture book of best practices for subsistence farmers : East Asian version

This book was made possible because of generous funding from the International Development Research Centre (IDRC, Ottawa) and Global Affairs Canada as part of the CIFSRF program. Dr. Raizada dedicates this book to the memory of his father, Mahesh N. Raizada, an Indian scientist who went to Nigeria in the 1960s to teach a young nation – a man who treated all peoples, rich or poor, with equal respect and dignity.Many language versions available in IDRC Digital Library: East Asia, South Asia, Latin America, North Africa and Middle EastThis book contains training material and shows how to grow plants in important quantities with scientific methods (approaches and tools) over time

A picture book of best practices for subsistence farmers Sub Saharan African and Caribbean version

This book was made possible because of generous funding from the International Development Research Centre (IDRC, Ottawa) and Global Affairs Canada as part of the CIFSRF program.This book contains farmer training material using pictorial language and graphic illustration to depict methods, science, best practices and tools for both male and female farmers who may have low literacy. It shows planting methods using appropriate technology. It is part of the Sustainable Agriculture Kits (SAK) project

Picture book of best practices for subsistence farmers : South Asian version (English)

This book was made possible because of generous funding from the International Development Research Centre (IDRC, Ottawa) and Global Affairs Canada as part of the CIFSRF program. Dr. Raizada dedicates this book to the memory of his father, Mahesh N. Raizada, an Indian scientist who went to Nigeria in the 1960s to teach a young nation – a man who treated all peoples, rich or poor, with equal respect and dignity.Nepali version available in IDRC Digital Library IDL-57145This book contains training material and shows how to grow healthy plants and improve diets, using pictorial language and graphic illustration that depictis methods, science, and appropriate technologies. It is part of the Sustainable Agriculture Kits (SAK) project

A picture book of best practices for subsistence farmers : Latin American version

This presentation is graphic only, showing illustrations from a best practices handbook as part of sustainable agriculture kits (SAK) developed for subsistence farmers. The illustrations cover the entire preparation, planting/sowing, and growing cycles of specific crops; utilization of appropriate technologies such as mechanical tilling, weed control, pesticide use; and expectations of harvest results depending of the method of cultivation. SAKGlobal is an effort to bring inexpensive technologies to the world’s one billion subsistence farmers. SAK kits are based on the principles of sustainable, ecological agriculture.Global Affairs Canad

Climbing legumes : an underutilized resource with significant potential to intensify farming on terrace walls (FTW) for smallhoder farmers

This research was supported by a grant to MNR from the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) and Global Affairs Canada as part of the Canadian International Food Security Research Fund (CIFSRF).Millions of subsistence farmers cultivate crops on terraces. These farmers face unique challenges including severe shortages of arable land and remoteness leading to poor access to inputs including nitrogen fertilizer. These challenges contribute to human and livestock malnutrition. Terrace walls (risers) as a vertical surface to grow climbing or trailing legumes represents an opportunity to help overcome these challenges. These crops are rich in minerals and protein, and their associated microbes produce nitrogen fertilizer. Rice bean is already grown on terrace risers in South Asia. This paper reviews the literature concerning crops that are currently farmed on terrace walls (FTW), then surveys climbing legume species that have potential for FTW, focusing on crops that are nutritious and tolerate shade (caused by the terrace wall) and resist drought (many terrace farms experience an extended dry season). A total of 29 legume species are discussed including climbing varieties of jack bean, common bean, cowpea, winged bean, horse gram and velvet bean. The review concludes by discussing the practical challenges of farmer adoption of FTW and makes concrete recommendations. Terrace wall cultivation of legumes represents an opportunity to intensify agriculture and increase resiliency in remote mountainous areas

A review of nutrient management studies involving finger millet in the semi-arid tropics of Asia and Africa Annex 7

We thank Vijay Bhosekhar (University of Guelph, Canada) for providing an initial framework for this review, and Kirit Patel (Canadian Mennonite University, Winnipeg, Canada) for inspiring our interest in finger millet. We thank Travis Goron (University of Guelph) for his helpful comments, Jaclyn Clark (University of Guelph) for editorial assistance, and our Nepalese partner organization, LI-BIRD, especially Kamal Khadka, for generously providing photos of finger millet cropping systems. This research was supported by a grant to MNR from the CIFSRF program, jointly funded by the International Food Development Centre (IDRC, Ottawa) and the Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development.Finger millet (Eleusine coracana (L.) Gaertn) is a staple food crop grown by subsistence farmers in the semi-arid tropics of South Asia and Africa. It remains highly valued by traditional farmers as it is nutritious, drought tolerant, short duration, and requires low inputs. Its continued propagation may help vulnerable farmers mitigate climate change. Unfortunately, the land area cultivated with this crop has decreased, displaced by maize and rice. Reversing this trend will involve achieving higher yields, including through improvements in crop nutrition. The objective of this paper is to comprehensively review the literature concerning yield responses of finger millet to inorganic fertilizers (macronutrients and micronutrients), farmyard manure (FYM), green manures, organic by-products, and biofertilizers. The review also describes the impact of these inputs on soils, as well as the impact of diverse cropping systems and finger millet varieties, on nutrient responses. The review critically evaluates the benefits and challenges associated with integrated nutrient management, appreciating that most finger millet farmers are economically poor and primarily use farmyard manure. We conclude by identifying research gaps related to nutrient management in finger millet, and provide recommendations to increase the yield and sustainability of this crop as a guide for subsistence farmers

A biosensor-based leaf punch assay for glutamine correlates to symbiotic nitrogen fixation measurements in legumes to permit rapid screening of rhizobia inoculants under controlled conditions

This research was supported by CIFSRF grant 107791 to MR from the International development Research Centre (IDRC, Ottawa) and Global Affairs Canada.Legumes are protein sources for billions of humans and livestock. These traits are enabled by symbiotic nitrogen fixation (SNF), whereby root nodule-inhabiting rhizobia bacteria convert atmospheric nitrogen (N) into usable N. Unfortunately, SNF rates in legume crops suffer from undiagnosed incompatible/suboptimal interactions between crop varieties and rhizobia strains. There are opportunities to test much large numbers of rhizobia strains if cost/labor-effective diagnostic tests become available which may especially benefit researchers in developing countries. Inside root nodules, fixed N from rhizobia is assimilated into amino acids including glutamine (Gln) for export to shoots as the major fraction (amide-exporting legumes) or as the minor fraction (ureide-exporting legumes). Here, we have developed a new leaf punch based technique to screen rhizobia inoculants for SNF activity following inoculation of both amide exporting and ureide exporting legumes. The assay is based on measuring Gln output using the GlnLux biosensor, which consists of Escherichia coli cells auxotrophic for Gln and expressing a constitutive lux operon. Subsistence farmer varieties of an amide exporter (lentil) and two ureide exporters (cowpea and soybean) were inoculated with different strains of rhizobia under controlled conditions, then extracts of single leaf punches were incubated with GlnLux cells, and light-output was measured using a 96-well luminometer. In the absence of external N and under controlled conditions, the results from the leaf punch assay correlated with 15N-based measurements, shoot N percentage, and shoot total fixed N in all three crops. The technology is rapid, inexpensive, high-throughput, requires minimum technical expertise and very little tissue, and hence is relatively nondestructive. We compared and contrasted the benefits and limitations of this novel diagnostic assay to methods

Characterization of antifungal natural products isolated from endophytic fungi of finger millet (Eleusine coracana) Annex 6

W.K.M. was supported by generous scholarships from the Government of Egypt, the University of Guelph International Graduate Student Scholarship (2012, 2014). This research was supported by grants to M.N.R. by the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Food (OMAF), Grain Farmers of Ontario (GFO) and the Canadian International Development Research Centre (IDRC) and Global Affairs Canada as part of the CIFSRF program.Finger millet is an ancient African-Indian crop that is resistant to many pathogens including the fungus, Fusarium graminearum. We previously reported the first isolation of putative fungal endophytes from finger millet and showed that the crude extracts of four strains had anti-Fusarium activity. However, active compounds were isolated from only one strain. The objectives of this study were to confirm the endophytic lifestyle of the three remaining anti-Fusarium isolates, to identify the major underlying antifungal compounds, and to initially characterize the mode(s) of action of each compound. Results of confocal microscopy and a plant disease assay were consistent with the three fungal strains behaving as endophytes. Using bio-assay guided fractionation and spectroscopic structural elucidation, three anti-Fusarium secondary metabolites were purified and characterized. These molecules were not previously reported to derive from fungi nor have antifungal activity. The purified antifungal compounds were: 5-hydroxy 2(3H)-benzofuranone, dehydrocostus lactone (guaianolide sesquiterpene lactone), and harpagoside (an iridoide glycoside). Light microscopy and vitality staining were used to visualize the in vitro interactions between each compound and Fusarium; the results suggested a mixed fungicidal/fungistatic mode of action. We conclude that finger millet possesses fungal endophytes that can synthesize anti-fungal compounds not previously reported as bio-fungicides against F. graminearum