Determination of the optimal dose and date of application of mineral manure on sesame (sesamum indicum L.) in Burkina Faso

The decrease in soil fertility is the main cause of low crops yields in Burkina Faso. It is therefore necessary to make a supply of fertilizers to increase yields. This is the reason why during the 2015 rainy season from July to October, a study was conducted on sesame fertilization in Souri located in the Province du Mouhoun. The goal of our study is to fertilize plants with increasing doses of mineral fertilizers at different application dates on sesame. The objective is to determine the optimum dose and date of fertilizer application to increase the yields. For this purpose four NPK (14-23-14) fertilizer treatments have been experimented with following doses NPK0 (0kg.ha-1), NPK50 (50 kg.ha-1) NPK100 (100kg.ha-1) NPK150 (150 kg.ha-1) with three application dates (sowing, 15 DAS, 30 DAS) in Fisher’s completely randomized blocks with four replications in split-plot. The results showed that NPK doses had an effect on sesame throughout morphological development (height, number of ramifications, number of capsules) and yield performance. Yields have increased according to the doses applied in the following order: NPK0 (226 kg.ha-1) < NPK50 (348 kg.ha-1) <NPK100 (550 kg.ha-1) <NPK150 (593 kg.ha-1). Through economic calculations, the NPK100 dose with 550 kg.ha-1 yield can be chosen as the most cost-effective dose for producers. The application dates of NPK had various effects on sesame that emerged on the height and grain yield. The plants had the best performance on the date of application of the 15 DAS (475 kg.ha-1) followed by the application at planting time (450 kg.ha-1) and at the end the application on 30 DAS (375 kg.ha-1). Interaction between the doses and the dates of application of fertilizer is significant and should be considered in sesame. La baisse de la fertilité des sols est une cause des faibles rendements au Burkina Faso. Ainsi, il faudra faire de bons apports d’engrais pour augmenter les rendements. Dans ce cadre, une étude a été conduite de juillet à octobre 2015 à Souri dans la Province du Mouhoun. Il s’est agi d’apporter des doses croissantes de fumure minérale à différentes dates d’application sur le sésame. L’objectif est de déterminer la dose et la date d’application optimales de la fumure minérale. A cet effet quatre traitements de doses d’engrais NPK (14-23-14) : NPK0 (0 kg.ha-1), NPK50 (50 kg.ha-1), NPK100 (100kg.ha-1), NPK150 (150 kg.ha-1) ont été appliqués selon trois dates d’application (au semis, le 15ème JAS, le 30ème JAS) dans un dispositif expérimental en blocs de Fisher à 4 répétitions avec un arrangement en split-plot. Les résultats obtenus ont montré que les doses NPK ont un effet positif sur le sésame à travers son développement morphologique (sa hauteur, ses ramifications, ses capsules) et son rendement. Les rendements obtenus ont permis de classer les doses selon cet ordre croissant : NPK0 (266 kg.ha-1) <NPK50 (348 kg.ha-1) <NPK100 (550 kg.ha-1) <NPK150 (593kg.ha-1). L’évaluation économique effectuée sur la base du ratio valeur sur coût (RVC) a permis de retenir la dose NPK100 comme étant la plus rentable pour les producteurs. Les dates d’applications NPK sur le sésame ont également des effets visibles sur la hauteur et le rendement en grain. Le meilleur rendement est obtenu avec l’application du NPK 15 JAS (475 kg.ha-1) suivi de l’application au semis (450 kg.ha-1) et enfin de celle effectuée au 30ème JAS (375 kg.ha-1). L’interaction doses et dates d’application d’engrais NPK doit être considérée chez le sésame

Training beneficiaries in the PABRA Project

Pan African Bean Research Alliance (PABRA) specifically invests finance, human resource and time in ensuring that the continents bean researchers and staff are up to date and relevant with skills they require. The data sets presented here have been assembled from multiple sources to provide and indicative position of skill and knowledge building initiatives by PABRA and its various partners. The data sets show the number of people trained between the year 2003 t0 2016. Though the data sets provide the numbers, discussion on capacity building as a whole is available in the capacity building section of the PABRA website

Training beneficiaries in the PABRA Project

Pan African Bean Research Alliance (PABRA) specifically invests finance, human resource and time in ensuring that the continents bean researchers and staff are up to date and relevant with skills they require. The data sets presented here have been assembled from multiple sources to provide and indicative position of skill and knowledge building initiatives by PABRA and its various partners. The data sets show the number of people trained between the year 2003 t0 2016. Though the data sets provide the numbers, discussion on capacity building as a whole is available in the capacity building section of the PABRA website

The groundnut improvement network for Africa (GINA) germplasm collection: a unique genetic resource for breeding and gene discovery

International audienceCultivated peanut or groundnut (Arachis hypogaea L.) is a grain legume grown in many developing countries by smallholder farmers for food, feed, and/or income. The speciation of the cultivated species, that involved polyploidization followed by domestication, greatly reduced its variability at the DNA level. Mobilizing peanut diversity is a prerequisite for any breeding program for overcoming the main constraints that plague production and for increasing yield in farmer fields. In this study, the Groundnut Improvement Network for Africa assembled a collection of 1,049 peanut breeding lines, varieties, and landraces from 9 countries in Africa. The collection was genotyped with the Axiom_Arachis2 48K SNP array and 8,229 polymorphic single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers were used to analyze the genetic structure of this collection and quantify the level of genetic diversity in each breeding program. A supervised model was developed using dapc to unambiguously assign 542, 35, and 172 genotypes to the Spanish, Valencia, and Virginia market types, respectively. Distance-based clustering of the collection showed a clear grouping structure according to subspecies and market types, with 73% of the genotypes classified as fastigiata and 27% as hypogaea subspecies. Using STRUCTURE, the global structuration was confirmed and showed that, at a minimum membership of 0.8, 76% of the varieties that were not assigned by dapc were actually admixed. This was particularly the case of most of the genotype of the Valencia subgroup that exhibited admixed genetic heritage. The results also showed that the geographic origin (i.e. East, Southern, and West Africa) did not strongly explain the genetic structure. The gene diversity managed by each breeding program, measured by the expected heterozygosity, ranged from 0.25 to 0.39, with the Niger breeding program having the lowest diversity mainly because only lines that belong to the fastigiata subspecies are used in this program. Finally, we developed a core collection composed of 300 accessions based on breeding traits and genetic diversity. This collection, which is composed of 205 genotypes of fastigiata subspecies (158 Spanish and 47 Valencia) and 95 genotypes of hypogaea subspecies (all Virginia), improves the genetic diversity of each individual breeding program and is, therefore, a unique resource for allele mining and breeding

Genomics, genetics and breeding of tropical legumes for better livelihoods of smallholder farmers

Legumes are important components of sustainable agricultural production, food, nutrition and income systems of developing countries. In spite of their importance, legume crop production is challenged by a number of biotic (diseases and pests) and abiotic stresses (heat, frost, drought and salinity), edaphic factors (associated with soil nutrient deficits) and policy issues (where less emphasis is put on legumes compared to priority starchy staples). Significant research and development work have been done in the past decade on important grain legumes through collaborative bilateral and multilateral projects as well as the CGIAR Research Program on Grain Legumes (CRP‐GL). Through these initiatives, genomic resources and genomic tools such as draft genome sequence, resequencing data, large‐scale genomewide markers, dense genetic maps, quantitative trait loci (QTLs) and diagnostic markers have been developed for further use in multiple genetic and breeding applications. Also, these mega‐initiatives facilitated release of a number of new varieties and also dissemination of on‐the‐shelf varieties to the farmers. More efforts are needed to enhance genetic gains by reducing the time required in cultivar development through integration of genomics‐assisted breeding approaches and rapid generation advancement