Agronomic performance of improved pearl millet cultivars in southern Chad

Pearl millet [Pennisetum glaucum (L.) R. Br.] is a vital staple food crop for poor people in dry-land areas. It plays an important role on human consumption in South of Chad where farmers always used landraces with a little adoption of improved cultivars. Evaluation of agronomic performance of inbred cultivars at research station is important to identify the high performance genotype to be released as new cultivars in farmer area. So, five improved varieties associated with a well-known variety from research were evaluated for ten agronomical traits. Experiment was carried out during rainy season of 2019 at the research station of Bébédjia, South of Chad. The results of the analysis of variance of assessed traits showed high significant differences (p<0.001) for spike girth and slight significant difference (p<0.05) for days to flowering, thousand seeds weight and productive tillers per plant. An important positive and significant correlations were also noted between day to flowering and number of grains per plot (r = 0.7; p<0.01), seed weight per plot (0.684; p<0.01) and potential grain yield (r = 0.684; p<0.01). Moreover, three cultivars with an important potential grains yield namely ICMV167006 (4.99 t.ha−1), ICMV 167005 (4.68 t.ha−1) and ICMV177111 (3.98 t.ha−1) were identified. Otherwise, for the days to flowering, the cultivars ICMV167006 (73.67 days), ICMV 167005 (75.33 days) are earlier than ICMV 177 111 (78.67 days). These cultivars could be proposed to be released in farmer area as novel cultivars

Ethnobotanical study of cultivated yellow nutsedge, (Cyperus esculentus L.) in Burkina Faso

The yellow nutsedge, Cyperus esculentus L. is an herbaceous species whose tubers are the edible parts. The tubers are very popular with children, and can be eaten raw, fried or after processing into a drink (Horchata). However, it does not exist in Burkina, a centralized collection and studies on the genetic variability, the socio-cultural and economic aspects of this species. In order to identify the morphotypes and to welcome the peasant knowledge on the management of the, yellow nutsedge, a prospection followed by collection of tubers were carried out in the main areas of production of this crop. A total of 22 villages in eight districts were visited and 108 accessions of tubers were collected. It emerges from this study that the cultivation is mainly practiced by women (97% of farmers). The cultivated yellow nutsedge is adapted to drought and to several types of soil. In addition, farmers classify the tubers according to their shape and size. Thus, the spherical tubers are qualified as "small tubers the non-spherical tubers as" large tubers. The number of tubers produced per foot varies from 20 to 60. Farmers use phenotypic characters, sexual dimorphism and ethnicity to name accessions for sweet peas. Vernacular names and methods of producing yellow nutsedge vary by region and ethnicity. According to the respondents, 84.34% think that the nut is of Burkinabé origin, 9.26% Ghanaian, 1.85% from Mali and 5.35% have no answers. There is great diversity in local knowledge and accessions collected in Burkina.Keywords: Ethnobotany, tubers, accessions, morphotypes

Planting Date and Genotype Effect On Morpho-agronomic Traits of Burkina Faso Sweet Grain Sorghum

Sweet grain sorghum is an under-exploited crop mainly grown around dwelling houses. Its production faces harsh environmental conditions. This study aims to assess sowing date effect on morpho-agronomical traits of sweet grain sorghum. Thus, 30 genotypes of sweet grain sorghum were assessed under 2 planting dates (June 26 and July 20) 24 days apart in a Randomized Complete Block Designs with 3 replications using 10 traits. The results showed a significant effect of sowing date on most of the traits, except internode length. All genotypes were sensitive to photoperiod variation by reducing their sowing-flowering cycle from 08 to 20 days, size and yield at the second planting date. Delayed sowing also resulted in a decrease in plant height (66.4 cm), 100 grain weight (8.3%), panicle weight (16.84%) and grain yield per plant (18.93%). The genotypes expressed a differential sensitivity to photoperiod variation with a mean coefficient of 0.59. Finally, a clustered flowering of all genotypes between September 11 and 27 was observed for both sowing dates. These results could be exploited by sweet sorghum breeding programme in the definition of the cropping calendar

Parasitic fungi of sweet grain sorghum in Burkina Faso: risks of its consumption in the absence of hygienic rules

 Sweet grain sorghum [Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench] is a staple food in rural Africa and is mainly grown for its grains, which are consumed in a paste-like state. It is nowadays attacked by numerous parasitic fungi, hence this study was carried out with the objective to characterize the fungal pathogens associated with this crop from the seed, vegetative stage, to the doughy grain stage at harvest. For this purpose, 37 genotypes of seeds of this crop, obtained from the Genebank of the Plant Genetics and Breeding team, Biosciences Laboratory of the Joseph KI-ZERBO University of Burkina Faso, were subjected to sanitary analysis. All the genotypes were tested during the 2021 rainy season using an alpha lattice design with three replications. From the 30th day of the rainy season, symptomatic leaves were randomly collected from 11 genotypes of each replicate for the isolation and characterization of different fungal pathogens. Similarly, from day 90 onwards, the health status of the doughy grains was analyzed on the same genotypes. The results obtained revealed a diversity of fungal pathogens both on seeds in pre-sowing, on symptomatic leaves and on doughy grains in pre-harvest. Indeed, 10 fungal species were found on the selected genotypes, among which seven species of fungi were identified as pathogens of sweet grain sorghum, namely Bipolaris sp., Curvularia lunata, Fusarium moniliforme, Phoma sorghina, Colletotrichum graminicola, Nigrospora oryzae and Exserohilum sp. In addition, three saprotrophic fungi namely Aspergillus flavus, Aspergillus niger and Rhizopus sp., which account for 30% of the pre-sown seed and pre-harvest doughy grain, were also identified. Curvularia lunata (61.61%), Fusarium moniliforme (53.53%) and Phoma sorghina (42.42%) were the most abundant and common fungal pathogens at the development stages studied. To sum up, the existence of a number of parasites and saprotrophs fungi on grains of this crop, generally consumed in their fresh state, is a significant threat to humans because they could secrete mycotoxins, mainly fusariotoxins, which could lead to the occurrence of certain mycoses in humans in the long term. Hence there is a need to apply basic hygiene rules for a healthy consumption of these grains. &nbsp

Assessment of Genetic Variability of Three Types of Sorghum Cultivated in Burkina Faso Using Morphoagronomic Quantitative Traits and Brix

In Burkina Faso, three types of sorghum are mainly grown. Despite their genetic proximity revealed by molecular markers, the identification of distinctive agro-morphological traits between sweet grain sorghum, sweet sorghum and grain sorghum could contribute to better management of their genetic resources. Thus, 42 genotypes consisting of the three sorghum types were evaluated in a three replicate Fisher incomplete block design using 20 quantitative traits. The results showed a high variability of traits within each sorghum type and a greater closeness between sweet grain sorghum and sweet stalk sorghum. In addition, nine traits clearly discriminated sweet grain sorghum from the other sorghum types. Sweet grain sorghum expressed the highest values of the sowing-heading cycle, leaf sheath length, stem diameter, productive tillers, and panicle width and the lowest values of mean heading-flowering difference, 100-grain weight, and Brix. Moreover, the ‘sorghum type’ factor is less preponderant than the ‘genotype factor’ in expressing the variability of all traits. Therefore, the 42 genotypes are organized into three genetic groups independently of the sorghum- type factor, where the group I contains all sweet grain sorghum genotypes and three sweet stalk sorghum genotypes. These results could be exploited in sorghum breeding programs

Morphological characterization of yam varietal group "Pémonon" of D. cayeninsis-rotundata species in Burkina Faso

The present study described fifteen (15) cultivars of yams of the varietal group "Pémonon" cultivated in Burkina Faso. Twenty-seven (27) qualitative characters, ten (10) from the stems, nine (9) from the leaves, five (5) from the tubers and three (3) from the flowers were used to characterize the collection. The expeimental design was Randomized Complete Block Design replicated three times. The experiment was carried out during 2019-2020 and 2020-2021 seasons at the village of Onliassan, in the province of Sissili. The study showed a large phenotypical diversity. These collected qualitative data allowed to classify these cultivars into the complex of D. cayeninsis-rotundata species and to identify new nine (9) cultivars. Keywords: Cultivars, D. cayeninsis rotundata, morphotypes, yams, Burkina Fas

Morphometric and agronomic characterization of 56 ginger landraces in Burkina Faso

Objective: This study aims to characterize and assess the variability within the ginger accessions growing in Burkina Faso for morphometric and agronomic traits in order to identify appropriate strategies for the future breeding program.Methodology and Results: The experiment was conducted with 56 accessions in Randomized Complete Block Design with four replications. Moderate diversity was observed for morphometric and agronomic characters. The linear Pearson’s correlations between rhizome yield and rhizome weight per plant were significantly positives with the other characters, except days taken to maturity, which were negatives. Plant height was strongly associated with number of leaves, leaf length and rhizome width. The accessions gathering into two groups is not made according to their origin, but mainly on the basis of the characters such as rhizome yield, rhizome weight per plant, rhizome length, and plant height.Conclusion and application: The ginger germplasm characterization is useful and has made it possible to understand the basic information for development of a scientific strategy for the efficient conservation of ginger. Strong associations between yield components and plant seize are important selection indices of rhizome yield and may be emphasized in the breeding programs for genetic improvement. Moreover, the model of clustering of the accessions can be used as a base for the choice of genotypes with interesting agro-morphological characteristics for the improvement of ginger productivity.Keywords: Zingiber officinale Rosc, evaluation, variability, rhizom

Effect of Agromorphological Diversity and Botanical Race on Biochemical Composition in Sweet Grains Sorghum [Sorghum Bicolor (L.) Moench] of Burkina Faso

Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench is an under-harvested crop in Burkina Faso. It is grown mainly for its sweet grains in the pasty stage. However, the precocity of the cycle and the sweet grains at pasty stage make it an interesting plant with agro-alimentary potential during the lean season. This study was carried out to identify the main sugars responsible for the sweetness of the grains at the pasty stage and their variation according to the agro-morphological group and the botanical race. Thus, the grains harvested at the pasty stage of fifteen (15) accessions selected according to the agro-morphological group and botanical race were lyophilized and analyzed by High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC). The results reveal the presence of four (4) main carbohydrates at pasty stage of grains such as fructose, glucose, sucrose and starch. Analysis of variance revealed that these carbohydrates discriminate significantly the agro-morphological groups and the botanical races. Moreover, with exception of the sucrose, the coefficient of determination (R2) values shows that the agro-morphological group factor has a greater effect on the expression of glucose, fructose and starch than the botanical race. Group III and caudatum race have the highest levels of fructose and would be the sweetest. While group IV and the guinea-bicolor race with the low value of fructose would be the least sweet. Fructose is therefore the main sugar responsible for the sweetness of the pasty grains of sweet grains sorghum

Assessment of Genetic Diversity of a Collection of Senna obtusifolia (L.) Irwin and Barneby Using SSRs Markers in Burkina Faso

Sennaobtusifolia (L.) is a plant in the genus Senna that contributes to improving nutritional quality, food security, and better health protection for rural populations. However, very few studies have been devoted to it in Burkina Faso. Consequently, its genetic diversity remains poorly known. Such neglect would lead to the erosion of its genetic resource. The general objective of this study is to contribute to a better knowledge of the genetic diversity of the species in order to be able to issue scientific bases for its conservation, valorization, and genetic improvement. Sixty (60) accessions of Senna obtusifolia were collected in the wild from five provinces of three climatic zones of Burkina Faso. Molecular characterization was carried out using 18 SSR markers. Fifteen were polymorphic microsatellite markers leading one hundred and one (101) alleles in total, with an average of seven (7) alleles per locus. The number of effective alleles was 2.33. Expected heterozygosity, Shannon diversity index, and polymorphism information content averaged 0.47, 1.05, and 0.47. Molecular characterization revealed the existence of genetic diversity within the collection. This diversity has been structured into three genetic groups. Genetic group 3 presents the highest genetic diversity parameters