Screening genetic resources of Capsicum peppers in their primary centre of diversity in Bolivia and Peru

For most crops, like Capsicum, their diversity remains under-researched for traits of interest for food, nutrition and other purposes. A small investment in screening this diversity for a wide range of traits is likely to reveal many traditional varieties with distinguished values. One objective of this study was to demonstrate, with Capsicum as model crop, the application of indicators of phenotypic and geographic diversity as effective criteria for selecting promising genebank accessions for multiple uses from crop centers of diversity. A second objective was to evaluate the expression of biochemical and agromorphological properties of the selected Capsicum accessions in different conditions. Four steps were involved: 1) Develop the necessary diversity by expanding genebank collections in Bolivia and Peru; 2) Establish representative subsets of ~100 accessions for biochemical screening of Capsicum fruits; 3) Select promising accessions for different uses after screening; and 4) Examine how these promising accessions express biochemical and agromorphological properties when grown in different environmental conditions. The Peruvian Capsicum collection now contains 712 accessions encompassing all five domesticated species (C. annuum, C. chinense, C. frutescens, C. baccatum, and C. pubescens). The collection in Bolivia now contains 487 accessions, representing all five domesticates plus four wild taxa (C. baccatum var. baccatum, C. caballeroi, C. cardenasii, and C. eximium). Following the biochemical screening, 44 Bolivian and 39 Peruvian accessions were selected as promising, representing wide variation in levels of antioxidant capacity, capsaicinoids, fat, flavonoids, polyphenols, quercetins, tocopherols, and color. In Peru, 23 promising accessions performed well in different environments, while each of the promising Bolivian accessions only performed well in a certain environment. Differences in Capsicum diversity and local contexts led to distinct outcomes in each country. In Peru, mild landraces with high values in health-related attributes were of interest to entrepreneurs. In Bolivia, wild Capsicum have high commercial demand

Diversity studies in the interaction between the anthracnose fungus Colletotrichum gloeosporioides and its host plant Stylosanthes spp. in Mexico

Pests and diseases are important constraints to production in both traditional and modern agricultural systems. It is widely accepted that crop diversity, mainly through use of resistance and tolerance genes, is an important asset in reducing the risk of crop losses related to pests and diseases. However, little is known about the effect of the natural pathogen diversity on the occurrence and severity of phytopathological infestations. This publication summarizes the results of the multidisciplinary project ‘Genetic diversity studies in the interaction between the anthracnose fungus Colletotrichum gloeosporioides and its host plant Stylosanthes spp.’ The legume Stylosanthes is an important forage crop worldwide and Colletotrichum gloeosporioides is its most important pathogen. This project was a multidisciplinary bi-national effort centred in Mexico, a centre of origin of the host plant, which focused on characterizing both the host plant and the pathogen using different characterization techniques, from macro-morphological through molecular. As anthracnosis is reducing Stylosanthes yields from Africa to Australia, an increased knowledge and understanding of the co-existence of crop and pathogen diversity will benefit stakeholders outside the study area as well. A team of international researchers undertook a coordinated effort to increase the inclusion of information on host and pathogen diversity in areas where the crop and its pathogen are native. The Unité de Phytopathologie de l’Université catholique de Louvain, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium (UCL) focused on the characterization of C. gloeosporioides and other Colletotrichum species associated with wild Stylosanthes species in Mexico, while Stylosanthes diversity and taxonomy were studied by the Laboratorio de Recursos Naturales, Unidad de Biología, Tecnología y Prototipos, Facultad de Estudios Superiores Iztacala de la Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM) at the morphological level and by the Laboratory of Gene Technology, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium (KUL) that studied the material at the molecular level. The Mexican partner, UNAM, was responsible for the collection of materials, both host plant and pathogen, while the Belgian partners, UCL and KUL, carried out the molecular analysis. This study is a clear example of how a collaborative, multidisciplinary effort, including the exchange of plant material, allows for the optimal use of existing synergies between different research centres, leading to a better understanding of a complex theme such as host-pathogen diversity. This will permit a better use of the crop’s genetic diversity, and the corresponding resistance genes available, as well as the application of better screening methods for pest or disease resistance, based on a more extensive pathogen diversity. Bioversity International, formerly known as IPGRI, and its Regional Office for the Americas in Cali, Colombia is honoured that it was allowed to coordinate this project

Mapping Genetic Diversity of Cherimoya (Annona cherimola Mill.): Application of Spatial Analysis for Conservation and Use of Plant Genetic Resources

There is a growing call for inventories that evaluate geographic patterns in diversity of plant genetic resources maintained on farm and in species' natural populations in order to enhance their use and conservation. Such evaluations are relevant for useful tropical and subtropical tree species, as many of these species are still undomesticated, or in incipient stages of domestication and local populations can offer yet-unknown traits of high value to further domestication. For many outcrossing species, such as most trees, inbreeding depression can be an issue, and genetic diversity is important to sustain local production. Diversity is also crucial for species to adapt to environmental changes. This paper explores the possibilities of incorporating molecular marker data into Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to allow visualization and better understanding of spatial patterns of genetic diversity as a key input to optimize conservation and use of plant genetic resources, based on a case study of cherimoya (Annona cherimola Mill.), a Neotropical fruit tree species. We present spatial analyses to (1) improve the understanding of spatial distribution of genetic diversity of cherimoya natural stands and cultivated trees in Ecuador, Bolivia and Peru based on microsatellite molecular markers (SSRs); and (2) formulate optimal conservation strategies by revealing priority areas for in situ conservation, and identifying existing diversity gaps in ex situ collections. We found high levels of allelic richness, locally common alleles and expected heterozygosity in cherimoya's putative centre of origin, southern Ecuador and northern Peru, whereas levels of diversity in southern Peru and especially in Bolivia were significantly lower. The application of GIS on a large microsatellite dataset allows a more detailed prioritization of areas for in situ conservation and targeted collection across the Andean distribution range of cherimoya than previous studies could do, i.e. at province and department level in Ecuador and Peru, respectively

Results MARPOL Annex VI Monitoring Report: Belgian Sniffer Campaign 2016

From August to November 2016, MUMM organised the Belgian Sniffer Campaign 2016, during this period, MUMM has successfully implemented airborne MARPOL Annex VI monitoring for the first time on a broad temporal and spatial scale in an operational coast guard context in the North Sea. In the 45 monitoring days, 135 flight hours were performed and Fuel Sulphur Content (FSC) measurements have been carried out on more than 1300 ships, this means that an average of 10 ships could be monitored per flight hour. Almost 100 non-compliant ships were observed (8%) with a FSC value above the 0.2% threshold. A detailed data-analysis revealed no significant difference between different ship types, nor sizes, nor flag states. Not even the destination (inside or outside SECA) seemed to have an impact on the compliance level, although it was observed that a higher incompliance level was observed in shipping lanes at a certain distance from shore than in port entry zones. The airborne MARPOL Annex VI monitoring and subsequent reporting of targeted vessels to PSC resulted in a significant increase in the efficiency of port inspections (from 3 to 20%), but still a lot of aerial monitoring observations failed to be confirmed by/during on board inspections. The crew has gained a substantial amount of experience in the execution of airborne MARPOL Annex VI monitoring flights with a sniffer sensor. At this stage 85% of the ship approaches produce a successful measurement. The experiences from the campaign were used in the further development of the Best Practice Report on Airborne MARPOL Annex VI Monitoring by MUMM. The sniffer installation in the Belgian aircraft OO-MMM is producing satisfying results; the IGPS software has been installed on several computers including the on board mission computer. The software has improved significantly since the start of the campaign, mainly the manual measurement system is working very well, although some uncertainties on measurement accuracy and the very occasional occurrence of unreliable FSC measurements are still a concern. This ComMon experience has demonstrated that the airborne monitoring information can be used very efficiently for the targeting of ship inspections in port. But future work is needed in terms of both broad-scaled validation and inter-comparison campaigns and sensor standardization, in order to improve the understanding, assessment and reporting of airborne monitoring data, and to facilitate the use of airborne monitoring data as evidence to court

Linking gene banks and small farmers to high value markets: The example of Capsicum diversity in Peru and Bolivia

Poster presented at Tropentag 2010: World Food System: A Contribution from Europe. Zurich (Switzerland), 14-16 Sep 201

Quantification of soil textural fractions of Bas-Zaïre using soil map polygons and/or point observations

Reconnaissance soil surveys typically produce qualitative choropleth maps and descriptions of sampled soil profiles, These can be converted to quantitative information directly. Alternatively quantitative predictors can be made by interpolating between the point observations, or the two can be combined. Three methods to predict the sand and clay content of Bas-Zaire using a reconnaissance soil map and 151 soil profiles are compared. A cross-validation showed that the combination method produced the most precise predictions with an acceptably small bias. This result was obtained only after verifying and correcting the soil surveyor's estimations of the soil map prediction variances and stratifying the area to acquire a relative pooled within-stratum variogram