Assessment of the effectiveness of maize seed assistance to vulnerable farm households in Zimbabwe

The publication describes outcomes of a study to assess the effectiveness of a large-scale crop seed relief effort in Zimbabwe during 2003-07. Aims of the effort, which was supported by the British Department for International Development (DfID) and coordinated by the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) regional office in Harare, included broader diffusion of open-pollinated maize varieties (OPVs), as opposed to hybrids. Based on the findings of the study, the authors recommend that, to increase benefits to vulnerable groups, participants in such efforts should effectively disseminate information on selecting and recycling seed, supported by training and field demonstrations, and should target relatively well-endowed farmers initially. Recommendations also included promotion of OPVs by commercial seed companies and developing a simple, farmer-friendly system for naming varieties.Agricultural development, Technical aid, Farm income, Food production, Maize, Open pollination, Hybrids, Zimbabwe, Crop Production/Industries, International Development,

Quality protein maize—Bridging the malnutrition gap

United States Agency for International Developmen

Africa RISING science, innovations and technologies with scaling potential from ESA-Zambia

United States Agency for International Developmen

Africa RISING genetic intensification in Central Tanzania and Zambia

United States Agency for International Developmen

Genetic studies on sorghum seedling tolerance to heat and development of a rapid screening technique

Failure of seedling establishment is a major factor limiting crop production of Sorghum (Sorghum bicolor L. Moench) in the semi and tropics where soil surface day temperatures can exceed 50°C. Improvement of seedling heat tolerant genotypes would reduce crop losses due to insufficient plant populations. The objectives of this study were to develop a simple, repeatable and effective screening procedure to consistently estimate seedling heat tolerance and to gather information on the expression of heterosis for seedling heat stress, determining the individual parental contribution and to estimate additive, dominance and epistatic effects for seedling heat tolerance by utilizing generation means analyses of populations developed from a specific set of parents. Two experiments were conducted, one to develop screening procedures to determine heat recovery indices (HRI) of seven genotypes by subjecting seedlings grown in a in dark growth chamber at 30°C to direct heat shock in a controlled temperature water bath at 50°C for 0, 10, 20 and 30 minutes returning them to them 30°C growth chamber then measuring recovery at successive intervals. The second experiment estimated genetic parameters of MU in hybrids of four lines of varying MU crossed with three tester lines, and, evaluating the derived F1, F2, F3, BC1 and BC2 families for generation means analysis. Exposure at 10 minutes and 30 minutes gave the best separation between genotypes for MU. The technique of using 10 minutes exposure at 50°C, and measuring coleoptile length after 32 hours of recovery is an effective method to determine seedling heat tolerance that can be used to screen a large number of genotypes. Generation means analyses showed additive and dominance effects contributed to coleoptile elongation under normal conditions, but only additive effects were significant in recovery growth. Epistatic effects were present in both conditions. General combining ability (GCA) effects for HRI were highly significant under all conditions but specific combining ability effects were negligible. These results offer an opportunity for improving plant population of sorghum in tropical areas with high seedling mortality

Assessment of the effectiveness of maize seed assistance to vulnerable farm households in Zimbabwe

The publication describes outcomes of a study to assess the effectiveness of a large-scale crop seed relief effort in Zimbabwe during 2003-07. Aims of the effort, which was supported by the British Department for International Development (DfID) and coordinated by the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) regional office in Harare, included broader diffusion of open-pollinated maize varieties (OPVs), as opposed to hybrids. Based on the findings of the study, the authors recommend that, to increase benefits to vulnerable groups, participants in such efforts should effectively disseminate information on selecting and recycling seed, supported by training and field demonstrations, and should target relatively well-endowed farmers initially. Recommendations also included promotion of OPVs by commercial seed companies and developing a simple, farmer-friendly system for naming varieties

Doubled-up legume systems under conservation agriculture: Africa RISING science, innovations and technologies with scaling potential from ESA-Zambia

United States Agency for International Developmen