DADOBAT: Domestication And Development Of Baobab And Tamarind

Both baobab and tamarind are plant species with high potential for arid and semi-arid areas in the developing world. They can provide food, medicine, wood and a number of secondary processed products for income generation that can help to meet basic needs of an increasing number of people in a context of decreasing land availability. Farmers in these regions, however, need improved planting material with known properties for integration in (traditional and improved) agroforestry and cropping systems. They also need well-documented planting techniques for sustained yields and production. Improved disease-free cultivars are not available; rapid and easy methods of germplasm production/multiplication are not developed; and distribution pathways are mostly non-existent. Integration into agroforestry systems could stabilise them, but trees with desired growth habit have yet to be developed. There is also a need to collect/conserve/utilise germplasm for tree improvement. Market chains and infrastructure are poorly developed. The project addresses issues of new crop/niche development through a holistic research approach and envisages multidisciplinary activities to broaden availability of improved plant material for introduction into agroforestry systems

Advances in domestication of indigenous fruit trees in the West African Sahel

Fruit trees play an important nutritional role for livelihoods of rural people in the West African Sahel through provision of energy and nutrients such as vitamins, minerals, and proteins. Research on the domestication of local fruit trees has started recently through projects concentrating on some of the most important indigenous species of dry West Africa, i.e. Adansonia digitata, Parkia biglobosa, Tamarindus indica, Vitellaria paradoxa and Ziziphus mauritiana. We present a status of finalised and ongoing domestication research with the aim of defining research gaps that would need to be covered by future research activities to obtain higher yields and better quality fruits. Germplasm collection in central West Africa has been intense compared to elsewhere in the species' distribution areas, but conservation status of the material is poor since it is only planted in few trials. Knowledge of genetic parameters, especially for fruit traits, is almost absent, but characterisation of genotypes is underway for some of the species. Mating systems and patterns are still unknown for many species. Efficient vegetative propagation based on simple techniques was shown to be possible for all species except P. biglobosa. In order to secure immediate as well as long term gains, we recommend combining clonal propagation of selected plus individuals with recombination and breeding of selected genotypes. We discuss whether local institutions in the Sahel have the financial capacity to carry out long term breeding programmes, and suggest that efforts should be made to find new ways of disseminating improved germplasm