Farmers' management of rice varietal diversity in the mid-hills of Nepal: implications for on-farm conservation and crop improvement

Season-long monitoring of on-farm rice (Oryza sativa, L.) plots in Nepal explored farmers' decision-making process on the deployment of varieties to agroecosystems, application of production inputs to varieties, agronomic practices and relationship between economic return and area planted per variety. Farmers deploy varieties [landraces (LRs) and modern varieties (MVs)] to agroecosystems based on their understanding of characteristics of varieties and agroecosystems, and the interaction between them. In marginal growing conditions, LRs can compete with MVs. Within an agroecosystem, economic return and area planted to varieties have positive relationship, but this is not so between agroecosystems. LRs are very diverse on agronomic and economic traits; therefore, they cannot be rejected a priori as inferior materials without proper evaluation. LRs have to be evaluated for useful traits and utilized in breeding programmes to generate farmer-preferred materials for marginal environments and for their conservation on-farm

Appe mango: pickling the cultural and biological diversity of Uttara Kannada district in the Western Ghats

Uttara Kannada, one of the forest-rich districts of Karnataka, is well known for its biological diversity, rich cultural heritage and high level of awareness among its people on issues related to conservation. This flyer tells the story of Appe Mango and tackles questions such as, ‘What makes the people of Uttara Kannada tick for the conservation of biodiversity?’ and ‘How do they relate themselves to nature?

Role of on-farm/In situ conservation and underutilized crops in the wake of climate change

Traditionally farmers use diverse crops, trees and wild plant species, livestock and aquatic species to sustain/enhance their livelihood. The use of diverse species and varieties enhances their adaptability and resilience capacity to changing environmental and economic conditions. Genetic diversity is a key element in farmers’ livelihood strategies particularly in areas under high ecological, climatic and economic stresses and risks. Global food security has become increasingly dependent on a limited number of varieties of a few major crops and in the wake of climate change, such a situation makes farmers more vulnerable with regard to their nutrition and income security. This paper aims to discuss the conceptual framework of on-farm/in situ conservation in adapting and mitigating climate change through an integrated system of diversified food production and land use. The role of on-farm/in situ conservation of crops is discussed along with its complementary advantages over ex situ conservation. Empowerment of farming communities is essential for effective in situ/on-farm conservation as the process encourages local level decision making on management of genetic resources. The paper also highlights community-based biodiversity management as a methodology to realize in situ/on-farm conservation through strengthening farmer seed systems, and promoting climate resilient integrated home garden production systems, especially underutilized crop species and carbon rich farming that support climate change actions. Implementation of biodiversity management approaches will require conducive policy environment in order to be truly effective and sustainable. Some relevant recommendations on how to best proceed towards a viable in situ/on - farm conservation system are also proposed

Isolation and characterization of microsatellite markers in Garcinia gummi-gutta by next-generation sequencing and cross-species amplification

Garcinia gummi-gutta (L.) Roxb. (Clusiaceae) is an endemic, semidomesticated, fruit-yielding tree species distributed in the Western Ghats of India and Sri Lanka. Various bioactive phytochemicals, such as garcinol, benzophenones and xanthones are isolated from G. gummi-gutta and have shown antibacterial, antiviral and antioxidant activities. We sequenced the total genomic DNA using Illumina Hiseq 2000 platform and examined 241,141,804 bp high quality data, assembled into 773,889 contigs. In these contigs, 27,313 simple-sequence repeats (SSRs) were identified, among which mononucleotide repeats were predominant (44.98%) followed by dinucleotide and trinucleotide repeats. Primers were designed for 9964 microsatellites among which 32 randomly selected SSR primer pairs were standardized for amplification. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification of genomic DNA in 30 G. gummi-gutta genotypes revealed polymorphic information content (PIC) across all 32 loci ranging from 0.867 to 0.951, with a mean value of 0.917. The observed and expected heterozygosity ranged from 0.00 to 0.63 and 0.896 to 0.974, respectively. Alleles per locus ranged from 12 to 27. This is the first report on the development of genomic SSR markers in G. gummi-gutta using next-generation sequencing technology. The genomic SSR markers developed in this study will be useful in identification, mapping, diversity and breeding studies

Exploring Guests’ Satisfaction and Dissatisfaction with Homestay Experiences: A Netnographic Study of a Rural Tourism Destination in Vietnam

Few studies have used online reviews to gain useful insights into homestay guests’ satisfaction. This study responds to demands from the existing literature on homestay tourism in a rural destination context to identify the factors that contribute to tourists’ satisfaction and dissatisfaction by examining homestay experiences in Vietnam’s Ben Tre province. User-generated content on Booking.com was analyzed using a netnographic approach. The data comprised 656 online posts. The findings suggest that guests achieve satisfaction from host families’ attitudes and language abilities, high-quality facilities in the bedrooms and grounds, authentic cuisine, a peaceful location, the availability of complementary services, and affordable prices. The findings contradict studies suggesting that homestay guests may seek familiarity, and this was largely not evident in terms of tourist food consumption while at the destination. In addition, the findings challenge studies indicating that prices have a strong influence on tourists’ satisfaction with homestay tourism

Local foods and markets support conservation of Garcinia fusca L. in Sisaket Province, Thailand

This flyer describes one community’s success story of crop conservation. G. fusca, also known as madan, is used as a spice in India and as soup flavouring in Malaysia, but it was the Thai who discovered the most unique way of using the madan stem. A chicken is impaled on a madan stick and grilled over a fire, the madan gum secretes from the stick and mixes with the meat – giving it a distinctive flavour and aroma found nowhere else and making it a favorite among the locals. Due to the soaring popularity of the grilled chicken and the destruction of the madan’s natural habitat of the Tap Tan’s watershed, the plant species is now extremely vulnerable to overexploitation and local extinction. In order to protect their local grilled chicken industry and conserve the madan plants, the community has taken matters into their own hands and has made an effort to manage madan for the long term and for sustainable use

Experience-driven well-being and purchase: An alternative model of memorable wine tourism experiences

Wine tourism has several distinctive features that militate against using Kim et al.'s model of memorable tourism experiences to understand its antecedents and consequences. Accordingly, this study adopts an alternative theoretical framework—the stimulus–organism–response theory—to develop an alternative model. Data were collected from visitors to a well-known vineyard in Yantai, China and structural equation modelling and multiple group analysis were used to analyse them. The results suggest that experience co-creation, sensory experience, experiential satisfaction and appealing winescape are significant and positive antecedents of a memorable wine tourism experience, while eudaimonic well-being and wine purchase intention are significant and positive outcome variables. Visit frequency was found to be a moderating variable linking the winescape to memorable wine tourism experiences. Those who travel to the region frequently form a bond with the winescape that not only contributes to their well-being but also stimulates their future intentions to purchase its wine

Antecedents of memorable heritage tourism experiences: an application of stimuli–organism–response theory

Purpose: Based on stimulus-organism-response theory, this study aims to develop and tests a model of memorable heritage tourism experience (MHTE). The model proposes that experiencescape, experience co-creation, education and photography are important antecedents of MHTE, which is then a driver of place attachment. Design/methodology/approach: Data for this study were collected using a Web-based questionnaire of people aged 18 years and over who had a heritage tourism experience during the previous three months (February–April 2023). The survey was distributed in May 2023 using Amazon Mechanical Turk (MTurk). A survey link was posted on MTurk, which remained active for the first week of May 2023. Out of the 283 responses received, 272 were valid responses from individuals who met the participation criteria. Findings: Experiencescape, experience co-creation, education and photography were found to be positive drivers of the MHTE, with a positive relationship between MHTE and place attachment. Originality/value: Many studies linked to memorable tourism experience (MTE) mainly replicate Kim, Ritchie, & McCormick’s (2012) MTE scale, regardless of the specific study context. This study offers an alternative framework through which alternative antecedents and outcomes of tourists’ MTE can be identified

Rice landrace diversity in Nepal. Socio-economic and ecological factors determining rice landrace diversity in three agro-ecozones of Nepal based on farm surveys

In Nepal, in traditional rice farming systems many diverse landraces are grown in all of the rice agro-ecosystems from low to high altitude. Three case study sites were selected to represent the major rice agro-ecozones: Bara (100–150 m) for the low-altitude terai (plain); Kaski (700–1,206 m) for the mid-hill zone; and Jumla (2,200–3,000 m) for the high-hill zone. The diversity in rice varieties was compared in these three sites and nine survey villages in a series of surveys conducted in 1998, 1999 and 2006. The level and distribution of diversity on farm varied with the physical and socio-economic settings of the farming communities. The mid-hill site (Kaski) had the highest rice landrace diversity. This was adapted to the diverse agro-ecosystems found there and there was equal diversity in Kule khet (irrigated lands by seasonal canals) and Sim khet (marshy wet land). The next most diverse system was Nicha khet (irrigated lowlands) in Bara, the low-altitude site. The high-hill site (Jumla) had the lowest rice diversity. Across all sites many of the landraces were rarely grown and then only in small areas, reflecting the specialized uses to which they were put. At all sites the most common single landrace occupied less than half of the rice area. Resource-rich farmers were the more important custodians of on-farm rice varietal diversity across the sites. There was more rice diversity in favourable environments than in less favourable ones. This was true whether diversity was measured across sites or across rice domains within sites