CORRELATION BETWEEN OPEN REPORTING SYSTEM OF PERFORMANCE EVALUATION AND TEACHERS PERCEIVED PRODUCTIVITY IN LAGOS STATE

The study examined the relationship between open reporting system of performance evaluation and teachers’ perceived productivity in Lagos State. The descriptive survey design was used for the study. The sample comprises of three hundred teachers randomly selected from five secondary schools in each of the six Education Districts of Lagos State. A modified Likert type questionnaire was prepared and used to collect data for the study. Pearson product moment correlation co-efficient was used for data analysis. The result of the analysis shows that there existed a significant relationship (P =0.05) between the open reporting system of performance appraisal, on the one hand, perceived teachers’ productivity and teachers’ potential for advancement on the other. Consequently, it was suggested among other things, that teachers performance appraisal system should be based on objectivity and be devoid of prejudices and biases

Genetic parameter estimation and selection in advanced breeding population of white Guinea yam

Published online: 01 Mar 2021White Guinea yam (Dioscorea rotundata Poir.) is an important tuber crop grown extensively in tropical regions of West African yam belt. Tuber yield, dry matter content, and tolerance to yam mosaic virus are key traits used for identification and selection of superior varieties for commercial deployment. In this study, we estimated genetic parameters for fresh tuber yield, tuber dry matter content, and quantitative field tolerance to yam mosaic virus in 49 clones grown in multi-environment trials (METs). We conducted genomic prediction involving 6337 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and phenotypic field evaluation of data collected on the three traits from four sites. Additive genetic and non-genetic factors contributed significantly to phenotypic variation of studied yam traits in METs but to varying degrees. The non-genetic effects were relatively high for most of the measured traits. Narrow-sense heritability values were low (<0.30) for all studied traits. Further analysis of the performance of the clones at test sites with additive main effects and multiplicative interaction (AMMI) analysis exhibited significant genotype by environment interactions (GEI) for the three traits. The AMMI identified TDr10/00412, TDr11/00055, and TDr09/00135 clones with lowest mean trait stability index and outstanding performance for fresh tuber yield (t ha−1), tuber dry matter, and mosaic virus resistance across sites. The elite clones identified could serve as useful source of alleles for the genetic improvement of the crop and possibly considered for release to farmers

Genome-wide association analysis reveals new insights into the genetic architecture of defensive, agro-morphological and quality-related traits in cassava

OpenAccess Article; Published online: 30 Jul 2020Cassava (Manihot esculenta) is one of the most important starchy root crops in the tropics due to its adaptation to marginal environments. Genetic progress in this clonally propagated crop can be accelerated through the discovery of markers and candidate genes that could be used in cassava breeding programs. We carried out a genome-wide association study (GWAS) using a panel of 5,310 clones developed at the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture - Nigeria. The population was genotyped at more than 100,000 SNP markers via genotyping-by-sequencing (GBS). Genomic regions underlying genetic variation for 14 traits classified broadly into four categories: biotic stress (cassava mosaic disease and cassava green mite severity); quality (dry matter content and carotenoid content) and plant agronomy (harvest index and plant type). We also included several agro-morphological traits related to leaves, stems and roots with high heritability. In total, 41 significant associations were uncovered. While some of the identified loci matched with those previously reported, we present additional association signals for the traits. We provide a catalogue of favourable alleles at the most significant SNP for each trait-locus combination and candidate genes occurring within the GWAS hits. These resources provide a foundation for the development of markers that could be used in cassava breeding programs and candidate genes for functional validation

Correlation between Open Reporting System of Performance Evaluation and Teachers Perceived Productivity in Lagos State

The study examined the relationship between open reporting system of performance evaluation and teachers&rsquo; perceived productivity in Lagos State. The descriptive survey design was used for the study. The sample comprises of three hundred teachers randomly selected from five secondary schools in each of the six Education Districts of Lagos State. A modified Likert type questionnaire was prepared and used to collect data for the study. Pearson product moment correlation co-efficient was used for data analysis. The result of the analysis shows that there existed a significant relationship (P =0.05) between the open reporting system of performance appraisal, on the one hand, perceived teachers&rsquo; productivity and teachers&rsquo; potential for advancement on the other. Consequently, it was suggested among other things, that teachers performance appraisal system should be based on objectivity and be devoid of prejudices and biases. &nbsp

Connecting Data for Consumer Preferences, Food Quality and Breeding in support of Market-oriented Breeding of Root, Tuber, and Banana Crops

The 5-year project ‘Breeding Roots, Tubers and Banana products for end user preferences’ (RTBfoods) focused on collecting consumers’ preferences on twelve food products to guide breeding programs. It involved multidisciplinary teams from Africa, Latin America, and Europe. Diverse data types were generated on preferred qualities of users (farmers, family and entrepreneurial processors, traders or retailers, and consumers). Country-based Target Product Profiles (TPP) were produced with a comprehensive market analysis, disaggregating gender's role and preferences, providing prioritised lists of traits for the development of new plant varieties. We describe the approach taken to create, in the RTB breeding databases, a centralised and meaningful open access to sensory information on food products and genotypes. Biochemical, instrumental textural, and sensory analysis data are then directly connected to the specific plant record while user survey data, bearing personal information, were analysed, anonymized, and uploaded in a repository. Names and descriptions of food quality traits were added into the Crop Ontology, along with the various methods of measurement used by the project, for labelling data in the databases. The development and application of Standard Operating Procedures, data templates and adapted trait ontologies improved the data quality and its format, enabling to link it to the studied plant material when uploaded in the breeding databases or in repositories. Some modifications to the database model were necessary to accommodate the food sensory traits and sensory panel trials

Breedbase: a digital ecosystem for modern plant breeding

Modern breeding methods integrate next-generation sequencing (NGS) and phenomics to identify plants with the best characteristics and greatest genetic merit for use as parents in subsequent breeding cycles to ultimately create improved cultivars able to sustain high adoption rates by farmers. This data-driven approach hinges on strong foundations in data management, quality control, and analytics. Of crucial importance is a central database able to 1) track breeding materials, 2) store experimental evaluations, 3) record phenotypic measurements using consistent ontologies, 4) store genotypic information, and 5) implement algorithms for analysis, prediction and selection decisions. Because of the complexity of the breeding process, breeding databases also tend to be complex, difficult, and expensive to implement and maintain. Here, we present a breeding database system, Breedbase (https://breedbase.org/). Originally initiated as Cassavabase (https://cassavabase.org/) with the NextGen Cassava project (https://www.nextgencassava.org/), and later developed into a crop-agnostic system, it is presently used by dozens of different crops and projects. The system is web-based and is available as open source software. It is available on GitHub (https://github.com/solgenomics/) and packaged in a Docker image for deployment (https://dockerhub.com/breedbase/). The Breedbase system enables breeding programs to better manage and leverage their data for decision making within a fully integrated digital ecosystem