The Long Road to Developing Native Herbaceous Summer Forage Legume Ecotypes

Only a handful of well-adapted herbaceous summer forage legumes are currently marketed for drier regions of North America and even fewer are true natives. There is a growing demand for native germplasm in the region as a new generation of landowner attempts to return grasslands to a semblance of their original species and diversity. The objective of this paper is to describe preliminary research results of a grasslands team collecting, studying and promulgating native leguminous germplasm in Texas

Molecular description and similarity relationships among native germplasm potatoes (Solanum tuberosum ssp. tuberosum L.) using morphological data and AFLP markers

Chile is considered to be a sub-center of origin for the cultivated potato, with native and introduced genetic material coexisting in the country. Thus, the different varieties present in Chiloe Island are characterized by a rich diversity of forms, sizes, colours and phenological characteristics. In the present work, the level of polymorphism and the genetic relationship were studied by means of molecular markers using the amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) technique and twenty-seven morphological characters. Twenty varieties of potatoes from the Chiloe Island were analyzed. The commercial variety Desirée and one specie from the Etuberosa series, Solanum fernandezianum, collected in the Juan Fernandez Island were included as controls. A similarity tree-diagram was made, based on all the AFLP bands generated in the range between 65 and 290 base pairs. With these tools, it was possible to identify molecular differences and similarities that might be associated with important morphological traits such as the predominant forms of the tuber, flower colour and resistance to disease

Conservation of fish genetic resources: An introduction to state fishes of India.

Over exploitation, habitat destruction, introduction of exotic species and pollution has led to the loss of native germplasm. Biodiversity conservation is very important to preserve species and also to safeguard the local interest and the cultural attachment of people to certain species. Several species from India are already extinct and many are endangered, threatened or listed in diff erent categories based on their natural presence. The estimated current extinction rate is very high, ranging between 1000-10000 times the natural rate . Hence, appropriate strategies for biodiversity conservation management are required

Phenological and Pomological Characteristics of Native Apple (Malus domestica Borkh) Cultivars of Trans Himalayan Ladakh India

Seven local apple cultivars of the trans-Himalayan Ladakh region were studied for phenological and pomological characteristics. Early and extended flowering was observed. Flowering began 12 days earlier as compared to Royal Delicious, a popular introduced cultivar. The cultivars attained fruit maturity between mid-August to early September, which is one month earlier than Royal Delicious. Apples of the Ladakh region are soft (6.1±1.1 kg cm-2) and small in size (60.1±29.1 g). The unique characteristics observed in apples of the Ladakh region, such as early flowering and early fruit maturity offer an opportunity for exploring the native cultivars for future breeding programs for the development of early maturing cultivars

Reproductive biology of Sphaeralcea species with ornamental interest

The genus Sphaeralcea belongs to the Malvaceae family and hasnative species from South America. Their attractive morphological characteristics with ornamental value have not yet been explored. The objective of thiswork was to know the viability of pollen, stigma receptivity, type of pollinationand combining ability of four Sphaeralcea species (S. australis, S. bonariensis, S.crispa and S. mendocina), with the aim to develop new ornamental varieties.Fructification, fertility, seed germination and survival seedlings on intraspecificand reciprocal interspecific offspring were assessed. The highest values of stigma receptivity and pollen viability were obtained at 2:00 PM for the fourspecies. S. mendocina also showed high values of pollen viability at 4:00 PM.The species proved to be self­incompatible and allogamous, with differentdegrees of reproductive compatibility. The interspecific crosses of S. mendocinaand the intraspecific of S. crispa did not produce descendants. The crossesbetween S. australis and S. bonariensis as maternal parent presented the bestcombining ability with good fruit production, seed germination and survival.This research provides useful information for the formulation and implementation of breeding strategies, to improve pollination efficiency, and to breed newSphaeralcea varieties with ornamental potential.Fil: Gutierrez, Agustina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Bahía Blanca. Centro de Recursos Naturales Renovables de la Zona Semiárida. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Centro de Recursos Naturales Renovables de la Zona Semiárida; Argentina. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Departamento de Biología, Bioquímica y Farmacia; ArgentinaFil: Monzón, María Paula. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Bahía Blanca. Centro de Recursos Naturales Renovables de la Zona Semiárida. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Centro de Recursos Naturales Renovables de la Zona Semiárida; Argentina. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Departamento de Biología, Bioquímica y Farmacia; ArgentinaFil: Micheletto, Sandra. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Bahía Blanca. Centro de Recursos Naturales Renovables de la Zona Semiárida. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Centro de Recursos Naturales Renovables de la Zona Semiárida; ArgentinaFil: Marinangeli, Pablo Alejandro. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Bahía Blanca. Centro de Recursos Naturales Renovables de la Zona Semiárida. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Centro de Recursos Naturales Renovables de la Zona Semiárida; Argentina. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Departamento de Agronomía; Argentin

\u3cem\u3ePiptatherum miliaceum (L.)\u3c/em\u3e Coss: A Mediterranean Native Perennial Grass with Potential Use for Bioenergy

In Mediterranean regions, the development of a bioenergy sector is restricted by the scarce availability of species and varieties suitable to cultivation in rainfed environments, where summer drought affects plant survival (Scordia et al., 2014). Native perennial grasses that survive summer drought in a dormant or semi-dormant state may represent potential bioenergy crops. Nevertheless, the native germplasm of Mediterranean perennial grasses is unexplored for bioenergy production, except for giant reed, and little investigated also for other uses, as forage production. Smilo grass (Piptatherum miliaceum (L.) Coss) is a native species growing in marginal environments and it is palatable up to flowering stage. Its high aboveground biomass production suggests the alternative use as bioenergy plant when its palatability decreases. The aim of this study was to evaluate the degree of variability in dry matter yield, biomass partitioning among organs and feedstock quality for bioenergy uses in Sardinian native smilo grass populations

Novel Therapeutic Uses of Legume Crops in Southern South America

The Argentine flora comprises more than 10,000 species, and many of them have been recorded as having medicinal, antimicrobial, and nutraceutical uses in humans as well as veterinary uses. In this chapter, native species/populations from the north of Argentina have been identified, selected, and characterized using morphological, chemical, and molecular techniques. Bauhinia forficata subsp. pruinosa was found to have anti-inflammatory, antidiabetic, diuretic, and analgesic activity and Senna spectabilis var. spectabilis has been found to have antibacterial, antibiofilm, antifungal, and antioxidant properties. The characterization and conservation of the native germplasm will allow us to propose future protocols of adaptation and technological processes to improve the quality of life in the rural areas and sustainable growth. This process will be achieved through a future integral and rational use that contemplates the conservation of the wild populations and their habitat. Thus, new resources will be generated, and the native flora of the country will gain value, strengthening the regional and territorial development of the agricultural and agroindustrial system. In addition, the domestication practices oriented to an integral management of the crop without extraction of the biological resource from the natural habitat minimize the impact of ecosystem degradation by overexploitation associated with landscape fragmentation

Promising native forage options for semi-arid prairies of western Canada

Non-Peer ReviewedThere is growing interest in native plant species for their use as forage, pasture, energy crop, and as land reclamation and revegetation materials. This article reports the results of population improvement work on northern wheatgrass (NWG), purple prairie clover (PPC), white prairie clover (WPC) and plains rough fescue (PRF) carried out at Swift Current Research and Development Centre - Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. Substantial selection differential were achieved in all species in terms of growth vigour, plant health, biomass and seed yield in all species. This suggests ample scope for selection gain for the desirable traits. Seed shattering is one of the challenges facing the domestication and commercialization of these native plant species

First report of basal rot caused by Sclerotinia sclerotiorum on Calibrachoa hybrida

Calibrachoa (Solanaceae) is a plant genus typical of open environments that occurs in both the Pampas and the high-altitude grasslands of southern Brazil (Fregonezi et al. 2012). Calibrachoas (mini petunias) are hybrids developed from native germplasm, with increasing importance in the ornamental plant market. During October 2019, basal rot was observed in plants of C. hybrida cv. INTA 06575 grown in a propagation greenhouse in Hurlingham, Buenos Aires. Those symptoms caused the darkening and withering of the leaves (incidence of 10 %). White mycelial mats containing sclerotia of 2 to 8 mm in diameter were evident on the base of the wilted plants and the nearby soil surface. Pieces of symptomatic stem tissues were surface-disinfested in ethanol 70% for 1 min, sodium hypochlorite (2 g Cl/L) for 1 min, washed with distilled water for 1 min, and placed on potato dextrose agar (PDA) plates. The plates were incubated in the dark for 5 days at 23°C and individual colonies were transferred to new plates of PDA to obtain pure cultures. The colonies developed white cottony mycelium, and a ring of large black sclerotia at the periphery of the plates. No teleomorph was observed. Based on the morphology of the colony, sclerotia, and microscopic observations, the pathogen was identified as Sclerotinia sclerotiorum (Lib.) de Bary (Mordue and Holliday 1976). A representative isolate was deposited in the Entomopathogenic Fungal Culture Collection of Argentina, CEPAVE as CEP 785. Genomic DNA was extracted and the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region of rDNA was amplified with the primers ITS1/ITS4 (White et al. 1990). The resulting sequence was deposited in GenBank (Accession No. MT177216) and the BLASTn search showed 100 % of identity with those of S. sclerotiorum (ex. MG931017, KX781301). The pathogenicity of the isolate was confirmed by placing plugs of 10 mm2 obtained from a 7-day-old culture grown on PDA,on the stem bases of 12 healthy potted calibrachoas 2 months old. Those segments were wrapped with moistened sterilized cotton (Choi et al. 2017). Four plants with sterile PDA plugs served as controls. Each plant was placed inside a polyethylene bag, and all of them were kept in a growth chamber at 20°C. All the inoculated plants had their leaves discolored after five days, and wilted after thirteen days. Sclerotinia sclerotiorum was consistently re-isolated from rotten stem bases, thus fulfilling Koch?s postulates. Control plants did not develop symptoms. To our knowledge, this is the first report of S. sclerotiorum causing basal rot on Calibrachoa hybrida (Farr and Rossman 2020) in Argentina, and in the world.Fil: Borrelli, Nicolas Pablo. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria. Centro de Investigación de Recursos Naturales. Instituto de Floricultura; ArgentinaFil: Papone, Mirta. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria. Centro de Investigación de Recursos Naturales. Instituto de Floricultura; ArgentinaFil: Moreno, Maria Virginia. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Cientifico Tecnolológico Mar del Plata. Instituto de Investigaciones en Biodiversidad y Biotecnología. Laboratorio de Biología Funcional y Biotecnología; ArgentinaFil: Stenglein, Sebastian Alberto. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Cientifico Tecnolológico Mar del Plata. Instituto de Investigaciones en Biodiversidad y Biotecnología. Laboratorio de Biología Funcional y Biotecnología; ArgentinaFil: Stancanelli, Santiago. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria. Centro de Investigación de Recursos Naturales. Instituto de Floricultura; ArgentinaFil: Wright, Eduardo Roberto. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Agronomía. Departamento de Producción Vegetal. Cátedra de Fitopatología; ArgentinaFil: Hagiwara, Juan Carlos. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria. Centro de Investigación de Recursos Naturales. Instituto de Floricultura; ArgentinaFil: Rivera, Marta Carolina. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Agronomía. Departamento de Producción Vegetal; Argentin