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Traditionally agricultural research has given little attention to underutilized or neglected crops. Grewia flavescens Juss., the donkey berry, is a fruit species which is found throughout semi-arid and sub-humid tropical Africa and sometimes cultivated in homegardens. The species is also known for its ornamental value and is used as a vegetable, fodder and in basketry. In Niger its fruits are mostly collected in the wild and sold at markets. The fruits are used as food and for traditional medicinal treatments. To promote this interesting neglected taxon as a horticultural crop, information on its germplasm diversity and cultivation practices is urgently needed.

The composition and structure of 300 enset gardens from 10 different locations in Sidama were examined. Average size of the gardens was 0.74 ha. The gardens are composed of mixtures of various named enset varieties and different groups recognisable on the basis of ‘sex’ (male and female) and use (cooking and processing). The gardens exhibit high diversity, with a given garden containing up to 24 varieties (mean = 8.2). However, the components are not represented equally. Typically, the gardens consisted of one or two very abundant varieties and a much larger number of less common ones. Enset gardens are dynamic because the number and composition of varieties and different types changed from garden to garden, from location to location and across time. Their composition, structure and dynamics have been influenced by human, socio-economic factors (farm size, land per capita, cropping patterns and size of livestock), temporal circumstances and landscape elements (elevation) in which they are found. The nature, characteristics, organization and functions of Sidama enset gardens are outlined and the importance of maintaining mixtures of varieties for farmers is discussed.

Ethnobotanical survey was conducted in 101 randomly selected home gardens of Phong My commune, central Vietnam, situated in the buffer-zone of Natural Reserve. Data were collected through semi-structured questionnaires and direct observation. Sixty-seven species belonging to 35 families were identified to be used for various purposes. For each species the botanical and vernacular names, plant parts used and main purposes of use are given. The major use categories reported for plant species were food (86%), medicine (32%) and firewood (32%), however, seventy-seven percent of all inventoried plants have multiple uses. The species Artocarpus heterophyllus Lam., Citrus grandis Osbeck, Citrus reticulata Blanco, Ipomoea batatas (L.) Lam. and Musa spp. were identified as the main sources of plant foods consumed within the households. Statistical analyses indicated by Shannon-Wiener and Margalef indices have shown that local species diversity and richness is affected by home garden size. On the contrary, no relationship between diversity and home garden age was found. On the basis of a cluster analysis of plant species diversity, five home garden types were differentiated. In comparison to previously reported studies on tropical home gardens, the diversity in Phong My is lower, probably due to market-oriented strategy. Nevertheless, based on the results achieved, we can conclude that useful plants cultivated in local home gardens provide valuable foods complementing daily diet and subsequently contributing to socioeconomic status of the households.

O. violaceus is a species of Brassicaceae, which is mainly found in China. Its shoots are rich in protein, iron, calcium and vitamins A and C. Hence it is a valuable forage. Its shoot yield is high, about 36,400 kg/ha, when cultivated in Chengdu. This plant species is adaptable to grassland, barren hills, roadsides, gardens, etc. Its protein content is higher than most other forage plants. Therefore, O. violaceus is a new forage genetic resource.

Recent paleoecological, archaeobotanical and genetic-molecular data are used to develop a hypothesis on the where, when, how and whom of plant domestication and the origin of agriculture in west Mesoamerica, and the formation of the maize-bean-squash multicrop milpa system and agro-food system which formed the base for development of ancient complex societies in this area. It is highly likely that about 10,000 before present (BP) human groups specializing in plant gathering and small game hunting in the dry tropical forest of the Balsas-Jalisco biotic morphotectonic province began the process of plant domestication and agriculture, using fire as a tool. Sympatric distribution of the putative wild ancestral populations of maize, beans and squash indicate the extreme northwest Balsas-Jalisco region as a possible locus of domestication. Diffusion of these domesticates to the rest of Mesoamerica would have occurred via existing biological-cultural corridors. The milpa agro-food system would have been established between 7,000 and 4,400 calendar years (cal) BP. The complex food technology developed in the northwest Balsas-Jalisco region between 4,500 and 3,500 BP, much more complex than in other areas at the time, also suggests this area as the origin of the milpa agro-food system. Further archaeobotanical research is needed to confirm this hypothesis. Exploratory, collection and conservation efforts are needed in these putative source populations, as well as studies on their adaptation to climatic, edaphic and biotic factors, before they are displaced by the African grasses and pesticides forming part of the region’s growing cattle industry.

The effects of NaCl salt (EC = 16 dS m−1) on water potential, and accumulation of proline, Na+ and K+ in leaves on the main stem of 30 wheat cultivars (Triticum aestivum L.) at awn appearance and 20 days after anthesis (20 DAA) were evaluated in a greenhouse experiment. Plants were arranged in a according to a randomized complete block design with factorial treatments in three replications. Proline accumulation at 20 DAA increased with increasing salt stress. This increase was 27.4-fold with the salt-sensitive cultivar “Ghods,” while the mean was 5.2-fold for 19 salt-resistant cultivars. Positive correlations between proline, and K+ + Na+ concentrations associated with higher sensitivity to salt stress indicated that proline may not have a protecting role against salt stress. No correlation was observed between leaf proline and water potential. Almost no contribution to the osmotic adjustment seems to be made by proline. The contribution made by proline to the osmotic adjustment of plants at 20 DAA was 0.69 bar, whereas that made by K+ and Na+ was 2.11 and 4.48 bar, respectively. The 30 wheat CVs used in this experiment showed different performances regarding the traits observed. Eleven of them showing the higher stress sensitivity indices had the highest level of proline and Na+ concentrations. They were considered to be salt-sensitive cultivars. Among the others, nine cultivars showed salt tolerance with almost the same Na+ and proline concentrations, but a higher K+/Na+ selectivity of ions from leaf to grains. In 10 of the cultivars, Na+ and proline concentrations were low, indicating the presence of a salt avoiding mechanism.

Vigna vexillata is considered as a pantropical distributed wild species closely related to the cowpea (Vigna uniculata) and adapted to infertile soils. The species is occasionally used for its storage roots as well as forage and erosion control plant. The objective of this study was to pursue personal communications that V. vexillata has be transformed into a cultivar in Indonesia. Seven Indonesian islands were visited (Java, Bali, Sumba, Flores, Timor, Kalimantan and Sulawesi). Wild V. vexillata was found in Java, Bali, Sumba, Flores and Timor, occasionally used as wild ‘forest food’, and cultivated V. vexillata was found in Bali and Timor, Seven cultivars were collected and two of these were made available for the National Botanic Garden of Belgium. The cultivars were primarily cultivated for their storage roots, propagated by seeds, required no scarified seeds for good germination and formed non-dehiscent pods. On-farm root yields of 18–30 t ha−1 and seed yields of 0.7–1.2 t ha−1 were estimated. A brief discussion about the common names of wild V. vexillata is given and it is proposed to use the name ‘tuber cowpea’ for V. vexillata accessions which are cultivated for their storage roots. The material may be of interest for regions, where the growing season is too short or the rainfall too low for sweet potato and cassava as well as to incorporate cultivar characteristics into wild V. vexillata accessions which are used for their storage roots.

In Liste 3 vonLycopersicon pimpinellifolium werden 50 neue Mutanten beschrieben. In der Tabelle am Schluß der Arbeit sind insgesamt 150 der bisher von uns beschriebenen Mutanten vonLycopersicon pimpinellifolium aufgezählt. Einige Umbenennungen von Mutanten waren entsprechend neuen Kreuzungsergebnissen und nach den genetischen Nomenklaturregeln für die GattungLycopersicon erforderlich.