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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.

Because Medicago ruthenica [(L.) Ledebour] is a potential new forage legume, we collected 90 accessions in Inner Mongolia in 1991. The 40 accessions evaluated in this study (E2) trace to 13 collection sites ranging from 40° 40′ (N) × 111° 15′ (E) to 42° 55′ (N) × 122° 20′ (E) and to altitudes ranging from 175 to 1493 m. Nineteen of these accessions were collected from new or under-represented sites in generally milder and drier climates (temperate desert steppes), compared to the 50 accessions evaluated earlier (E1). All accessions were evaluated at Beltsville, MD (USA) on a B and K deficient Iuka sandy loam (coarse-loamy, siliceous, acid, thermic, Aquic Udigluvent; pH 6.4) in two-year studies. Significant variation was noted in E1 and E2 for dry matter yield, growth habit, leaf shape, and plant height and width. Upright growth habit and leaf narrowness, and procumbency and yield were positively correlated in both evaluations, but no particular leaf shape or growth habit was correlated with tolerance to winter conditions. In E2, leaf:stem ratios of four M. ruthenica accessions and a cultivated alfalfa (M. sativa L.) check were not significantly different, but M. ruthenica was significantly more tolerant of potato leafhopper (Empoasca fabae Harris) feeding than was M. sativa. Second-year alfalfa dry matter yield was about five times larger than that of M. ruthenica. Many of the highest yielding accessions were collected near cultivated fields and/or buildings. Although data for both evaluations demonstrated the same basic trends, there were sufficient deviations to emphasize the value of evaluating the entire germplasm collection.

Management of a genetic resources collection is more effective if a curator can accurately identify genotypes and accessions as well as assess intraspecific genetic relationships and the genetic structure of species. Consequently, a study was conducted to determine whether data from starch gel electrophoresis of a specific set of isozymes from plants of Brassica oleracea (cole crops) would be useful in answering four questions the answers to which are essential for effective curatorial activities: Can individual plants be identified? Can specific accessions be identified? What are the genetic relationships among botanical varieties within B. oleracea? What is the genetic structure of the species B. oleracea? Six loci from 4 enzyme systems (LAP, PGD, PGI, and PGM) were analyzed. Individuals and accessions could not usefully be identified using these isozymes, but genetic relationships within and genetic structure of the species were easily determined, resulting in specific recommendations for improving collection management. As expected, highly selected commercial lines exhibited less diversity than average, and so may be of limited value when trying to maximize diversity with a minimum number of accessions. In contrast, landraces and weakly selected lines are more diverse than average, and thus are useful in maximizing per accession diversity. Not only was 93% of the genetic variability in B. oleracea found among accessions and a mere 7% among varieties, but also a cluster analysis showed that accessions of a single botanical variety are often more similar to those of a different variety than to each other. These results suggest that in order to create a genetic resources collection of B. oleracea that faithfully represents the diversity in the species, a curator should assemble a broad array of accessions originating from diverse agroecological niches, having different levels of improvement, and representing all botanical varieties.

Glutenin largely determines wheat bread baking quality. As high-molecular-weight glutenin subunit (HMW-GS), related to Glu-1 loci, determines wheat flour elasticity, it correlates strongly with bread-making quality. This study was aimed at clarifying genetic variations in bread-making characteristics between East and West Asian wheat landrace germplasms, by investigating HMW-GS allelic composition of 1068 wheat accessions. Herein, the accession number having reported HMW-GS pattern in previous studies was 855. However, the accession number with newly detected HMW-GS patterns was 114. These new HMW-GS patterns were classified into 4 types based on similarity. Eight Korean accessions with these four types were identified. Concerning landrace germplasm nature, 99 accessions showed heterogeneous patterns caused by seed mixture. The Glu-1 loci allelic variation analysis, revealed that the percentages of Glu-A1c (73.6%), Glu-B1b (60.2%), and Glu-D1a (68.5%) were highest at Glu-A1, Glu-B1, and Glu-D1 loci, respectively. The incidence of preferable alleles for bread baking was high in Chinese accessions. In bread-making quality evaluation using Glu-1 score, 24 among 35 accessions with full score were from China. The polymorphic information content index of each origin based on HMW glutenin subunit combination showed that West Asian and neighboring-regional landraces, excluding Afghanistan ones, were more diverse than East Asian landraces excluding Chinese ones. Cluster analysis based on Glu-1 allelic combination showed that many Korean, Japanese, and Afghan accessions were in the same group. However, many Chinese and other West Asian accessions were in the other group despite geographical distance.