Successful cultivation of bottle gourd in arid and semi-arid areas of sub-Saharan Africa and globally requires the identification of drought tolerant parents for developing superior genotypes with increased drought resistance. The objective of this study was to determine the level of drought tolerance among genetically diverse South African bottle gourd landraces based on leaf gas exchange and photosynthetic efficiency and identify promising genotypes for breeding. The responses of 12 bottle gourd landraces grown in glasshouse under non-stressed (NS) and drought-stressed (DS) conditions were studied.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFInjera is a fermented, sour bread consumed as a staple food in Eritrea and Ethiopia. The bread can be prepared from various cereals but tef [Eragrostis tef (Zucc.) Trotter] is the most preferred ingredient.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCowpea (Vigna unguiculata [L.] Walp.) yields are considerably low in Namibia due to lack of improved varieties and biotic and abiotic stresses, notably, recurrent drought.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPigeonpea is an important pulse crop grown predominantly in the tropical and sub-tropical regions of the world. Although pigeonpea growing area has considerably increased, yield has remained stagnant for the last six decades mainly due to the exposure of the crop to various biotic and abiotic constraints. In addition, low level of genetic variability and limited genomic resources have been serious impediments to pigeonpea crop improvement through modern breeding approaches.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe aim of the study was to evaluate heterotic and combining ability effects for growth in nine chicken genotypes. A 3 × 3 complete diallel mating system involving two indigenous breeds named Venda (V) and Naked Neck (N) and one commercial broiler breed named Ross 308 (R) were used. The nine genetic groups of crosses were reared up from hatch to 13 weeks of age in deep litter open house.
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