Efficacy of Event MON 87460 in drought-tolerant maize hybrids under optimal and managed drought-stress in eastern and southern africa.

Background: Frequent drought events due to climate change have become a major threat to maize (Zea mays L.) production and food security in Africa. Genetic engineering is one of the ways of improving drought tolerance through gene introgression to reduce the impact of drought stress in maize production.

Genetic Variation Among Tropical Maize Inbred Lines from NARS and CGIAR Breeding Programs.

Unlabelled: The use of molecular markers allows for precise estimates of genetic diversity, which is an important parameter that enables breeders to select parental lines and designing breeding systems. We assessed the level of genetic diversity and population structure in a panel of 151 tropical maize inbred lines using 10,940 SNP (single nucleotide polymorphism) markers generated through the DArTseq genotyping platform. The average gene diversity was 0.

Molecular Diversity of Rice Yellow Mottle Virus in Uganda and Relationships with Other Strains from Africa.

Rice yellow mottle virus disease, caused by (RYMV), is the most important disease of lowland rice in Uganda. However, little is known about its genetic diversity in Uganda and relationships with other strains elsewhere across Africa. A new degenerate primer pair that targets amplification of the entire RYMV coat protein gene (circa 738 bp) was designed to aid virus variability analysis using RT-PCR and Sanger sequencing.

Performance of Bt maize event MON810 in controlling maize stem borers and in Uganda.

Stem borers are major insect pests of maize in Uganda. A study was conducted in 2014-2016 to assess the performance of Bt hybrids expressing Cry1Ab (event MON810) against the two major stem borer species in Uganda - the African stem borer () and the spotted stem borer () - under artificial infestation. The study comprised 14 non-commercialized hybrids, including seven pairs of Bt and non-Bt hybrids (isolines), three non-Bt commercial hybrids and a conventional stem borer resistant check.

Genome-wide diversity and structure variation among lablab [ (L.) Sweet] accessions and their implication in a Forage breeding program.

Unlabelled: Most orphan crops have not been fully sequenced, hence we rely on genome sequences of related species to align markers to different chromosomes. This hinders their utilisation in plant population improvement programs. Utilising the advances in the science of sequencing technologies, the population structure, relatedness, and genetic diversity among accessions can be assessed quickly for better exploitation in forage breeding programs.

Identification and diversity of tropical maize inbred lines with resistance to common rust ( Schwein).

Common rust (CR) caused by Schwein is one of the major foliar diseases of maize ( L.) in Eastern and Southern Africa. This study was conducted to (i) evaluate the response of elite tropical adapted maize inbred lines to and identify resistant lines (ii) examine associations between CR disease parameters and agronomic traits, and (iii) assess the genetic diversity of the inbred lines.

Evaluation of early-generation tropical maize testcrosses for grain-yield potential and weevil ( Motschulsky) resistance.

Smallholder maize farmers in Africa experience pre- and post-harvest production stresses either individually or in combination at different stages of the crop cycle. The maize weevil is among the major post-harvest storage pests. A strategy to address this problem is to develop and promote high yielding maize germplasm with resistance to multiple stresses.

Aflatoxin-producing fungi associated with pre-harvest maize contamination in Uganda.

Maize is an important staple crop for the majority of the population in Uganda. However, in tropical and subtropical climates, maize is frequently contaminated with aflatoxins, a group of cancer-causing and immuno-suppressive mycotoxins produced by Aspergillus section Flavi fungi. In Uganda, there is limited knowledge about the causal agents of aflatoxin contamination.

An atoxigenic L-strain of Aspergillus flavus (Eurotiales: Trichocomaceae) is pathogenic to the coffee twig borer, Xylosandrus compactus (Coleoptera: Curculionidea: Scolytinae).

This study isolated and evaluated virulence of fungal entomopathogens of Xylosandrus compactus - an important pest of Robusta coffee in Sub-Saharan Africa. A survey was conducted in five farming systems in Uganda to isolate entomopathogens associated with X. compactus.

Grain-yield stability among tropical maize hybrids derived from doubled-haploid inbred lines under random drought stress and optimum moisture conditions.

Drought is a devastating environmental stress in agriculture and hence a common target of plant breeding. A review of breeding progress on drought tolerance shows that, to a certain extent, selection for high yield in stress-free conditions indirectly improves yield in water-limiting conditions. The objectives of this study were to () assess the genotype × environment (GE) interaction for grain yield (GY) and other agronomic traits for maize ( L.