Impact of different types of green manure on pests and disease incidence and severity as well as growth and yield parameters of maize.

The emergence of pests and diseases, including the maize streak virus, leaf blight, the African stem borer, and gray leaf spot, poses a persistent threat to maize production ( L. cv: DMR-ESR-Yellow) around the world. A field experiment was conducted at the School of Agriculture experimental site, Njala University, Sierra Leone, during a two-year period (2020-2021) to assess the effects of green manure on pest and disease incidence and severity as well as growth and yield parameters of maize.

Multiple-Traits Selection in White Guinea Yam () Genotypes.

Choosing superior parents with complementary trait values for hybridization and selecting variants with desired product profiles to release as a new cultivar are important breeding activities to progress genetic improvement in crops. This study assessed the genetic potential of 36 parental lines of white Guinea yam () genotypes using multi-trait index-based factor analysis and ideotype design (FAI-BLUP). The experiment utilized 36 white yam genotypes laid out in a 6 × 6 triple lattice design with three replications and phenotyped for 18 agronomic and food quality traits.

Identification of quantitative trait nucleotides and candidate genes for tuber yield and mosaic virus tolerance in an elite population of white guinea yam (Dioscorea rotundata) using genome-wide association scan.

Background: Improvement of tuber yield and tolerance to viruses are priority objectives in white Guinea yam breeding programs. However, phenotypic selection for these traits is quite challenging due to phenotypic plasticity and cumbersome screening of phenotypic-induced variations. This study assessed quantitative trait nucleotides (QTNs) and the underlying candidate genes related to tuber yield per plant (TYP) and yam mosaic virus (YMV) tolerance in a panel of 406 white Guinea yam (Dioscorea rotundata) breeding lines using a genome-wide association study (GWAS).

Paternity Assignment in White Guinea Yam () Half-Sib Progenies from Polycross Mating Design Using SNP Markers.

White Guinea yam is mostly a dioecious outcrossing crop with male and female flowers produced on distinct plants. Fertile parents produce high fruit set in an open pollination polycross block, which is a cost-effective and convenient way of generating variability in yam breeding. However, the pollen parent of progeny from polycross mating is usually unknown.

Genetic characterization of cassava ( Crantz) genotypes using agro-morphological and single nucleotide polymorphism markers.

Dearth of information on extent of genetic variability in cassava limits the genetic improvement of cassava genotypes in Sierra Leone. The aim of this study was to assess the genetic diversity and relationships within 102 cassava genotypes using agro-morphological and single nucleotide polymorphism markers. Morphological classification based on qualitative traits categorized the germplasm into five different groups, whereas the quantitative trait set had four groups.