Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) is the second largest pulse crop grown worldwide and ascochyta blight caused by Ascochyta rabiei (Pass.) Labr. is the most devastating disease of the crop in all chickpea growing areas across the continents. The pathogen A. rabiei is highly variable. The resistant sources available are not sufficient and new sources needs to be identified from time to time as resistance breakdown in existing chickpea varieties is very frequent due to fast evolution of new pathotypes of the pathogen.

Triadic comparison of technology options (tricot) is a research methodology that helps farmers to identify the most suitable technologies for the local conditions of their farm. Tricot (read: ‘try-cot’) engages farmers as ‘farmer researchers’ in the testing or validation of new crop varieties and other promising technologies. Tricot is supported by the ClimMob digital platform (https://climmob.net). This guide provides an introduction to tricot and each of the steps in the experimental cycle.

Fufu is a popular traditional fermented wet paste food product from cassava. We examined consumer preferences and quality attributes of fufu in Abia and Imo States of South‐East Nigeria, with special attention to gender differences, for the purpose of providing guidance to breeders. Data were analysed by the use of descriptive and inferential statistics. Participants for the interview were randomly selected from a list of farmers in the study area. Individual (II) interviews were conducted among eighty participants comprising twenty‐six men (32.5%) and fifty‐four women (67.5%).

The use of plant tissue analysis as a tool for attaining low cyanogenic glucoside levels in cassava roots, has hardly been investigated. Just as the quality of crops is improved through the use of plant tissue analysis, the same can probably be done to consistently attain the lowest possible cyanogenic glucoside levels in cassava roots. High levels of cyanogenic glucosides in consumed fresh cassava roots or in their products have the potential of causing cyanide intoxication, hence the need to lower them.

Seed conservation of banana crop wild relatives (Musa L. spp.) is limited because of lack of knowledge about their germination ecology. Musa acuminata Colla, the most important banana crop wild relative, is distributed in tropical and subtropical Asian and Pacific rainforests and colonizes disturbed sites. The role of temperature in stimulating/inhibiting germination to detect disturbance when canopy gaps are formed is not well known. We assessed seed germination thermal requirements of three subspecies of M.

The cassava system in Nigeria is developing, with increasing attention to its potential positive outcomes. However, credit access is a major problem in expanding productive activities of the different actors across the value chains of cassava products. This study investigates the extent of access to credit by cassava actors with respect to the different financial institutions in the country using data obtained from a sample of 168 actors, including producers, processors, marketers, fabricators and end users.

Extreme weather events cause considerable damage to livelihoods of smallholder farmers globally. Whilst index insurance can help farmers cope with the financial consequences of extreme weather, a major challenge for index insurance is basis risk, where insurance payouts correlate poorly with actual crop losses. We analyze to what extent the use of crop simulation models and crop phenology monitoring can reduce basis risk in index insurance.

The fall armyworm, Spodoptera frugiperda, a moth originating from the American continent, has recently invaded most African countries, where it is seriously threatening food security as a pest of cereals. The current management methods rely heavily on the use of synthetic insecticides but there is a need for more sustainable control methods, including biological control. Surveys were conducted in two West African countries, Ghana and Benin, to determine the native parasitoid complex and assess parasitism rates of S. frugiperda. Samples of S.

Ex situ seed conservation of banana crop wild relatives (Musa spp. L.), is constrained by critical knowledge gaps in their storage and germination behaviour. Additionally, challenges in collecting seeds from wild populations impact the quality of seed collections. It is, therefore, crucial to evaluate the viability of seeds from such collecting missions in order to improve the value

Resolution of the Ministries of Uzbekistan #504 of 24 August 2020 ”Measures on restoration of local varieties of crops with unique traits and development of their foundation seed supply system”.