germplasm for the benefit of farmers and consumers of the Global South during and after the Green Revolution. Understanding farmers’ heterogeneous preferences for varietal traits in different market segments and incorporating the prominent ones in crop breeding programs are expected to facilitate a faster diffusion of these new varieties. Albeit knowing little about farmers’ trait preferences in South Asia, public-sector breeding programs prioritize yield enhancement and risk reduction over other varietal traits.

Yam (Dioscorea spp.) is a staple food crop and a source of income for millions of people in West Africa. Traditionally, in West Africa, yams are grown without any external inputs, leading to low tuber yields. The rapid decrease of tuber yield observed after the first yam cropping season has been ascribed to nutrient depletion and/or to the accumulation of yam-specific pests and diseases. This has led farmers to grow yam on new surfaces under fallow each year.

Taro is an ancient nutritional and medicinal crop woven into the fabric of the socio-economic life of those living in the tropics and sub-tropics. However, West Africa (WA), which has been a major producer of the crop for several decades, is experiencing a significant decline in production as a result of taro leaf blight (TLB), a disease caused by Phytophthora colocasiae Raciborski. A lack of research on taro in WA means that available innovative technologies have not been fully utilized to provide solutions to inherent challenges and enhance the status of the crop.

Poultry has gained renewed attention as a promising value chain for women because it is an asset that is widely accessible to women, has low start-up costs, and provides a good source of nutritious animal-sourced foods for children in chicken meat and, especially, eggs. The current study presents evidence from an experimental intervention that randomly provided women either a poultry package transfer of vaccinated, improved-breed chickens and related inputs, or a cash grant of equivalent value within a sample of households participating in a social safety net program.

This gender research ethics and standards toolkit is a ‘living’ document that will provide guidance, recommendations and resources on the gender-relevant ethical considerations for research involving human subjects. The toolkit aligns with the CGIAR’s core ethical values outlined in the CGIAR Ethics Framework of (1) integrity, (2) dignity and respect, (3) sustainability, (4) excellence and innovation, and (5) partnership.

Breeding for nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) is important to deal with food insecurity and its effect on grain quality, particularly protein. A total of 1679 hybrids were evaluated in 16 different trials for grain yield (GY), grain quality traits (protein, starch and oil content) and kernel weight (KW) under optimum and managed low soil nitrogen fields in Kiboko, Kenya, from 2011 to 2014.

Smallholder farmers who grow maize landraces face important challenges to preserve their seed biodiversity from one season to another. This study was carried out in the central highlands of Mexico to compare the effectiveness of two seed storage practices—specifically, polypropylene woven bags (farmers’ conventional practice) vs. hermetic containers—for minimizing seed losses and maintaining germination. Four Mexican landraces were stored for three and six months. Data on moisture content and kernel damage were collected at the beginning and the end of the storage period.

Yam anthracnose is one of the most serious fungal diseases affecting white and water yam production. Screening of available landraces for new sources of durable resistance to the pathogen is a continuous process. In the present study, the pathogens causing anthracnose in Dioscorea alata and Dioscorea rotundata farms in Cross River State yam belt region were characterized. Diseased yam leaves with anthracnose symptoms collected from the farms were used in the isolation, purification and, identification of C. alatae strains using morphological, cultural, and molecular methods.

This manual is a protocol developed as part of the monitoring, evaluation, and learning (MEL) activities for the One CGIAR Initiative Sustainable Animal Productivity for Livelihoods, Nutrition and Gender Inclusion (SAPLING). It describes the processes for obtaining baseline data on value chain performance and inclusion, as well as innovation use by service providers, which will be applied for each of SAPLING’s 15 focal livestock value chains. The actual data collection tools are annexed.

Wheat production is under continuous threat by various fungal pathogens. Identification of multiple-disease resistance genes may lead to effective disease control via the development of cultivars with broad-spectrum resistance. Plant Lysin-motif (LysM)-type pattern-recognition receptors, which elicit innate immunity by recognizing fungal pathogen associated molecular patterns such as chitin, are potential candidates for such resistance. In this study, we cloned a LysM receptor-like kinase gene, CERK1-V, from the diploid wheat relative Haynaldia villosa.

Functional traits offer a rich quantitative framework for developing and testing theories in evolutionary biology, ecology and ecosystem science. However, the potential of functional traits to drive theoretical advances and refine models of global change can only be fully realised when species-level information is complete. Here we present the AVONET dataset containing comprehensive functional trait data for all birds, including six ecological variables, 11 continuous morphological traits, and information on range size and location.

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Epidemiological Analysis of Cassava Mosaic and Brown Streak Diseases, and Bemisia tabaci in the Comoros Islands
by Rudolph Rufini Shirima 1,*ORCID,Everlyne Nafula Wosula 1ORCID,Abdou Azali Hamza 2,Nobataine Ali Mohammed 2,Hadji Mouigni 2,Salima Nouhou 2,Naima Mmadi Mchinda 2,Gloria Ceasar 1,Massoud Amour 1,Emmanuel Njukwe 3 andJames Peter Legg 1ORCID
1
International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA-Tanzania), P.O. Box 34441, Dar es Salaam 14112, Tanzania
2