Wilt caused by Fusarium oxysporum f.sp. ricini (Wr) Gordon is one of the major yield losing diseases in castor. Cultivating wilt resistant cultivars is an effective strategy to control the disease. Utilization of diverse sources of stable resistance is a prerequisite for durable resistance breeding. The experiment was conducted to identify genetically diverse resistant sources in castor germpla...

The Seychelles Giant Tortoise Conservation Project captive breeding programme for the Seychelles tortoises Dipsochelys arnoldi and D. hololissa is described. Successful hatching occurred in 2002 and the reasons for this success discussed. Important factors are enclosure design, social structure and the use of artificial incubation. Methods for sexing hatchlings are discussed. There may be great...

Abstract: Heritability shows the degree of resemblance between relatives. Heritability is the most important genetic parameter on which different breeding strategy depends. The knowledge of heritability is a prerequisite for the formulation of breeding plans on scientific lines. There is need to know the heritability of different characters which are used for selection of parents for future bre...

There have been a number of recent reports suggesting that birds may be able to manipulate the sex ratio of their offspring in relation to a variety of social and environmental factors. But, from several of the studies of sex-ratio bias, it has been difficult to tell whether the observed ratio was the result of hormonal changes. To test this explicitly, two researchers from the University of Ne...

Accurate prediction of genetic potential and response to selection in breeding requires knowledge of genetic parameters for important selection traits. In this study, we estimated genetic parameters for wood properties in Khasi pine (Pinus kesiya Royle ex Gordon) grown in Malawi. Data on wood properties and growth traits were collected from six families of Pinus kesiya at the age of 30. The res...

This chapter is a programme-level overview of the contribution of ACTS to new ways of flexible working, and highlights some of the technological issues that need to be addressed by the IST programme. The task of the ACTSLINE project is to summarise the results of ACTS in a form meaningful to communications professionals in various business sectors external to ACTS. For further information on su...

Sugarcane has been grown for some thirty years in Western and Central Africa. The annual sugar production is now around 500,000 tonnes, all of which is produced by recently privatised sugarcane companies. With a view to increasing productivity, producers aim at renewing the range of varieties grown. Unlike many sugarcane growing areas, this regional sugar industry does not have at its disposal ...