Rice is the fourth most important crop in Italy with a growing area under organic management. We conducted participatory evaluation of 21 rice cultivars (10 old, 10 modern and mixture) four organic/biodynamic farms, for two cropping seasons, to assess extent varieties × farms years within farm interactions farmers’ preferences. There were significant differences between varieties, as well large...

In any hybridization program, recognition of the best combination of two (or more) parental genotypes to maximize variance within related breeding populations, and as a result the chance of recognizing superior transgressive segregants in the segregating populations, are the most critical challenge to plant breeders. Since the combining ability was introduced in 1942, it has been widely adopted...

Conventional plant breeding exploits existing genetic variability and introduces new variability by mutagenesis. This has proven highly successful in securing food supplies for an ever-growing human population. The use of genetically modified plants is a complementary approach but all plant breeding techniques have limitations. Here, we discuss how the recent evolution of targeted mutagenesis a...

J APER*, B DE CAUWER†, S DE ROO†, M LOURENC O‡, V FIEVEZ‡, R BULCKE† & D REHEUL§ *Plant Sciences Unit, Applied Genetics and Breeding, Institute for Agricultural and Fisheries Research, Melle, Belgium, †Weed Science Unit, Department of Plant Production, Ghent University, Gent, Belgium, ‡Laboratory for Animal Nutrition and Animal Product Quality, Department of Animal Production, Ghent University,...

Bambara groundnut (Vigna subterranea (L.) Verdc) is a nutritious and drought-tolerant crop that native to Africa. Currently, it possesses cosmopolitan distribution across the semi-arid agro-ecologies of Africa its cultivation has extended other regions, particularly in drier parts Asia Indonesia. Due historic neglect, research on policy prioritization national breeding programs lagging; hence, ...