K ikuyu grass ( Pennisetum clandestinum ) is a perennial pasture species with a spring to autumn growth habit. Although it is usually grazed without ill effect, spasmodic incidents of poisoning in cattle 1 and, to a much lesser extent, sheep 2 and goats, 3 have been encountered. The aetiology and pathogenesis of kikuyu poisoning remains poorly understood. Outbreaks are characteristically acute ...

The global push towards a more biomass-based energy sector is ramping up efforts to adopt regionally appropriate high-yielding crops. As potential bioenergy crops are being moved around the world an assessment of the climatic suitability would be a prudent first step in identifying suitable areas of productivity and risk. Additionally, this assessment also provides a necessary step in evaluatin...

Rare variants are important for drawing inference about past demographic events in a species history. A singleton is a rare variant for which genetic variation is carried by a unique chromosome in a sample. How singletons are distributed across geographic space provides a local measure of genetic diversity that can be measured at the individual level. Here, we define the empirical distribution ...

The DNA content of bundle sheath cells and mesophyll protoplasts from the C(4) plant pearl millet (Pennisetum americanum, Tift 23DB) was determined by microspectrophotometry to be 1.8 to 2.3 and 3.2 to 4.0 picograms/nucleus, respectively. Measurement of RNA by ultraviolet spectroscopy indicated that bundle sheath cells contain twice as much RNA as mesophyll cells.

Sclerospora graminicola pathogen is the most important biotic production constraints of pearl millet in India, Africa and other parts of the world. We report a de novo whole genome assembly and analysis of pathotype 1, one of the most virulent pathotypes of S. graminicola from India. The draft genome assembly contained 299,901,251 bp with 65,404 genes. This study may help understand the evoluti...

Spontaneous mutations from sterile to fertile were demonstrated in four different cytoplasmic male-sterile stocks of pearl millet. One stock, ASM-3, was of African origin, and the other three, LMS-1A, ASM-5, and ASM-7, all had the same cyptoplasm of Indian origin, but differed in nuclear make-up. These reversions were shown to be plasmon mutations, rather than genic in nature. ASM-3 mutated at ...

A finely dispersed cell suspension was obtained from embryogenic calli of two genotypes of pearl millet (Pennisetum americanum L. Mil cereal). Protoplasts isolated from both cell suspensions divided and produced globular embryoids and calli. On an agar medium, the embryoids were induced to form albino shoots or albino plantlet- like structures

Nutrients in breeding sites are critical for the survival and development of malaria mosquitoes, having a direct impact on vectorial capacity. Yet, there is a limited understanding about the natural larval diet and its impact on the individual fitness of mosquitoes. Recent studies have shown that gravid Anopheles arabiensis Patton (Diptera: Culicidae) are attracted by and oviposit in grass-asso...

Pearl millet is used mainly as a temporary forage crop in the southern United States. A new pearl millet hybrid has potential as a major grain crop in the United States. The effects of nematodes, irrigation, a nematicide, and nitrogen rates on a new pearl millet grain hybrid, HGM-100, and nematode population changes were determined in a 2-year study. Root-knot nematodes (Meloidogyne incognita r...

Pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum) is a drought-tolerant cereal commonly grown for grain and fodder in arid areas throughout the world. Senegalese millet fields are infested with Helicotylenchus. The native evergreen woody shrub Piliostigma reticulatum is widely distributed in sub-Saharan Africa. Its coppiced residues are used by small farmers as mulch in crop fields. The shrub's nematicidal eff...