Browsing by Person "Haussmann, Bettina I. G."

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Heterosis and combining abilities in a diverse seven-parent pearl millet population diallel tested in West Africa
(2021) Dutta, Sonali; Sattler, Felix T.; Pucher, Anna; Drabo, Inoussa; Issaka, Ahmad; Sy, Ousmane; Sanogo, Moussa D.; Angarawai, Ignatius I.; Haussmann, Bettina I. G.
Pearl millet [Pennisetum glaucum (L.) R. Br.] is an important food-security crop to smallholder farmers in West Africa (WA). Breeding for high yield and stability is a major challenge in the harsh environments of WA but could be tackled by a more systematic exploitation of hybrid vigor and heterosis in breeding of both open-pollinated varieties (OPVs) and different types of hybrids. Knowledge of combining ability patterns and quantitative-genetic parameters is required for an efficient development of hybrid vigor and heterosis in breeding programs. Hence, our objectives were to complement other existing studies and estimate the combining ability of seven unique, highly diverse Sahelian pearl millet populations from Senegal, Mali, Benin, Burkina Faso, Niger, Sudan and Nigeria and the heterosis and stability of their 42 diallel-derived population hybrids (or hybrid populations) to inform pearl millet OPV and hybrid breeding. The materials were evaluated in six environments in WA in 2007. Grain yield (GY) exhibited an average panmictic mid-parent heterosis of 24%, ranging from − 1.51 to 64.69%. General combining ability (GCA) was significant across test environments as reflected by high heritability estimates and high GCA:SCA variance ratios. Thus, early selection for parental per se performance would be rewarding. The parental population from Sudan (IP8679) had strongly negative GCA for GY. Its lack of adaptation contributed to the predominance of additive effects in the present germplasm set. Parental populations PE02987 (Senegal), PE05344 (Mali) and ICMV IS 92222 (Niger) showed large positive GCA for GY. Their offspring, especially PE02987 × PE05344 and Kapelga × ICMV IS 92222, exhibited a high and stable GY across all test environments. Tapping the regional pearl millet genetic diversity and preselecting the crossing parents seem beneficial for OPV and hybrid breeding to increase pearl millet productivity in WA.
Impacts of carbon dioxide enrichment on landrace and released Ethiopian barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) cultivars
(2021) Gardi, Mekides Woldegiorgis; Malik, Waqas Ahmed; Haussmann, Bettina I. G.
Barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) is an important food security crop due to its high-stress tolerance. This study explored the effects of CO2 enrichment (eCO2) on the growth, yield, and water-use efficiency of Ethiopian barley cultivars (15 landraces, 15 released). Cultivars were grown under two levels of CO2 concentration (400 and 550 ppm) in climate chambers, and each level was replicated three times. A significant positive effect of eCO2 enrichment was observed on plant height by 9.5 and 6.7%, vegetative biomass by 7.6 and 9.4%, and grain yield by 34.1 and 40.6% in landraces and released cultivars, respectively. The observed increment of grain yield mainly resulted from the significant positive effect of eCO2 on grain number per plant. The water-use efficiency of vegetative biomass and grain yield significantly increased by 7.9 and 33.3% in landraces, with 9.5 and 42.9% improvement in released cultivars, respectively. Pearson’s correlation analysis revealed positive relationships between grain yield and grain number (r = 0.95), harvest index (r = 0.86), and ear biomass (r = 0.85). The response of barley to eCO2 was cultivar dependent, i.e., the highest grain yield response to eCO2 was observed for Lan_15 (122.3%) and Rel_10 (140.2%). However, Lan_13, Land_14, and Rel_3 showed reduced grain yield by 16, 25, and 42%, respectively, in response to eCO2 enrichment. While the released cultivars benefited more from higher levels of CO2 in relative terms, some landraces displayed better actual values. Under future climate conditions, i.e., future CO2 concentrations, grain yield production could benefit from the promotion of landrace and released cultivars with higher grain numbers and higher levels of water-use efficiency of the grain. The superior cultivars that were identified in the present study represent valuable genetic resources for future barley breeding.
Sanitized human urine (Oga) as a fertilizer auto-innovation from women farmers in Niger
(2021) Moussa, Hannatou O.; Nwankwo, Charles I.; Aminou, Ali M.; Stern, David A.; Haussmann, Bettina I. G.; Herrmann, Ludger
Poor soil chemical fertility and climate change restrict pearl millet grain yield in Niger Republic. Apart from the seedball technology, which targets majorly early phosphorus supply to the plants, the recommended practices of mineral fertilization and seed treatments (coating and priming) are barely affordable to the local farmers in particular. In the case of female farmers, who usually have chemically infertile farmlands often located far away from their homestead, low pearl millet grain yield can be exacerbated. In quest for a cheap, affordable, and effective solution, we hypothesized that the application of sanitized human urine (Oga), in combination with organic manure (OM) or solely, increases pearl millet panicle yield in women’s fields and on different local soils. In on-farm large-N trials (N = 681) with women farmers in two regions of Niger (Maradi, Tillabery), pearl millet panicle yields were compared between the control (farmer practice), and a combination of Oga and OM in the first and second year, and Oga alone in the third year. Our results showed an average panicle yield increase of about +30%, representing +200 to +300 kg ha−1. Major factors determining the yield effect are season, village, and local soil type. This study shows for the first time that Oga innovation can be used to increase pearl millet panicle yield particularly in the low fertile soils of women’s farmlands in Niger. Oga innovation is affordable, locally available, and does not pose a risk to resource-poor female farmers of Niger.