Crop Landraces: Resources, Conservation, and Utilization

A special issue of Agronomy (ISSN 2073-4395). This special issue belongs to the section "Crop Breeding and Genetics".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (25 November 2022) | Viewed by 7305

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Rice and Product Ecophysiology, Key Laboratory of Ministry of Education for Crop Physiology and Molecular Biology, College of Agronomy, Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha 410128, China
Interests: food security; rice ecophysiology; rice management practices; rice product quality
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Guest Editor
State Key Laboratory of Hybrid Rice, Hunan Hybrid Rice Research Center, Hunan Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Changsha 410125, China
Interests: crop breeding; crop genetics; crop germplasms
Rice and Product Ecophysiology, Key Laboratory of Ministry of Education for Crop Physiology and Molecular Biology, College of Agronomy, Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha 410128, China
Interests: crop ecophysiology; crop management practices; grain quality

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Crop landraces, evolving over time under both farmer and natural-selection pressure, are a major source of adaptive traits that allow subsistence under heat, cold, drought, flooding, salt, or other extreme environmental conditions. Crop landraces provide traits for more efficient nutrient uptake and utilization, and the crop landrace in a specific environment helps create geo-location-specific traits such as quality, taste, and some specific nutrient contents. However, over the last few decades, modern agricultural practices have resulted in a decline in diversity in crop landraces. Various environmental factors such as genetic erosion and local cultivation practices have threatened the landrace diversity. To overcome these threats, continuous efforts are needed to develop efficient and effective conservation policies, strategies, and techniques for crop landraces. Submissions of original research and review articles focused on, but not limited to, the aspects of resources, conservation, and utilization of crop landraces are highly encouraged and appreciated.

Prof. Dr. Min Huang
Prof. Dr. Jun Wu
Dr. Jiana Chen
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • agricultural production
  • conservation strategies
  • ecological services
  • ecophysiological characteristics
  • evolutionary processes
  • food industry
  • genetic diversity
  • genetic improvement
  • phenotypic features
  • traditional farming systems

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

8 pages, 842 KiB  
Communication
Texture and Digestion Properties Based on Amylose Content and Gel Consistency in Landraces and Recently-Released Cultivars of Indica Rice in China
by Min Huang, Jiaxin Xie, Jiaxin Chen, Chunrong Zhao, Chengjing Liao, Beilei Li, Ao Shu, Jiana Chen and Fangbo Cao
Agronomy 2022, 12(9), 2078; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy12092078 - 31 Aug 2022
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1151
Abstract
China has abundant rice landrace resources and has developed many new rice cultivars over the past several decades. To identify the differences in texture and digestion properties between landraces and recently-released cultivars of indica rice in China, this study estimated the hardness (Hd) [...] Read more.
China has abundant rice landrace resources and has developed many new rice cultivars over the past several decades. To identify the differences in texture and digestion properties between landraces and recently-released cultivars of indica rice in China, this study estimated the hardness (Hd) and starch digestion rate (SDR) of cooked rice based on the amylose content (AC) and gel consistency (GC) of landraces and recently-released (2019–2021) cultivars of indica rice in eight provinces in southern China. The results demonstrated that AC ranged from 11.3% to 34.0% in landraces and from 10.0% to 28.6% in recently-released cultivars. The AC median was lower in recently-released cultivars than in landraces by approximately 40%. GC ranged from 21–100 mm in landraces and from 30–95 mm in recently-released cultivars. The GC median was about 130% higher in recently-released cultivars compared to landraces. Hd ranged from 720–1418 g in landraces and from 590–1244 g in recently-released cultivars. The Hd median was approximately 35% lower in recently-released cultivars compared to landraces. SDR ranged from 1.04–2.86 mg g min−1 in landraces and from 1.71–3.37 mg g min−1 in recently-released cultivars. The SDR median was higher in recently-released cultivars than in landraces by about 60%. The findings of this study suggest that recently-developed indica rice cultivars in China can cater to the preference of consumers for soft-texture rice but increase health risks due to a higher rate of digesting starch into glucose. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Crop Landraces: Resources, Conservation, and Utilization)
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11 pages, 2031 KiB  
Article
Identification of New Sources for Earliness and Low Grain Moisture at Harvest through Maize Landraces’ Test-Cross Performance
by Vojka Babic, Dusan Stanisavljevic, Miroslav Zoric, Sanja Mikic, Bojan Mitrovic, Violeta Andjelkovic and Natalija Kravic
Agronomy 2022, 12(8), 1939; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy12081939 - 18 Aug 2022
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Abstract
Early maturity is a highly important factor in the interrelations between yield, grain moisture, and plant density, contributing to cost-efficient maize production. Landraces conserved in gene banks present a promising basis for enriching the diversity of early maize breeding material. To start and [...] Read more.
Early maturity is a highly important factor in the interrelations between yield, grain moisture, and plant density, contributing to cost-efficient maize production. Landraces conserved in gene banks present a promising basis for enriching the diversity of early maize breeding material. To start and speed up the mobilization of the maize genetic resources maintained in the ex situ Maize Research Institute Zemun Polje gene bank collection, which are currently scattered, little studied, and underused, 63 landraces were selected as new potential sources of early maturity; their test-cross performance with two divergent early testers was evaluated. The majority of the landraces with a prevailed flint type (29) exhibited heterosis for yield when crossed with the Iowa Stiff Stalk Synthetic—Iowa Dent tester (102NS), out of which 20 top crosses expressed grain moisture below the defined threshold value (21.1%). The best performing landraces can be used as a starting point for a new pre-breeding programme for the broadening of flint maize breeding material. In parallel, nine landraces expressed simultaneous heterosis when crossed with the flint tester (14NS), exhibiting grain moisture above the threshold value. A simultaneous heterotic effect with two divergent inbred testers implies the existence of an independent heterotic pool. These findings will contribute to the broadening of maize breeding material for early maturity and low grain moisture at harvest, which are important goals in maize breeding. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Crop Landraces: Resources, Conservation, and Utilization)
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15 pages, 997 KiB  
Article
Phenotypic Variability, Heritability and Associations of Agronomic and Quality Traits in Cultivated Ethiopian Durum Wheat (Triticum turgidum L. ssp. Durum, Desf.)
by Temesgen Dagnaw, Behailu Mulugeta, Teklehaimanot Haileselassie, Mulatu Geleta and Kassahun Tesfaye
Agronomy 2022, 12(7), 1714; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy12071714 - 20 Jul 2022
Cited by 9 | Viewed by 2307
Abstract
Quality is an important aspect of durum wheat in the processing sector. Thus, recognizing the variability of quality and agronomic traits and their association is fundamental in designing plant breeding programs. This study aimed to assess the variability, heritability, genetic advance, and correlation [...] Read more.
Quality is an important aspect of durum wheat in the processing sector. Thus, recognizing the variability of quality and agronomic traits and their association is fundamental in designing plant breeding programs. This study aimed to assess the variability, heritability, genetic advance, and correlation of some agronomic and quality traits among 420 Ethiopian durum wheat genotypes and to identify the promising genotypes with distinct processing quality attributes to produce superior quality pasta. The field experiment was conducted at two locations (Sinana and Chefe Donsa) using an alpha lattice design with two replications. Analysis of variance, chi-square test, and Shannon–Weaver diversity index revealed the existence of highly significant (p < 0.001) variation among genotypes for all studied traits. The broad-sense heritability values were ranging from 46.2% (days to maturity) to 81% (thousand kernel weight) with the genetic advance as a percent of the mean ranging from 1.1% (days to maturity) to 21.2% (grain yield). The phenotypic correlation coefficients for all possible pairs of quantitative traits showed a significant (p < 0.05) association among most paired traits. The gluten content (GC) and grain protein content (GPC) were negatively correlated with grain yield and yield-related traits and positively associated with phenological traits, while yield and phenological traits correlated negatively. The frequency distributions of amber-colored and vitreous kernels, which are preferable characters of durum wheat in processing, were highly dominant in Ethiopian durum wheat genotypes. The identified top 5% genotypes, which have amber color and vitreous kernel with high GC and GPC content as well as sufficient grain yield, could be directly used by the processing sector and/or as donors of alleles in durum wheat breeding programs. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Crop Landraces: Resources, Conservation, and Utilization)
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18 pages, 2925 KiB  
Article
Profiling the Diversity of Sweet Pepper ‘Peperone Cornetto di Pontecorvo’ PDO (Capsicum annuum) through Multi-Phenomic Approaches and Sequencing-Based Genotyping
by Pasquale Tripodi, Rosa D’Alessandro, Giovanna Festa, Paola Taviani and Roberto Rea
Agronomy 2022, 12(6), 1433; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy12061433 - 15 Jun 2022
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1836
Abstract
The sweet pepper (Capsicum annuum) ‘Peperone Cornetto di Pontecorvo’ is a prominent local variety at risk of genetic erosion cultivated in the Latium region (Italy). This horn-shaped landrace is recognized for its high digestibility due to the thinness of the skin [...] Read more.
The sweet pepper (Capsicum annuum) ‘Peperone Cornetto di Pontecorvo’ is a prominent local variety at risk of genetic erosion cultivated in the Latium region (Italy). This horn-shaped landrace is recognized for its high digestibility due to the thinness of the skin and has been granted the Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) mark since 2010. Nowadays, different accessions are claimed as ‘Peperone Cornetto di Pontecorvo’ and no assay has been conducted to determine authenticity. In this study, 14 ‘Peperone Cornetto di Pontecorvo’ accessions and 7 similar horn-type peppers were investigated for their morpho-agronomic performance and chemical composition. Digital fruit imaging was implemented as a tool to pinpoint with high accuracy the morphometric parameters of berries. In total, 52 traits were scored. The multivariate analysis revealed different clusters that separated ‘Peperone Cornetto di Pontecorvo’ from similar types. The weight and size of fruits, as well as the content of soluble solids, were the most discriminating factors among the cultivars studied. Genomic fingerprinting was performed using ddRAD sequencing, yielding a total of a total of 120 million raw sequences and 2196 high-quality SNPs. Both Bayesian and hierarchical clustering analyses confirmed the existence of two different (K = 2) sub-populations separating ‘Peperone Cornetto di Pontecorvo’ accessions from similar types, thus highlighting a high membership (qi > 0.97) coefficient for accessions cultivated in the Pontecorvo area (Frosinone district). In addition, a direct relationship was found between the genetic diversity of cultivars and their geographical provenance, providing hints on the breeding history of local varieties in diverse rural areas. Genomic markers are revealed as a valuable tool to establish the uniqueness and distinctness of this local variety. This information will be very helpful for recovery, enhancement, and protection from possible imitations. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Crop Landraces: Resources, Conservation, and Utilization)
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