Climate change and variability present a major challenge to agricultural production and rural livelihoods, including livelihoods of women smallholder farmers. There are significant efforts underway to develop, deploy, and scale up Climate-Smart Agricultural (CSA) practices and technologies to fac...
Murray U
,
Gebremedhin Z
,
Brychkova, Galina
,
Spillane, Charles
,
[Smallholder farmers and climate smart agriculture: Technology and labor-productivity constraints amongst women smallholders in Malawi]
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Smallholder farmers and climate smart agriculture: Technology and labor-productivity constraints amongst women smallholders in Malawi
The high cost and supply shortage of seed yam propagules for planting are major constraints in yam production. In the water yam (Dioscorea alata L.), aerial tubers have potential as alternative sources of planting material. In this study, we investigated morphological, molecular and ploidy variat...
Tessema, G.
,
Gedil, M.
,
Spillane, Charles
,
[Morphological, SSR and ploidy analysis of water yam (Dioscorea alata L.) accessions for utilization of aerial tubers as planting materials]
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Morphological, SSR and ploidy analysis of water yam (Dioscorea alata L.) accessions for utilization of aerial tubers as planting materials
Key message Genotyping by sequencing (GBS) is used to understand the origin and domestication of guinea yams, including the contribution of wild relatives and polyploidy events to the cultivated guinea yams. Abstract Patterns of genetic diversity within and between two cultivated ...
Girma, G.
,
Hyma, K.E.
,
Asiedu, Robert
,
Mitchell, S.E.
,
Gedil, M.
,
Spillane, Charles
,
[Next generation sequencing based genotyping, cytometry and phenotyping for understanding diversity and evolution of guinea yams]
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Next generation sequencing based genotyping, cytometry and phenotyping for understanding diversity and evolution of guinea yams
Distinguishing yam species based on morphological traits is extremely difficult and unreliable, posing a challenge to breeders and genebank curators. Development of a molecular assay based on DNA barcoding can facilitate rapid and accurate identification of important Dioscorea species. To develop...
Girma, G.
,
Spillane, Charles
,
Gedil, M.
,
[DNA barcoding of the main cultivated yams and selected wild species in the genus Dioscorea]
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DNA barcoding of the main cultivated yams and selected wild species in the genus Dioscorea
Mina-Vargas, Angela M.
,
McKeown, Peter C.
,
Flanagan, Nicola S.
,
Debouck, Daniel G.
,
Kilian, Andrzej
,
Hodkinson, Trevor R.
,
Spillane, Charles
,
[Origin of year-long bean (Phaseolus dumosus Macfady, Fabaceae) from reticulated hybridization events between multiple Phaseolus species]
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Origin of year-long bean (Phaseolus dumosus Macfady, Fabaceae) from reticulated hybridization events between multiple Phaseolus species
East African Highland bananas (EAHBs) are a subgroup of triploid (AAA genome) bananas of importance to food security in the Great Lakes region of Africa. Little is known about their genetic variation, population structure and evolutionary history. Ninety phenotypically diverse EAHB cultivars were...
Kitavi, M.
,
Downing, T.
,
Lorenzen, J.H.
,
Karamura, D.
,
Onyango, M.
,
Nyine, M.
,
Ferguson, M.
,
Spillane, Charles
,
[The triploid East African Highland Banana (EAHB) genepool is genetically uniform arising from a single ancestral clone that underwent population expansion by vegetative propagation]
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The triploid East African Highland Banana (EAHB) genepool is genetically uniform arising from a single ancestral clone that underwent population expansion by vegetative propagation
Background: Biofortification of staple crops is a cost effective and sustainable approach that can help combatvitamin A and other micronutrient deficiencies in developing countries. PCR -based DNA markers distinguishingalleles of three key genes of maize endosperm carotenoid biosynthesis (PSY1, l...
Azmach, G.
,
Gedil, M.
,
Menkir, A.
,
Spillane, Charles
,
[Markertrait association analysis of functional gene markers for provitamin A levels across diverse tropical yellow maize inbred lines]
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Markertrait association analysis of functional gene markers for provitamin A levels across diverse tropical yellow maize inbred lines
Background
Biofortified orange-fleshed sweetpotato (OFSP) varieties are being promoted to reduce vitamin A deficiencies due to their higher beta-carotene content. For OFSP varieties to have impact they need to be accepted and consumed at scale amongst populations suffering from vitamin A deficie...
Hummel, Marijke
,
Talsma, Elise F.
,
Honing, A. van der
,
Gama, Arthur Chibwana
,
Vugt, Daniel van der
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Brouwer, Inge D.
,
Spillane, Charles
,
[Sensory and cultural acceptability tradeoffs with nutritional content of biofortified orangefleshed sweetpotato varieties among households with children in Malawi]
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Sensory and cultural acceptability tradeoffs with nutritional content of biofortified orangefleshed sweetpotato varieties among households with children in Malawi
Index insurance is an agricultural risk management tool that can provide a safety net for smallholder farmers experiencing climate risk. While uptake and scale-out of index insurance may be slow among smallholders, we can learn from experiences that demonstrate where crop insurance can protect sm...
Born, Lorna
,
Spillane, Charles
,
Murray, Una
,
[Integrating gender into index-based agricultural insurance: a focus on South Africa]
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Integrating gender into index-based agricultural insurance: a focus on South Africa