Plant-biomass-based hybrid seed wraps mitigate yield and post-harvest losses among smallholder farmers in sub-Saharan Africa.

Sustainable practices that reduce food loss are essential for enhancing global food security. We report a 'wrap and plant' seed treatment platform to protect crops from soil-borne pathogens. Developed from the abundantly available wastes of banana harvest and recycled old, corrugated cardboard boxes via chemical-free pulping, these paper-like biodegradable seed wraps exhibit tunable integrity and bioavailability of loaded moieties. These wraps were used for nematode control on yam (Dioscorea cayenensis-rotundata) seed pieces in Benin, a major producer of this staple crop in the sub-Saharan African 'yam belt'. Our seed wraps loaded with ultra-low-volume abamectin (1/100 ≤ commercial formulation) consistently controlled yam nematode (Scutellonema bradys) populations while considerably increasing the yield at various locations over 2015-2018. Substantial reduction in post-harvest tuber weight loss and cracking was observed after 3 and 5 months of storage, contributing to increased value, nutrition and stakeholders' preference for the wrap and plant treatment.

Molecular diversity of Scutellonema bradys populations from Benin, based on ITS1 rDNA and COI mtDNA.

In Benin, yam production continues to face numerous production constraints, including yield and quality reduction by Scutellonema bradys. Implementation of efficient management techniques against this pest requires an improved understanding, including at the molecular level, of the pest. The current study aimed at identifying the Scutellonema spp. associated with yam in Benin and investigating the phylogenetic relationships between populations. Nematodes of the genus Scutellonema were obtained from tubers exhibiting external dry rot symptoms. DNA was extracted from nematodes belonging to 138 populations collected from 49 fields from 29 villages. For 51 of these populations, both the ITS1 and COI regions could be amplified via PCR, sequenced, compared with available sequences in the NCBI database and were identified as S. bradys. Maximum likelihood was used to construct 60% consensus phylogenetic trees based on 51 sequences. This phylogenetic analysis did not reveal any genetic separation between populations by cultivar, village, cropping system nor by agroecological zone. Neither could any subgroups within S. bradys be separated, indicating that no subspecies were present. An earlier published species-specific primer set was verified with the DNA of the 51 sequences and was considered a reliable and rapid method for S. bradys identification.

Mitochondrial haplotype-based identification of ethanol-preserved root-knot nematodes from Africa.

The asexual root-knot nematodes (RKNs) (Meloidogyne spp.) exemplified by Meloidogyne incognita are widespread and damaging pests in tropical and subtropical regions worldwide. Comparison of amplification products of two adjacent polymorphic regions of the mitochondrial genome using DNA extracts of characterized RKN strains, including 15 different species, indicate that several species are derived from the same or closely related female lineages. Nevertheless, M. javanica, M. enterolobii, M. incognita, and other key species could each be assigned unique mitochondrial haplotypes based on polymerase chain reaction fragment size and restriction cleavage patterns. M. arenaria isolates did not group as a single haplotype, consistent with other reports of diversity within this species. To test the utility of this assay, we characterized ethanol-preserved samples from 103 single-species isolates from four countries in sub-Saharan Africa (Benin, Nigeria, Kenya, and Tanzania). Mitochondrial haplotypes corresponding to M. javanica and M. incognita were the most prevalent. Samples from western Africa included several instances of M. enterolobii but this species was not detected in samples from East Africa. This protocol provides progress toward a standardized strategy for identification of RKN species from small, preserved samples and a rational starting point for classifying species present in regions where previous knowledge has been limited.