Potentials of genotypes, morpho-physio-biochemical traits, and growing media on shelf life and future prospects of gene editing in tomatoes.

Background: To study the genetic basis of the impact of genotypes and morpho-physio-biochemical traits under different organic and inorganic fertilizer doses on the shelf life attribute of tomatoes, field experiments were conducted in randomized block designs during the rabi seasons of 2018-2019 and 2019-2020. The experiment comprised three diverse nutrient environments [T1-organic; T2-inorganic; T3-control (without any fertilizers)] and five tomato genotypes with variable growth habits, specifically Angoorlata (Indeterminate), Avinash-3 (semi-determinate), Swaraksha (semi-determinate), Pusa Sheetal (semi-determinate), and Pusa Rohini (determinate). Results: The different tomato genotypes behaved apparently differently from each other in terms of shelf life. All the genotypes had maximum shelf life when grown in organic environments. However, the Pusa Sheetal had a maximum shelf life of 8.35 days when grown in an organic environment and showed an increase of 12% over the control. The genotype Pusa Sheetal, organic environment and biochemical trait Anthocyanin provides a promise as potential contributor to improve the keeping quality of tomatoes. Conclusion: The genotype Pusa Sheetal a novel source for shelf life, organic environment, and anthocyanin have shown promises for extended shelf life in tomatoes. Thus, the identified trait and genotype can be utilized in tomato improvement programs. Furthermore, this identified trait can also be targeted for its quantitative enhancement in order to increase tomato shelf life through a genome editing approach. A generalized genome editing mechanism is consequently suggested.

Evolution of the rice blast pathogen on spatially structured rice landraces maintains multiple generalist fungal lineages.

Traditional agrosystems, where humans, crops and microbes have coevolved over long periods, can serve as models to understand the ecoevolutionary determinants of disease dynamics and help the engineering of durably resistant agrosystems. Here, we investigated the genetic and phenotypic relationship between rice (Oryza sativa) landraces and their rice blast pathogen (Pyricularia oryzae) in the traditional Yuanyang terraces of flooded rice paddies in China, where rice landraces have been grown and bred over centuries without significant disease outbreaks. Analyses of genetic subdivision revealed that indica rice plants clustered according to landrace names. Three new diverse lineages of rice blast specific to the Yuanyang terraces coexisted with lineages previously detected at the worldwide scale. Population subdivision in the pathogen population did not mirror pattern of population subdivision in the host. Measuring the pathogenicity of rice blast isolates on landraces revealed generalist life history traits. Our results suggest that the implementation of disease control strategies based on the emergence or maintenance of a generalist lifestyle in pathogens may sustainably reduce the burden of disease in crops.

Farming practices and biodiversity: Evidence from a Mediterranean semi-extensive system on the island of Lemnos (North Aegean, Greece).

The management of agroecosystems affects biodiversity at all levels from genetic to food-web complexity. Low-input farming systems support higher levels of genetic, species and habitat diversity than high-input, industrial ones. In Greece, as in other Mediterranean countries, the role of traditional farming practices has been underlined in studies concerning conservation in agricultural landscapes. With this study, we aim to provide evidence for the potential of semi-extensive farming for biodiversity conservation at landscape-scale, focusing on Lemnos, a medium-sized island in the North Aegean. Evidence was gathered by species- and community-level local-scale surveys on various trophic levels (vascular plants, arthropods, birds). The surveys took place in 2018 and 2019 in 25 sampling areas comprising 106 plots of 100 m2 (vascular plants, arthropods) and 57 points where bird species were recorded. The plots were classified into three landscape types: mosaic agriculture, mixed rangelands and uniform rangelands. The relevés of Lemnos farmlands were assigned to plant communities of 18 phytosociological alliances, grouped into 12 classes. The most abundant arthropods were Coleoptera, Chilopoda, and Hymenoptera, followed by Opiliones and Isopoda, while 133 different bird species were recorded in total, including the recording for the first time on the island of five species. Farming on Lemnos is rather extensive compared to most agricultural landscapes of Europe. Our approach has demonstrated that, given the geographic characteristics of the area, the measured data reveal very high biodiversity. Our explorative findings suggest that moderate seasonal grazing, the mixed habitat mosaic with ecotones, fallow and stubble fields at the landscape scale, and the small size of fields, the kinds of crop, and farm-scale crop diversification, like mixed cultivation and crop rotation, are key practices supporting this diversity. These explorative findings are considered as a first step providing the baseline for future assessments. A wider effort, for systematic evaluation of the impacts of farming practices to biodiversity, is required, as part of a subsidized agri-environmental scheme and/or through a market-oriented product certification system for the area.

The value of transhumance for biodiversity conservation: Vulture foraging in relation to livestock movements.

In recent decades, intensive techniques of livestock raising have flourished, which has largely replaced traditional farming practices such as transhumance. These changes may have affected scavengers' behaviour and ecology, as extensive livestock is a key source of carrion. This study evaluates the spatial responses of avian scavengers to the seasonal movements of transhumant herds in south-eastern Spain. We surveyed the abundance of avian scavengers and ungulates, and analysed the factors affecting the space use by 30 GPS-tracked griffon vultures (Gyps fulvus). Griffons' foraging activity increased in the pasturelands occupied by transhumant herds, which implied greater vulture abundance at the landscape level during the livestock season. In contrast, facultative scavengers were more abundant without transhumant livestock herds, and the abundance of wild ungulates did not change in relation to livestock presence. We conclude that fostering transhumance and other traditional farming systems, to the detriment of farming intensification, could favour vulture conservation.

Distinct dynamics of Vibrio parahaemolyticus populations in two farming models.

AIMS: Despite the recent prosperity of shrimp cultivation in China, very little is known about how different shrimp farming models influence the dynamics of Vibrio parahaemolyticus populations and the antibiotic resistance of this bacterium. METHODS AND RESULTS: To this end, we conducted continuous surveillance of V. parahaemolyticus on four farms over 3 years: two traditional shrimp farms with daily water exchange and two farms operated in the recirculating aquaculture systems (RAS). No antibiotics were used in these farms to exclude the potential impacts of antibiotics on the emergence of antibacterial resistance. Multilocus sequence typing was utilized to characterize the dynamics of V. parahaemolyticus populations. Whole-genome sequencing (WGS) was conducted to determine the representative sequence types (STs) at each farm. Results revealed that the population structure of V. parahaemolyticus remained stable over time in both RAS farms, with only nine and four STs observed at each. In contrast, annual replacement of V. parahaemolyticus populations was observed in traditional farms with 26 and 28 STs identified in rearing water. WGS of 50 isolates divided them into five clusters, of which ST917a isolates harboured a genomic island that disrupted the gene recA. Pair-wised genomic comparison of isolates from the same STs showed that they were genetically related but belonged to different clones associated with geographical distribution. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggested that RAS presented a specific ecological niche by minimizing the water exchanges with the external environment. In contrast, traditional farming might pose a food safety issue by introducing new V. parahaemolyticus populations with antibiotic resistance genes. SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY: Our results expose the potential food safety issue associated with conventional agriculture and should encourage the development of preventive strategies to reduce the emergence of resistant V. parahaemolyticus populations.

Impact of climate change and variability on traditional farming systems: Farmers' perceptions from south-west, semi-arid Zimbabwe.

Despite annual climate variability threats, traditional farming in semi-arid Zimbabwe remains entrenched in unproductive, rain-fed agricultural practices. Adaptation strategies by farmers are seemingly failing to mitigate climate impacts, as evidenced by annual crop and livestock losses. Matabeleland South Province was a thriving livestock and small grain-producing province in the 1970s. Today, the province relies heavily on humanitarian assistance from government and humanitarian agencies. Through literature review, observations and focus group discussions with 129 farmers, the qualitative study established the perceptions of farmers around climate variability impacts in the past 20 years in Mangwe, Matobo and Gwanda districts in Zimbabwe. The study (1) analysed changes in climate and weather patterns in the past 20 years; (2) analysed climate impacts on traditional farming systems in the past 20 years in Gwanda, Mangwe and Matobo districts in Zimbabwe; and (3) established farmers' perceptions, experiences and their climate adaptive strategies. The findings showed that the farmers experienced annual heat waves, protracted droughts, chaotic rain seasons, frost and floods, which led to environmental degradation. Traditional farming systems or practices have been abandoned in favour of buying and selling and gold panning, among other alternative livelihood options, because of climate-related threats and misconceptions around the subject of climate change. Farmers fail to access timely and comprehensive weather forecasts, resulting in annual crop and livestock losses, as decision-making is compromised. Given that the smallholder farming system sustains the bulk of the population in Matabeleland South Province in Zimbabwe, climate education and capital investment is needed to change traditional farmer perceptions about climate change impacts on the farming practices. Increased climate awareness initiatives, establishment of village-based weather stations and the marrying of traditional farming climate knowledge to modern practices are highly recommended to enhance resilience to climate.

Perspectives of farmers and tourists on agricultural abandonment in east Lesvos, Greece.

Multi-stakeholder perceptions of landscape changes are increasingly recognized as essential inputs to discussions on future landscape developments, particularly when addressing the future of European rural areas experiencing agricultural abandonment. This research presents a case exploration of abandonment of olive plantations in east Lesvos, Greece. We conducted two sets of semi-structured interviews to relate an exploration on local farmers' ability and willingness to maintain the plantations, to the results of a landscape preference survey undertaken with tourists. Three farmer types are identified following a cluster analysis based on attributes of individual ability and willingness to farm. Farmers belonging to the prevalent type revealed low ability and willingness and expect to further extensify their farms. The remaining two farmer types have higher willingness; they are motivated by cultural reasons, more frequently expressing a desire to maintain their land under family ownership, and partake in social cooperative initiatives promoting practices valorizing the olive plantations. We outline how these types interact with regional drivers of change, and partly also contribute to persistence of abandonment through constrained ability to farm. Abandonment does not align with current landscape preferences of tourists, who favor cultivated landscapes, elements of traditionality within built infrastructure and undertake nature-based activities. We discuss how high willingness to farm associated with professional and pluri-active forms of farming may however provide opportunities to maintain the cultivated landscape and synergize with (agri-)tourism demand. Our findings are comparable to those of other European studies, contributing to discussions on the future of its rural landscapes.

Monofuncionalidad, multifuncionalidad e hibridación de funciones de las agriculturas en la cuenca del río guaguarco, sur del tolima / Monofuncionality, multifuncionality and hybridization of agriculture' s funtions of the guaguarco river basin in the southern tolima

El rol monofuncional de la agricultura empresarial ha generado serios desequilibrios ambientales y socioculturales que comprometen su productividad futura. Una valoración de la multifuncionalidad de la agricultura en 18 sistemas tradicionales, ganaderos y de monocultivos, evaluados en la cuenca del río Guaguarco a partir de variables biofísicas, sociales, culturales, productivas y financieras, calificaron la agricultura tradicional como la más funcional, seguida de los sistemas ganaderos y de monocultivo. La capacidad de los agricultores para desplegar múltiples funciones en sus sistemas de finca constituye una estrategia para enfrentar las adversidades que ponen en riesgo su continuidad.

The monofunctional role of the business-oriented agriculture has generated serious environmental and socio-cultural imbalances that threaten its future productivity. An appraisal of agriculture's multifunctionality in 18 traditional farming systems, livestock farming and monoculture farming, evaluated at the Guaguarco river basin with biophysical, social, cultural, productive and financial variables, evaluated the traditional farming systems as the most functional followed by the livestock farming and monoculture farming. The farmer's capability to deploy multiple functions to their farming systems, constitute a strategy to face the adversities that put at risk continuity.

Statistical genetics in traditionally cultivated crops.

Traditional farming systems have attracted a lot of attention over the past decades as they have been recognized to supply an important component in the maintenance of the genetic diversity worldwide. A broad spectrum of traditionally managed crops has been studied to investigate how reproductive properties in combination with husbandry characteristics shape the genetic structure of the crops over time. However, traditional farms typically involve populations of small size whose genetic evolution is overwhelmed with statistic fluctuations inherent to the stochastic nature of the crossings. Hence there is generally no one-to-one mapping between crop properties and measured genotype data, and claims regarding crop properties on the basis of the observed genetic structure must be stated within a confidence level to be estimated by means of a dedicated statistical analysis. In this paper, we propose a comprehensive framework to carry out such statistical analyses. We illustrate the capabilities of our approach by applying it to crops of C. lanatus var. lanatus oleaginous type cultivated in Côte d׳Ivoire. While some properties such as the effective field size considerably evade the constraints from experimental data, others such as the mating system turn out to be characterized with a higher statistical significance. We discuss the importance of our approach for studies on traditionally cultivated crops in general.

Genetic characterization of cassava (Manihot esculenta) landraces in Brazil assessed with simple sequence repeats.

Based on nine microsatellite loci, the aim of this study was to appraise the genetic diversity of 42 cassava (Manihot esculenta) landraces from selected regions in Brazil, and examine how this variety is distributed according to origin in several municipalities in the states of Minas Gerais, São Paulo, Mato Grosso do Sul, Amazonas and Mato Grosso. High diversity values were found among the five above-mentioned regions, with 3.3 alleles per locus on an average, a high percentage of polymorphic loci varying from 88.8% to 100%, an average of 0.265 for observed heterozygosity and 0.570 for gene diversity. Most genetic diversity was concentrated within the regions themselves (H(S) = 0.52). Cluster analysis and principal component based scatter plotting showed greater similarity among landraces from São Paulo, Mato Grosso do Sul and Amazonas, whereas those from Minas Gerais were clustered into a sub-group within this group. The plants from Mato Grosso, mostly collected in the municipality of General Carneiro, provided the highest differentiation. The migration of human populations is one among the possible reasons for this closer resemblance or greater disparity among plants from the various regions.

Genetic characterization of cassava (Manihot esculenta) landraces in Brazil assessed with simple sequence repeats

Based on nine microsatellite loci, the aim of this study was to appraise the genetic diversity of 42 cassava (Manihot esculenta) landraces from selected regions in Brazil, and examine how this variety is distributed according to origin in several municipalities in the states of Minas Gerais, São Paulo, Mato Grosso do Sul, Amazonas and Mato Grosso. High diversity values were found among the five above-mentioned regions, with 3.3 alleles per locus on an average, a high percentage of polymorphic loci varying from 88.8% to 100%, an average of 0.265 for observed heterozygosity and 0.570 for gene diversity. Most genetic diversity was concentrated within the regions themselves (HS = 0.52). Cluster analysis and principal component based scatter plotting showed greater similarity among landraces from São Paulo, Mato Grosso do Sul and Amazonas, whereas those from Minas Gerais were clustered into a sub-group within this group. The plants from Mato Grosso, mostly collected in the municipality of General Carneiro, provided the highest differentiation. The migration of human populations is one among the possible reasons for this closer resemblance or greater disparity among plants from the various regions.