No abstract

The use of wild halophytic species as forage resources in saline environments has gained increasing attention. Argentina ranks third in area of saline soils in the world, with a third of its territory showing various degrees of salinity, sodicity and/or alkalinity. On this type of soils, rangelands are the main forage resource for livestock production. Many wild species have forage potential and can also be used for the rehabilitation of rangelands and for intercropping. Information about these species, as well as on the physiological and genetic bases associated with salinity tolerance, provides relevant tools for efficient selection methods. This study addresses Argentine wild halophyte species with forage potential and describes selection criteria with an emphasis on the following taxa: (a) Poaceae: subfamily Chloridoideae and tribes Paniceae and Triticeae, (b) Fabaceae and (c) Amaranthaceae (formerly known as Chenopodiaceae). The review is intended to contribute to the general discussion on strategies for the improvement of wild plant genetic resources, using forage species naturally growing in saline soils in Argentina as a case study.

Vasconcellea species, often referred to as highland papayas, are wild relatives of common papaya (Carica papaya) widely distributed in tropical America, with a preference for cooler climates. The genus deserves special attention as its species show potential as raw materials in the tropical fruit industry, papain source or as genetic resources in breeding programs of C. papaya. However, studies related to breeding system and pollination biology of genus are still unexplored. We characterize the reproductive biology of dioecious Vasconcellea quercifolia, one of the southernmost Caricaceae. According to floral shape and presence of nectar, we expected that this species had a specializated pollination system, with moths as the primary pollinators. To test this, we studied floral biology, floral visitors, pollinators, and breeding system of this species. Controlled pollination experiments show that V. quercifolia is a xenogamous species that depends on its pollinators to set fruits (18 and 79 % fruit and seed set under open-pollination, respectively). Anemophily and apomixis occur very seldom. The treatments of exclusion of floral visitors and pollen load analysis showed that the main pollinators are moths belonging to Arctiidae, Noctuidae, and Pyralidae. The only reward for pollinators is the nectar produced by male flowers. Female flowers are pollinated by deceit because they do not produce floral rewards.