During the XX Century, the widespread use of modern wheat cultivars drastically reduced the cultivation of ancient landraces, which nowadays are confined to niche cultivation areas. Several durum wheat landraces adapted to the extreme environments of the Mediterranean region, are still being cultivated in Sicily, Italy. Detailed knowledge of the genetic diversity of this germplasm could lay the basis for their efficient management in breeding programs, for a wide-range range of traits. The aim of the present study was to characterize a collection of durum wheat landraces from Sicily, using single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) markers, together with agro-morphological, phenological and quality-related traits. Two modern cv. Simeto, Claudio, and the hexaploid landrace, Cuccitta, were used as outgroups. Cluster analysis and Principal Coordinates Analysis (PCoA) allowed us to identify four main clusters across the analyzed germplasm, among which a cluster included only historical and modern varieties. Likewise, structure analysis was able to distinguish the ancient varieties from the others, grouping the entries in seven cryptic genetic clusters. Furthermore, a Principal Component Analysis (PCA) was able to separate the modern testers from the ancient germplasm. This approach was useful to classify and evaluate Sicilian ancient wheat germplasm, supporting their safeguard and providing a genetic fingerprint that is necessary for avoiding commercial frauds to sustaining the economic profits of farmers resorting to landraces cultivation.
Four lentil cultivars, Eston (E), Rossa of Castelluccio (RC), Pantelleria (P) and Ustica (U) differing in salt sensitivity, were examined for osmolyte contents and activities of α-amylase, β-amylase and α-glucosidase enzymes involved in seed germination, in absence as well as in presence of 50, 100, 150 and 200 mM NaCl. The inhibitory effects of NaCl differed, depending on the genotypes tested. In Castelluccio and Eston, cultivars with reduced germination percentage and lower relative water content, the increase in NaCl concentration resulted in the decrease in endogenous levels of proline, total soluble sugars and activities of the main enzymes involved in the germination process. In contrast, Pantelleria and Ustica seeds in response to salt stress accumulated higher proline and total soluble sugar concentrations which improved their water status and the enzyme activities involved in the germination process. Differential response of the different genotypes of lentil to salt stress may be governed by the accumulation of osmolytes in seeds
Lentil is an important winter-sown legume for semi-arid and temperate areas, food consumption of seed is considerable in several countries of Mediterranean Basin. In Central and Southern Italy different lentil landraces are cultivated within specific marginal areas and commercialized with a recognizable geographical indication of origin. Considering the extensive germplasm and the economic importance of lentil in several rural areas, detailed knowledge of existing genetic variation from different regions is the first important step both for conservation and exploitation of genetic resources, allowing to develop breeding programs. In field experiments over three cropping seasons (2002-2005), 25 lentil accessions from Plant Genetic Institute of National Research Council (Bari), representing part of a large germplasm collection from different areas, were carried out at the University of Reggio Calabria in order to characterize the agronomic performances in a semi-arid environment and to study genetic variability. For this purpose, 10 AFLP primer combinations and 6 SSR markers were used. The agronomic results highlighted the influence of different climatic conditions on phenological, biometrical and yielding traits. A considerable production level of lentil (2,55 t ha-1) and a low yield variability in the three years was observed, showing the high adaptability of the germplasm tested to semi-arid environment. The earliness and the plant height appeared as the most important traits negatively correlated to grain yield; in particular the earliness was confirmed as suitable mechanism of escape from abiotic stress. Genetic characterization showed that a few number of microsatellites and primer combinations are able to provide significant insights on genetic diversity combining the 25 accessions in 3 large clusters that mainly mirror their geographic origin. Principal Component Analysis that consider genetic as well as morphological and agronomic data allowed the discrimination of groups with higher similarity and the Laird variety was far from all the other accessions. The macrosperma accession MG 106401 from Algeria results the closest to Laird because of their late-flowering. The fingerprinting of these elite genotypes and the evaluated suitability of agronomic traits could usefully represent strategic tools for new targeted lentil breeding programs in Mediterranean area
The crop yield and quality of seven annual forages (four grasses and three legumes) in sole crop and in mixtures (ratio 50:50) for oat (Avena sativa L.), Italian ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum Lam.), triticale (x Triticosecale Wittmack), barley (Hordeum vulgare L.), pea (Pisum sativum L.), berseem (Trifolium alexandrinum L.) and common vetch (Vicia sativa L.) were evaluated in a two-year field experiment adopting two harvesting times, green fodder and silage. The main bio-agronomic traits, dry matter forage yield (DMY) and quantity of crude protein (CP) were determined in both sole crop and intercrop. The land equivalent ratio (LER) was used for evaluating biological efficiency and competitive ability of the intercrops. Our results showed that the total calculated LER for fodder and protein yields was always greater than one and corresponded to crop yield advantages of 16.0% and 11.5%, respectively. Our data also highlighted the low competitive ability of the ryegrass in intercrop, which achieved the lowest yield among all the mixtures. Conversely, the same grass showed the best green fodder quality, due to the high incidence of the legume, equal (on average) to 46%. Triticale and barley, harvested for silage (hard dough stage), provided the best quantitative and qualitative results both in sole crop and intercropped with common vetch and pea, determined mainly by the cereal grain.
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