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A field demonstration trial comparing the growth status, yield ability and water use efficiency of drought-tolerant rice (Oryza sativa L.) varieties and normal paddy rice variety under drip irrigation and paddy irrigation was carried out for two years in Shanghai, China. Under drip irrigation, both inbred and hybrid water-saving and drought resistant rice (WDR) varieties showed better yield capacity than paddy rice varieties tested. WDR varieties under drip irrigation attained more than 95% of the yield level that is achieved in paddy field, while the paddy varieties under the same drip condition reached only about 75%.The methane gas emission was obviously decreased under drip irrigation condition, while the emission of other greenhouse gas like nitrous oxide or carbon dioxide was not observed significant difference between drip and paddy irrigation. It could be concluded that it is practicable to grow water saving and drought resistant rice through drip irrigation. Drip irrigation maintained a competitive grain yield and water productivity, and greatly reduced pollution risk to the environment. Considering the conservative amount of fertilizer application, less than the amount of fertilization in normal paddy field, the yield potential of rice could be improved by increasing the amount of fertilizer as top application in drip irrigation system.

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Clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR) technology has enabled genetic engineering feats previously considered impracticable, offering great hopes for solutions to problems facing society. We consider it timely to highlight how CRISPR can benefit public health, medicine, and agriculture in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) and offer recommendations for successful implementation.

Wheat (Triticum aestivum) is an important grains plant that can sustain food security and holds high nutritional values to the benefit of mankind. Activities of salinity in arid and semi-arid region have drastically reduced the production of wheat grains. Selenium (Se) is a micronutrient required by plants in small concentration to aid their growth. This study was aimed at identifying impact of Se on salinity-stressed wheat plants. Wheat seeds were soaked for eight hours in 0, 50, 100 and 150 mg/L Selenite concentrations and five sterilize-treated seeds were sown in 5 kg quantity of soil. This was subjected to 0, 100 and 200 mM of Sodium chloride (NaCl) concentration, respectively. The study revealed that Se increased production/expression of superoxide dismutase and catalase enzymes under salinity stress, thus growth of wheat plants was improved. Although the effects of Se on the wheat plants were concentration-based, nevertheless low lipid peroxidation and plant growth at 150 mg/L of Se were observed. Toxicity of Se to wheat plant could occur when there is no salinity stress. Therefore, farmers are encouraged to prime wheat seeds with 150 mg/L Se when cultivating saline soils.

Bambara groundnut is a reliable source of carbohydrates and protein in rainforest agroecology, but limited research had been done and few varieties commercialised. The magnitude of phenotypic variability, character association, and contribution of characters to seed yield were investigated among 50 accessions received from IITA, Nigeria. Field evaluation took place during the 2017 – 18 cropping seasons. The accessions were allocated to experimental plots using a Randomised Complete Block Design with three replicates. Data were collected on phenological, agronomic, and seed yield characters. The main effect showed significant (p ≤ 0.05) differences for phenological, vegetative, and reproductive characters. The year effect influenced agronomic and seed yield characters while accessions by year interaction were insignificant for all characters. The stepwise discriminant analysis identified three redundant characters. The leaflet length and width, canopy spread, leaf/plant, seeds/plant, and seed weight showed high discriminatory ability and are efficient for morphological characterisation and conservation. Hybridisation between accessions dispersed in quadrants 1, 2, and 4 may evolve early and medium maturity types with improved seed yield and biomass. The number of seeds/plant and pods/plant are indices for seed yield. The contribution of pods/plant to seed yield was masked by canopy spread, peduncle length, and pod width indicating competition for photo-assimilates. TVSu 17, TVSu 277, TVSu 271, and TVSu 278 are donor parents for earliness. TVSu 261 performed best for seed yield and yield component characters. Hybridisation among TVSu 261, TVSu 587, TVSu 275, and TVSu 17 will evolve medium maturing and high seed-yielding varieties for further evaluation.

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Brown blotch disease, caused by Colletotrichum truncatum (Schew), is one of the most destructive diseases affecting cowpea [Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp.] in the humid agro‐ecologies of southwestern Nigeria. Development of resistant or tolerant cowpea cultivars was identified as the most economical and effective means of addressing the threat of this disease. Two improved cowpea cultivars, ‘ARTPEA/BBT/72/B’ (Reg. no. CV‐347, PI 700856; also known as Remilekun) and ‘ARTPEA/BBT/22/W’ (Reg. no. CV‐346, PI 700855; also known as Boluyo) (National Code numbers NGVU‐22‐41 and NGVU‐22‐42), were developed through the pedigree breeding method from reciprocal crosses between IT‐95K‐193‐12 and ‘Ife‐Brown’ and released by the Institute of Agricultural Research and Training, Obafemi Awolowo University, Moor Plantation, Ibadan, Nigeria, in 2022. They were bred for early maturity, high yield, and enhanced tolerance to brown blotch disease in the humid agro‐ecologies of southwestern Nigeria. ARTPEA/BBT/72/B and ARTPEA/BBT/22/W along with their parents and other breeding lines were evaluated in 10 locations for 2 yr on 16 farmers’ fields between 2020 and 2021. ARTPEA/BBT/72/B (Remilekun) and ARTPEA/BBT/22/W (Boluyo) are tolerant to brown blotch disease, early maturing (60–75 d), high yielding (1–1.2 t/ha), non‐photoperiod sensitive, and adaptable to Nigeria's humid agro‐ecologies. They can be cultivated twice a year for enhanced cowpea production in Nigeria.