Agricultural Interventions to Enhance Climate Change Adaptation of Underutilized Root and Tuber Crops

Abstract

Agricultural intensification worldwide is increasingly relying on a narrow range of crops such as rice, wheat, and maize. The reliability on this relatively small numbers of food diversities raises a very serious concern about the sustainability managing our nutrition today and in the future. We conducted a scoping review using online databases to identify various agricultural interventions that can be utilized for enhancement of underutilized root and tuber crops adaptability under the current observable effects of climate change. This is because reports of underutilized crops’ adaptability to climate change continues to remain anecdotal with limited research capacity to support them. The results mooted a wide range of crop production techniques that can be utilized in production of root and tuber crops. They includes biofertilizers, tied ridging method, improved seed varieties, management of community seed banks, cropping systems, irrigation methods, exploiting abandoned lands, agroforestry practice, clean seed production technologies, and nutrient use efficiency. Based on the findings, each of these interventions plays different roles in management of the negative impacts brought up by climate change and thus they would be useful when adopted in combination since package adoption would enable farmers to benefit from the positive synergy of the selected interventions. The interventions are therefore recommended not only for sustainability but also for profitable production to meet feed, food, energy, and fiber needs and foster economic growth in the ever changing world. Therefore this chapter contributes immensely towards the development of innovative mechanisms for strengthening the resilience of root and tuber crop.

Forgotten Gems: Exploring the Untapped Benefits of Underutilized Legumes in Agriculture, Nutrition, and Environmental Sustainability

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Karakter Dan Produksi Tiga Aksesi Talas Dengan Penambahan Dosis Bahan Organik

“…Dalam hal sumber karbohidrat global, umbi-umbian menjadi komoditas penting kedua setelah biji-bijian (Chandrasekara & Kumar 2016). Umbi-umbian dianggap lebih tahan dan mudah beradaptasi terhadap perubahan lingkungan dan iklim yang tidak menguntungkan (Gweyi-Onyango et al 2021). Diversifikasi sumber karbohidrat non biji sangat penting dan juga menjadi pencapaian dalam produksi pangan berkelanjutan.…”

Sweet Potato Varietal Selection Using Combined Methods of Multi-Trait Index, Genetic Gain and Stability from Multi-Environmental Evaluations

“…The obtained results consistently confirm the preference of sweet potato for soil with a loose texture, which is attributed to the presence of a sufficient percentage of sand and loam in the soils. In general, tubers and roots crops grow very well on well-drained soils, with adequate organic matter, and especially those with loose and friable fertile clay loam or loam [53]. Environmental conditions with high water and nutrient availability induced major foliar biomass production, which was due to the induction of apical meristem production and growth, reducing the sink capacity in storage roots [44].…”