Articles tagged with: Research for Development
Plant Physiologist Hidehiko Kikuno describes the new technology of producing yam seed tubers. The technology combines growing vine cuttings on carbonized rice husks and in vitro micropropagation (tissue culture). It is quick, cost-effective, and results in clean planting materials.
For too long, a versatile crop that provides huge benefits for health and wealth stayed on the sidelines. Interest in this grain legume, however, has greatly increased; it is now gaining prominence in the fight against hunger and poverty. Cowpea is one crop that could influence the nutritional status in sub-Saharan Africa. IITA and partners should work together to advance this crop and to save Africa.
Ousmane Boukar, IITA’s cowpea breeder, has been with IITA since 2007. As a breeder, he mines IITA’s germplasm collection of cowpea to identify important additional sources of gene(s) of interest for resistance to both biotic and abiotic stresses, sources of consumers and producers’ preferred traits, etc. to broaden cowpea’s genetic diversity and contribute efficiently and significantly to cowpea genetic improvement.
