Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-lnqnp Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-29T05:10:14.947Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Pollen flows within and between rice and millet fields in relation to farmer variety development in The Gambia

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  17 January 2011

Edwin Nuijten  and
Paul Richards
Edwin Nuijten*
Affiliation:
Technology and Agrarian Development Group, Wageningen University, Hollandseweg 1, 6706 KNWageningen, The Netherlands
Paul Richards
Affiliation:
Technology and Agrarian Development Group, Wageningen University, Hollandseweg 1, 6706 KNWageningen, The Netherlands
*
*Corresponding author. E-mail: edwin.nuijten@wur.nl
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

In areas with less favourable conditions for agriculture, informal seed systems permit gene flow through pollen to play a crucial role in the development of new varieties. An important factor with great impact on cross-pollination is the plant breeding system, but so far this is little studied within the context of low-input farming systems. This research studied the chances of cross-pollination within and between rice fields in The Gambia. Size and time of flowering were measured for 28 rice fields in one village. The level of mixture was measured in 90 seed lots of rice collected from four villages. Based on the results, we suggest that in general cross-pollination between different rice genotypes occurs more often within fields than between fields. No clear relationship was found between the level of within-field mixture and socio-economic status of farmers. Some comparison was made with millet, which allowed the identification of various factors influencing pollen flow between different genotypes. Effective pollen flow (between genotypes) is a function of a number of factors, such as the rate of cross-pollination of a crop, number of off-types within fields, variety distinctiveness, farmer expert knowledge, length and reliability of the rainy season, growth duration of different varieties, availability of fields, pest pressure and number of varieties grown per field or per farmer. We hypothesize that a low cross-pollination rate is more favourable for the development of new varieties in farmer fields than a high cross-pollination rate.

Keywords

crop breeding systemmilletpollen flowriceThe Gambiavariety development
Type
Research Article
Information
Plant Genetic Resources , Volume 9 , Issue 3 , August 2011 , pp. 361 - 374
Copyright
Copyright © NIAB 2011

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Allard, RW (1988) Genetic changes associated with the evolution of adaptedness in cultivated plants and their wild progenitors. Journal of Heredity 79: 225–238.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Amanor, K, Wellard, K, De Boef, W and Bebbington, A (1993) Introduction. In: De Boef, W, Amanor, K and Wellard, K (eds) Cultivating Knowledge: Genetic Diversity, Farmer Experimentation and Crop Research. London: Intermediate Technology Publications, pp. 1–13.Google Scholar
Barnaud, A, Deu, M, Garine, E, Chantereau, J, Bolteu, J, Ouin Koïda, E, McKey, D and Joly, HI (2009) A weed–crop complex in sorghum: the dynamics of genetic diversity in a traditional farming system. American Journal of Botany 96: 1869–1879.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Beachell, HM, Adair, CR, Jodon, NE, Davis, LL and Jones, JW (1938) Extent of natural crossing in rice. Agronomy Journal 30: 743–753.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bellon, MR and Brush, SB (1994) Keepers of maize in Chiapas, Mexico. Economic Botany 48: 196–209.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Berthaud, J, Clément, JC, Emperaire, L, Louette, D, Pinton, F, Sanou, J and Second, G (2001) The role of local-level geneflow in enhancing and maintaining genetic diversity. In: Cooper, HD, Spillane, C and Hodgkin, T (eds) Broadening the Genetic Base of a Crop. Oxon: CABI Publishing, pp. 81–103.Google Scholar
Bertuso, AR, Van Treuren, R, Van Eeuwijk, FA and Visser, L (2005) Characterisation of red rice (Oryza sativa) varieties developed under on-farm dynamic management on Bohol, Philippines. Plant Genetic Resources Newsletter 142: 1–5.Google Scholar
Bezançon, G, Pham, J-L, Deu, M, Vigouroux, Y, Sagnard, F, Mariac, C, Kapran, I, Mamadou, A, Gerard, B, Ndjeunga, J and Chantereau, J (2009) Changes in the diversity and geographic distribution of cultivated millet (Pennisetum glaucum (L.) R. Br.) and sorghum (Sorghum bicolour (L.) Moench) varieties in Niger between 1976 and 2003. Genetic Resources and Crop Evolution 56: 223–236.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Boster, JS (1985) Selection for perceptual distinctiveness: evidence from Aguaruna cultivars of Manihot esculenta. Economic Botany 39: 310–325.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bray, F (1986) The Rice Economies, Technology and Development in Asian Societies. Oxford: Basil Blackwell Ltd.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brown, FB (1957) Natural cross-pollination in rice in Malaya. The Malayan Agricultural Journal 40: 264–268.Google Scholar
Burton, GW (1974) Factors affecting pollen movement and natural crossing pearl millet. Crop Science 14: 802–805.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Busso, CS, Devos, KM, Ross, G, Mortimore, M, Adams, WM, Ambrose, MJ, Alldrick, S and Gale, MD (2000) Genetic diversity within and among landraces of pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum) under farmer management in West Africa. Genetic Resources and Crop Evolution 47: 561–568.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Doggett, H (1988) Sorghum. Harlow: Longman.Google Scholar
Ehrlich, PR and Raven, PH (1969) Differentiation of populations. Science 165: 1228–1232.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Gonzalez, FC and Goodman, MM (1997) Research on gene flow between improved maize and landraces. In: Serratos, JA, Willcox, MC and Castillo, F (eds) Gene Flow among Maize Landraces, Improved Maize Varieties, and Teosinte: Implications for Transgenic Maize. Mexico D.F. Cimmyt, pp. 67–72.Google Scholar
Grist, DH (1986) Rice. Essex: Longman Group Limited.Google Scholar
Gupta, SC (1999) Seed production procedures in sorghum and pearl millet. Information Bulletin 58, ICRISAT, p. 16.Google Scholar
Jusu, MS (1999) Management of genetic variability in rice (Oryza sativa L. and O. glaberrima Steud.) by breeders and farmers in Sierra Leone. PhD Thesis, Wageningen University.Google Scholar
Lambert, DH (1985) Swamp Rice Farming, the Indigenous Pahang Malay Agricultural System. London: Westview Press.Google Scholar
Larter, LNH (1950) Natural cross pollination of wet padi in Malaya. Malaysian Agricultural Journal 33: 82.Google Scholar
Leuck, DB and Burton, GW (1966) Pollination of pearl millet by insects. Journal of Economic Entomology 59: 1308–1309.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Longley, C and Richards, P (1993) Selection strategies of rice farmers in Sierra Leone. In: De Boef, W, Amanor, K and Wellard, K (eds) Cultivating Knowledge: Genetic Diversity, Farmer Experimentation and Crop Research. London: Intermediate Technology Publications, pp. 51–57.Google Scholar
Lord, L (1932) A preliminary study of natural cross-pollination of rice in Ceylon. Ceylon Journal of Science. Section A, Botany 11: 339–342.Google Scholar
Louette, D (1997) Seed exchange among farmers and gene flow among maize varieties in traditional agricultural systems. In: Serratos, JA, Willcox, MC and Castillo, F (eds) Gene Flow among Maize Landraces, Improved Maize Varieties, and Teosinte: Implications for Transgenic Maize. Mexico D.F. Cimmyt, pp. 56–66.Google Scholar
Louette, D (1999) Traditional management of seed and genetic diversity: what is a landrace? In: Brush, SB (ed.) Genes in the Field: On-farm Conservation of Crop Diversity. Boca Raton, FL: Lewis Publishers, pp. 109–142.Google Scholar
Messeguer, J, Fogher, C, Guiderdoni, E, Marfà, V, Català, MM, Baldi, G and Melé, E (2001) Field assessments of gene flow from transgenic to cultivated rice (Oryza sativa L.) using a herbicide resistance gene as tracer marker. Theoretical and Applied Genetics 103: 1151–1159.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Messeguer, J, Marfà, V, Català, MM, Guiderdoni, E and Melé, E (2004) A field study of pollen-mediated gene flow from Mediterranean GM rice to conventional rice and the red rice weed. Molecular Breeding 13: 103–112.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ndjeunga, J (2002) Local village seed systems and pearl millet seed quality in Niger. Experimental Agriculture 38: 149–162.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nuijten, E (2005) Farmer management of gene flow: the impact of gender and breeding system on genetic diversity and crop improvement in The Gambia. PhD Thesis, Wageningen University.Google Scholar
Nuijten, E (2010) Gender and management of crop diversity. Journal of Political Ecology 17: 42–58.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nuijten, E and Almekinders, CJM (2008) Mechanisms explaining farmer variety naming and name consistency of rice and pearl millet varieties in The Gambia. Economic Botany 62: 148–160.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nuijten, E and Van Treuren, R (2007) Spatial and temporal dynamics in genetic diversity in upland rice and late millet in The Gambia. Genetic Resources and Crop Evolution 54: 989–1009.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nuijten, E, Van Treuren, R, Struik, PC, Mokuwa, A, Okry, F, Teeken, B and Richards, P (2009) Evidence for the emergence of new rice types of interspecific hybrid origin in West-African farmer fields. PLoS ONE 4: e7335. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0007335.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Oka, HI (1988) Origin of Cultivated Rice. Tokyo: Elsevier.Google Scholar
Purseglove, JW (1985) Tropical Crops, Monocotyledons. London: Longman.Google Scholar
Quiros, CF, Ortega, R, Van Raamsdonk, L, Herrera-Montoya, P, Cisneros, P, Schmidt, E and Brush, S (1992) Increase of potato genetic resources in their center of diversity: the role of natural outcrossing and selection by the Andean farmer. Genetic Resources and Crop Evolution 39: 107–113.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rao, PK, Nambiar, AK and Murthy, IVGK (1949) Natural crossing in cumbu Pennisetum typhoides Stapf. and Hub. Madras Agricultural Journal 36: 526–529.Google Scholar
Reaño, R and Pham, JL (1998) Does cross-pollination occur during seed regeneration at the International Rice Genebank? International Rice Research Notes 23: 5–6.Google Scholar
Richards, P (1985) Indigenous Agricultural Revolution: Ecology and Food Production in West Africa. London: Unwin Hyman.Google Scholar
Richards, P (1986) Coping with Hunger: Hazard and Experiment in an African Rice-farming System. London: Allen & Unwin.Google Scholar
Richards, P (1996) Culture and community values in the selection and maintenance of African rice. In: Brush, SB and Stabinsky, D (eds) Valuing Local Knowledge Indigenous People and Intellectual Property Rights. Washington, DC: Island Press, pp. 209–229.Google Scholar
Roberts, EH, Craufurd, RQ and Le Cochec, F (1961) Estimation of percentage natural cross-pollination: experiments on rice. Nature 190: 1084–1085.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rong, J, Xia, J, Zhu, Y, Wang, Y and Lu, B-R (2004) Assymetric gene flow between traditional and hybrid varieties (Oryza sativa) indicated by nuclear simple sequence repeats and implications for germplasm conservation. New Phytologist 63: 439–445.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schneider, J (1999) Varietal diversity and farmers' knowledge: the case of the sweet potato in Iriyan Jaya. In: Prain, GD, Fujisaka, S and Warren, MD (eds) Biological and Cultural Diversity. The Role of Indigenous Agricultural Experimentation in Development. London: Intermediate Technology Publications, pp. 158–162.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Seboka, B and Van Hintum, T (2006) The dynamics of on-farm management of sorghum in Ethiopia: implication for the conservation and improvement of plant genetic resources. Genetic Resources and Crop Evolution 53: 1385–1403.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Slatkin, M (1987) Gene flow and the geographic structure of natural populations. Science 236: 787–792.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Sperling, L, Loevinsohn, ME and Ntabomvura, B (1993) Rethinking the farmers role in plant breeding: local bean experts and on-station selection in Rwanda. Experimental Agriculture 29: 509–519.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Srinivasan, V and Subramanian, A (1961) A note on natural cross-pollination in rice at Agricultural Research Station, Aduthurai (Thanjavur District). Madras Agricultural Journal 7: 262–263.Google Scholar
Teshome, A, Fahrig, L, Torrance, JK, Lambert, JD, Arnason, TJ and Baum, BR (1999) Maintenance of sorghum (Sorghum bicolor, Poaceae) landrace diversity by farmers' selection in Ethiopia. Economic Botany 53: 79–88.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tesso, T, Kapran, I, Grenier, C, Snow, A, Sweeney, P, Pedersen, J, Marx, D, Bothma, G and Ejeta, G (2008) The potential for crop-to-wild gene flow in sorghum in Ethiopia and Niger: a geographic survey. Crop Science 48: 1425–1431.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Voss, J (1992) Conserving and increasing on-farm genetic diversity: farmer management of varietal bean mixtures in central Africa. In: Moock, JL and Rhoades, RE (eds) Diversity, Farmer Knowledge, and Sustainability. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, pp. 34–51.Google Scholar
Zhang, N, Linscombe, S and Oard, J (2003) Out-crossing frequency and genetic analysis of hybrids between transgenic glufosinate herbicide-resistant rice and the weed, red rice. Euphytica 130: 35–45.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Supplementary material: File

Nuijten Supplementary Material

Nuijten Supplementary Tables

Download Nuijten Supplementary Material(File)
File 2.4 MB