The Journal of Agricultural Science

Table of Contents - December 2012 - Volume 150, Issue 06  

Crops and Soils Research Papers

On-farm yield potential of local seed watermelon landraces under heat- and drought-prone conditions in Mali

A. D. NANTOUMÉa1a2, J. L. CHRISTIANSENa2 †, S. B. ANDERSENa2 and B. D. JENSENa2 c1

a1 Institut d'Economie Rurale/CRRA-Sotuba, Programme Fruits and Légumes, BP 262 Bamako, Mali

a2 Department of Agriculture and Ecology, Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Thorvaldsensvej 40, 1871 Frederiksberg C, Denmark

SUMMARY

On-farm yield experiments were carried out in the Tombouctou region of Mali in 2009/10 under heat- and drought-prone desert conditions with three local landraces of seed-type watermelons. The landraces, named Fombou, Kaneye and Musa Musa by the farmers, exhibited distinct characteristics for fruit morphology, but in particular for seed traits. On average, the three landraces produced a fruit yield of 11·6 t/ha and an estimated seed yield of 364 kg/ha, with no significant differences among landraces. Kaneye showed the highest stability of fruit number/ha in different field environments, suggesting this landrace is the best among the three for a poor growing environment, whereas Fombou and especially Musa Musa responded positively to more favourable environments. Seed weight revealed a different trend, with Fombou as the most responsive to favourable conditions, while Kaneye and Musa Musa were less responsive. The yields obtained suggest that these local landraces of watermelon are valuable plant genetic resources for securing food supply in arid, heat- and drought-prone areas.

(Received February 24 2011)

(Revised June 30 2011)

(Accepted October 14 2011)

(Online publication November 14 2011)

Correspondence:

c1 To whom all correspondence should be addressed. Email: dahl@life.ku.dk and brita_dj@hotmail.com

Footnotes

†  Deceased February 2011.

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