Maryke Labuschagne

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• PhD Plant Breeding
• Chair and professor at University of the Free State

Sorghum ( Sorghum bicolor ), a staple crop in Ethiopia, demonstrates remarkable genetic diversity, making it invaluable for global breeding initiatives to enhance crop resilience and yield. However, limited genetic understanding hinders the development of high‐quality sorghum varieties, delaying breeding efforts to tackle nutritional deficiencies....

Sorghum stands out among cereals due to its rich bioactive compound content and resilience to varying climates, addressing common issues such as protein, iron (Fe), and zinc (Zn) deficiencies in humans. This study aimed to determine the impact of the genotype, environment, and their interaction on the chemical and physical properties of sorghum gra...

Fall armyworm (Spodoptera frugiperda (J.E. Smith)) has become a significant pest to maize production, causing huge yield losses in sub-Saharan Africa. This study evaluated three non-Bt maize hybrids with tolerance to fall armyworm (FAW) along with a commercial hybrid check for yield and agronomic performance under natural FAW infestation and chemic...

Fall armyworm (Spodoptera frugiperda (J.E. Smith)) has become a significant pest to maize production, causing huge yield losses in sub-Saha-ran Africa. This study evaluated three non-Bt maize hybrids with tolerance to fall armyworm (FAW) along with a commercial hybrid check for yield and agronomic performance under natural FAW infestation and chemi...

Main conclusion Sorghum kernel composition is a crucial characteristic that determines its functional qualities. The total protein content of sorghum grain increases under drought stress, but starch, protein digestibility, and micronutrient contents decrease. Abstract Sorghum (Sorghum bicolor L.) is a staple source of starch, protein, and micronut...

Groundnut (Arachis hypogaea L.) is a popular nutritious food crop in the world. In Namibia, groundnut varieties are limited and characterized by low yields of 0.4 t/ha. Its production is challenged by biotic and abiotic stresses and low genetic variability in the agroecological zones of Namibia. Gamma-irradiation mutagenesis is a technique applied...

Societal Impact Statement A hybrid maize seed production technology has the potential to reduce the complexity of hybrid seed production and increase seed quality. Here, we investigate the potential impact of this technology on yields when hybrid maize is recycled. Hybrid maize recycling is a practice used by resource‐poor farmers as a coping mecha...

An over-reliance on the three major global food staples; maize, wheat, and rice, to continue feeding the world is a dangerous approach. Bambara groundnut originated in West-Africa, but was adopted in many African countries, and is produced almost exclusively by small-scale farmers. It has good levels of nutrients, particularly protein, carbohydrate...

Potato ( Solanum tuberosum L.) is a nutritious starchy tuber crop consumed as a staple food in most potato growing countries. Its productivity and production are limited by climate change; thus, it is of utmost importance to tap into the diversity of germplasm resources, therefore, diversifying the potato varieties available for production. The obj...

Maize is a staple food crop that can provide multiple dietary components, and has the potential to improve food security and address malnutrition. The objectives of this study were to determine the phenotypic correlation variation among maize hybrids for grain yield, nutritional quality traits and milling quality, to identify superior maize hybrids...

Understanding genetic variability in pepper (Capsicum annuum L.) will contribute to effective breeding efforts, especially in northern Ghana, where pepper contributes significantly to the smallholder farmer's income. This study evaluated 13 morphological traits including those related to vegetative, inflorescence, and fruit-related within a collect...

Low pH in soils is attributed as the main contributor to the low yields characteristic in maize production regions of Angola. Here, eight white-kernel acid soil tolerant donor lines (ASTDLs) sourced from CIMMYT-Colombia (testers) were crossed with eight white elite lines adapted to the mid-altitude climatic conditions from CIMMYT-Zimbabwe, in order...

Soil acidity is one of the most important constraints to maize production in Angola, where both yellow and white maize is essential for food and feed requirements. In this study, four yellow acid soil tolerant donor lines from the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Centre (CIMMYT)—Colombia were crossed with ten yellow elite lines adapted to...

Evaluation of maize varieties under multiple environments, including drought and low nitrogen (N) stressed sites is an important breeding approach, to identify well adapted and stable maize varieties. This study was undertaken to identify new quality protein maize (QPM) hybrids that have good agronomic performance and assess the presence of genotyp...

Cowpea [Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp] has the potential to contribute to the eradication of hunger and malnutrition. The study objectives were to evaluate the variability of cowpea mutants; International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) and South African genotypes for protein content, selected minerals, phytic acid, and the bioavailability o...

Induced mutation for the development of new groundnut varieties is based on the sensitivity of the genotype to the mutagenic agent. This study evaluated and selected optimum doses for mass gamma-irradiation on Namibian groundnut for the mutation breeding program. Three groundnut genotypes ‘NAM 4433’, ‘NAM 888/2’ and ‘NAM 1747/1’ in batches of 20 dr...

Crop biofortification has significantly progressed in the last few decades. The first biofortification success was quality protein maize, leading to double the amount of the essential amino acids lysine and tryptophan. This was followed by biofortification of staple crops such as maize, wheat, rice, legumes and cassava for nutrients such as Fe and...

Maize is one of the most important field crops for feed, food, and raw material in South Africa. It is the main staple food for the majority of the people impoverished households in South Africa. Maize is susceptible to drought, and erratic rainfall and extreme climate variation are major maize production constraints in South Africa. This study aim...

Maize is one of the most important staple food crops for most low-income households in the Southern African region. Erratic and inconsistent rainfall distribution across maize-growing areas is a major threat to maize production. Late rains in recent years have forced farmers to plant later than the optimal planting dates, leading to poor maize qual...

Phenotypic characterization of cowpea germplasm collections is an essential step for the cowpea genetic improvement. The objectives of the study were to determine the phenotypic diversity and characterize cow-pea mutants and accessions for grain yield and yield components, to identify their superiority, and to determine the correlation between meas...

Abstract The low yield potential of most biofortified maize is a barrier to its full adoption and reduces its potential to curb various macro‐ and micronutrient deficiencies highly prevalent in low‐income regions of the world, such as sub‐Saharan Africa (SSA). By crossing biofortified inbred lines with different nutritional attributes such as zinc...

Genetic diversity is crucial for crop improvement in any breeding program. Cowpea is an important indigenous grain vegetable legume crop. The crop has a significant potential to improve food and nutritional security in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), and family income for resource poor famers. Cowpea is a source of proteins, vitamins (folate, thiamine an...

Background: Breeding for climate smart and nutritionally enhanced maize hybrids are crucial in mitigating the threat posed by recurrent drought on maize production as well as tackling malnutrition with plant-based food products. This study was conducted to elucidate the mechanisms of inheritance of drought tolerance of provitamin A maize under drou...

During drought stress, many enzymes are inactivated in plants due to Zn deficiency. Zn application and arbuscular mycorrhiza fungi (AMF)–wheat symbiosis reportedly improve the tolerance of plants to drought stress. This study was done to investigate the effect of Zn and AMF on plant growth, yield attributes, relative water content (RWC), harvest in...

Maize is the staple food crop for millions of people in sub-Saharan Africa. Iron (Fe) and zinc (Zn) deficiency is a significant health risk that mainly affects low-income populations who rely solely on maize-based diets. This problem can be alleviated by developing micronutrient-rich maize grain. The aim of this study was to determine the adaptatio...

Biofortified maize varieties could contribute to the fight against hunger and malnutrition of the increasing human population and help meet the high demand of maize for human consumption, industrial use and feed for animal and poultry. The understanding of the genetic mechanisms conditioning the inheritance of grain yield and other agronomic and qu...

Iron (Fe) and zinc (Zn) nutrient enrichment of staple crops through biofortification can contribute to alleviating micronutrient deficiency in sub-Saharan Africa. A line × tester mating design was used to determine the general combining ability (GCA), specific combining ability (SCA) and heterosis for grain yield, iron, Zn and phytic concentration...

Climate change affects agricultural lands and crops most noticeably. Any unfavorable conditions or substances that have impacts on a plant's metabolism, growth, and development are regarded as stress factors. Plant stresses can be divided into natural and anthropogenic stress factors or biotic and abiotic stresses. The goal of this study is to summ...

While significant progress has been made by several international breeding institutions in improving maize nutritional quality, stacking of nutritional traits like zinc (Zn), quality protein, and provitamin A has not received much attention. In this study, 11 newly introduced Zn-enhanced inbred lines were inter-mated with seven testers from normal,...

The negative impacts of zinc (Zn) and iron (Fe) deficiency due to over-reliance on monotonous cereal-based diets are well-documented. Increasing micronutrient densities in maize is currently among top breeders’ priorities. Here, 77 single-cross Zn-enhanced hybrids with normal, provitamin A and quality protein maize genetic backgrounds were evaluate...

Breeding for nutrient-dense maize cultivars is reliant on introductions of exotic inbred lines enhanced with high levels of the targeted nutrients. Sometimes, the exotic nutrient donor germplasm may not adapt well in new growing environments, thereby reducing seed production when used in hybrid combinations. Therefore, evaluating introduced trait d...

Nitrogen deficiency is the most limiting abiotic stress factor affecting the grain yield of cowpea (Vigna unguiculata L.) in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) countries. Breeding for high-yielding potential in association with high nitrogen fixation performance is the principal objective of cowpea breeding programs to improve both the productivity and produ...

Deploying maize varieties with fall armyworm (Spodoptera frugiperda [J.E. Smith]; FAW) resistance, desirable product profiles (PPs) and climate resilience is fundamental for food and economic security in sub‐Saharan Africa (SSA). This study reviewed and identified challenges and opportunities for effective and accelerated breeding of demand‐led mai...

Understanding genetic diversity is indispensable for conserving and utilizing the genetic resources of orphan crops. Information on cowpea genetic resource collections, and its characterization and conservation in Ethiopia is limited. The objectives of this study were to determine the extent of genetic diversity within cow-pea genotypes, assess the...

Restricted genetic variability in elite tropical maize germplasm has raised concerns about the potential to develop higher yielding and stress-tolerant varieties. Elite temperate germplasm has high levels of genetic diversity for yield, drought tolerance and earliness. The objective of this study was to identify temperate maize inbreds that could e...

Introduction Bambara groundnut is a highly nutrient dense underutilized orphan crop, and has the potential to address malnutrition and food security. The study objectives were to estimate the variation in the concentration of protein, starch, amylose, iron (Fe), zinc (Zn), phytic acid (PA) and mineral bioavailability, to identify superior bambara a...

Wheat grain proteins are largely affected by environmental conditions, with drought and heat stress causing considerable changes to gluten composition, resulting in variations in bread-making quality. Size-exclusion high-performance liquid chromatography (SE-HPLC) was used to assess the effects of moderate and severe drought and heat stress on vari...

Identification of maize hybrids with enhanced quality trait(s) is important for addressing malnutrition among the increasing human population. The objective of this study was to assess quality trait performance of quality protein maize (QPM) and non-QPM lines crossed with QPM and non-QPM testers. A total of 130 hybrid progenies (48 QPM x QPM, 64 QP...

Bambara groundnut is a highly nutritious underutilized legume crop, which can be cultivated in unfavorable environments, has the potential to address food security and can significantly contribute to climate-smart agriculture. The objectives of this study were to determine the phenotypic diversity and characterize a southern African bambara groundn...

Maize (Zea mays L.) is an important crop in sub‐Sahara Africa for both human consumption and livestock feed. Maize use is often limited by ear‐rotting fungi, some of which produce deleterious secondary metabolites. The aim of this study was to determine the inheritance of resistance to Fusarium verticillioides as an indirect way of selecting for re...

Fall armyworm (Spodoptera frugiperda (J.E. Smith); FAW)-resistant cultivars and breeding lines have been identified in sub-Saharan Africa. However, these genotypes have not been evaluated for their stability across environments with natural FAW infestation. The objectives of this study were to: (i) identify hybrids/open pollinated varieties combini...

Abiotic constraints such as salinity stress reduce cereal production. Salicylic acid is an elicitor of abiotic stress tolerance in plants. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of salicylic acid on two bread wheat cultivars (SST806 and PAN3497) grown under salt stress (100 and 200 mM NaCl) in the presence and absence of 0.5 mM salicy...

Correlations and path coefficient analysis provide knowledge on trait interrelationships and potential for simultaneous, direct, or indirect selection in plant breeding. The objective of this study was to determine the genetic and phenotypic correlations as well as the path coefficient analysis among grain yield components and nutritional quality t...

Despite the development of quality protein maize (QPM) genotypes with increased lysine and tryptophan levels, there is still a controversy on the yield potential of QPM genotypes compared to non-QPM genotypes. The objective of this study was to compare the QPM hybrids with non-QPM hybrids for grain yield and related traits and to determine if the Q...

Fall armyworm [Spodoptera frugiperda (J./E. Smith); FAW] is negatively impacting sustainable maize production, particularly in smallholder farming systems in sub-Saharan Africa. Two sets of germplasm (commercial cultivars and experimental hybrids, and local and exotic inbred lines) were evaluated under managed and natural FAW infestation to identif...

Currently, the world population is increasing, and humanity is facing food and nutritional scarcity. Climate change and variability are a major threat to global food and nutritional security, reducing crop productivity in the tropical and subtropical regions of the globe. Cowpea has the potential to make a significant contribution to global food an...

Cowpea is one of the most important indigenous food and forage legumes in Africa. It serves as a primary source of protein for poor farmers in drought-prone areas of Ethiopia. The crop is used as a source of food, and insurance crop during the dry season. Cowpea is adaptable to a wide range of climatic conditions. Despite this, the yield of the cro...

Malnutrition, as a result of deficiency in essential nutrients in cereal food products and consumption of a poorly balanced diet, is a major challenge facing millions of people in developing countries. However, developing maize inbred lines that are high yielding with enhanced nutritional traits for hybrid development remains a challenge. This stud...

Maize (Zea mays L.) is the main staple cereal food crop cultivated in southern Africa. Interactions between grain yield and biochemical traits can be useful to plant breeders in making informed decisions on the traits to be considered in breeding programs for high grain yield and enhanced quality. The objectives of this study were to estimate the h...

Breeding for nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) is important to deal with food insecurity and its effect on grain quality, particularly protein. A total of 1679 hybrids were evaluated in 16 different trials for grain yield (GY), grain quality traits (protein, starch and oil content) and kernel weight (KW) under optimum and managed low soil nitrogen fiel...

Maize is one of the most important sources of protein and starch for humans, however, low soil nitrogen may affect important grain quality traits. The objective of this study was to determine the chemical composition and pasting properties of 11 quality protein maize (QPM) hybrids with one non-QPM hybrid check, grown under optimal and low nitrogen...

Bambara groundnut is a nutritious, underutilized legume crop and has the potential to mitigate problems associated with malnutrition and food security. The objectives of this study was to characterize a Southern African Bambara groundnut germplasm collection for protein content, seleccted minerals, oil content and fatty acid composition, to identif...

Cowpea is one of the most important indigenous food and forage legumes in Africa. It serves as a primary source of protein for poor farmers in drought-prone areas of Ethiopia. The crop is used as a source of food, and insurance crop during the dry season. Cowpea is adaptable to a wide range of climatic conditions. Despite this, the productivity of...

Bambara groundnut (Vigna subterranea (L.) Verdc) is a leguminous crop belonging to the family Fabaceae; subfamily Papilionoideae. Bambara groundnut is widely grown in sub-Saharan Africa for its edible seeds, providing starch and protein for human food. The plants also serve as livestock feed, fodder, and forage. Bambara groundnut is adapted to dive...

Cassava is the most widely cultivated and consumed crop in Ghana. Malnutrition is endemic in cassava-producing regions of Africa, partly due to the low micronutrient content of this crop. The aim of this study was to generate genetic information on characteristics such as total carotenoid content, dry matter content, root weight and number, and cas...

Abiotic constraints such as water deficit reduce cereal production. Plants have different strategies against these stresses to improve plant growth, physiological metabolism and crop production. For example, arbuscular mycorrhiza (AM)-bread wheat association has been shown to improve tolerance to drought stress conditions. The objective of this stu...

Xenia is the immediate effect of pollen on seed development after pollination. This study was conducted to investigate xenia’s effects on Fe and Zn concentration in self- and open-pollinated maize seeds. Eighteen maize hybrids derived from parents with varying concentrations of Fe and Zn were planted at Potchefstroom, Cedara and Vaalharts in South...

Drought and heat stress during the grain-filling period has been found to significantly alter gluten protein composition in wheat. Reversed phase-high performance liquid chromatography was used to assess the effect of environmental stress conditions (moderate and severe drought and heat stress) on variation of gluten proteins in six durum wheat cul...

Drought and temperature stress can cause considerable gluten protein accumulation changes during grain-filling, resulting in variations in wheat quality. The contribution of functional polymeric components of flour to its overall functionality and quality can be measured using solvent retention capacity (SRC). The aim of this study was to determine...

Reduced irrigation and drought are a polygenic stress and are considered as the most important factors limiting crop quality and yield around the world. Inadequate irrigation causes changes in protein content and protein distribution which contributes to wheat quality. These quality characteristics are very important in durum wheat for pasta and br...

With its drought tolerant and protein-rich properties, Bambara groundnut [ Vigna subterranea (L.) Verdc.], an indigenous African legume crop can contribute immensely to food security. This miracle crop is used as food and for the enhancement of soil fertility in South Africa. Knowledge on the genetic diversity and structure among the Bambara ground...

In sub-Saharan Africa, crops are often grown under low nitrogen (N) and low phosphorus (P) conditions, which may impact on the nutritional components of the grains. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of low N and low P and a combination of the two on iron (Fe), zinc (Zn) and phytic acid content in two commercial South African sprin...

Macro and micronutrient deficiencies pose serious health challenges globally, with the largest impact in developing regions such as subSaharan Africa (SSA), Latin America and South Asia. Maize is a good source of calories but contains low concentrations of essential nutrients. Major limiting nutrients in maize-based diets are essential amino acids...

Development of improved genotypes requires acquiring adequate information on genetic background and nature of gene action for planning appropriate breeding and selection strategies. This study was aimed at obtaining estimates of general and specific combining ability, identifying the best combiners in developing drought tolerant genotypes and deter...

Legume-rhizobia symbiosis is known for its importance in improving soil fertility. Using the efficient rhizobia strains, farmers can substitute the application of chemical fertilizers. However, several factors limit symbiotic nitrogen fixation, such as rhizobia strain compatibility with host legumes and the soil factors. The physiological, biochemi...

Mutation breeding has been used successfully worldwide to generate crop varieties with various traits, including pest resistance. Before any mutation breeding is initiated, radio-sensitivity tests need to be conducted to determine optimum doses for mutagenesis. In this study, radio-sensitivity tests were conducted on three maize (Zea mays L.) genot...

Cowpea (Vigna unguiculate L.) is an important legume crop due to its nutritional value and it has the potential to contribute to the alleviation of malnutrition in the world. The study objectives were to determine the variability among 70 cowpea genotypes for the concentration of mineral elements and phytochemical contents, identify superior genoty...

Background and objectives Quality protein maize (QPM) nutritional quality involves high total protein content but reduced zein accumulation in maize endosperm, leading to increased non‐zein proteins, hence higher levels of essential amino acids such as lysine and tryptophan. The aim of this study was to assess the effect of low nitrogen (N) conditi...