Vol. 113 No. 2 (2019)
Research Papers

Agrobiodiversity in Middle Casamance (South Senegal): collection and agro-morphological assessment of traditional rice landraces.

Bathe DIOP
Institut Sénégalais de Recherches Agricoles ISRA/CRA de Djibélor
Marco MANZELLI
Institute of Biosciences and BioRessources (IBBR), Italian National Research Council (CNR)
Baboucar BAMBA
Institut Sénégalais de Recherches Agricoles ISRA/CRA de Djibélor
Etienne TENDENG
Faculté des Sciences et Techniques, Département de Biologie Animale, Université Cheick Anta Diop
Saliou DJIBA
Institut Sénégalais de Recherches Agricoles ISRA/CRA de Djibélor
Amadou FOFANA
Institut Sénégalais de Recherches Agricoles ISRA/CRA de Bambey
Khady Nani DRAME
Africa Rice, Capacity Development Unit
Cover photograph: Facade of the former Overseas Agronomic Institute (ex Istituto Agronomico per l'Oltremare) in Florence (Italy). Today it hosts an office of the Italian Agency  for Development Cooperation

Published 2019-12-27

How to Cite

DIOP, B. ., MANZELLI, M., BAMBA, B. ., TENDENG, E. ., DJIBA, S. ., FOFANA, A. ., & DRAME, K. N. . (2019). Agrobiodiversity in Middle Casamance (South Senegal): collection and agro-morphological assessment of traditional rice landraces. Journal of Agriculture and Environment for International Development (JAEID), 113(2), 229–251. https://doi.org/10.12895/jaeid.20192.1144

Abstract

Casamance is the main center of cultivated traditional rainfed rice in Senegal including Oryza sativa and O. glaberrima species. Traditional landraces are an important source of genetic variability essential for the improvement of elite varieties adapted to local conditions. The study aimed at collecting and characterizing rice accessions cultivated in Middle Casamance. A total of 11 valleys and 29 villages were visited. Based on farmers’ perception on agronomic traits, 171 rice accessions were collected and 136 characterized in an open-field trial. Accessions presented a high variability for all the traits assessed (p-value < 0.001) and were grouped into three main clusters based on seven quantitative variables with grain yield and panicle number as the most discriminative traits. Most of the accessions was semi dwarf to intermediate plant type, early to medium flowering, early maturing and with a low to moderate tillering ability. An average overall mean diversity (0.52 ± 0.21) was observed with the highest in Sindina, Balmadou and Bambali valleys.  This study revealed an interesting diversity in the collection, representing a pre-breeding material for future rice improvement programs targeted to Casamance local conditions. It highlights also the significant role played by local farmers in maintaining and shaping local germplasm.