Hybridization and Factors Influencing Seed Set in Oat

Background: Oat is mostly neglected crop for hybrid development due to its floral structure which results in high damage rate during hybridisation. Due to the cumbersome in acquiring a sufficient number of hybrids and subsequent backcrosses are difficult that lead to lack of much inheritance studies in Oats. Methods: The procedure for crossing used was almost identical to that used by oat breeders which was conducted for 2 years viz., 2019-20 and 2020-21 at Forage Station, Punjab Agriculrural University, Ludhiana. Result: The experiment was conducted to know the seed set percent in oat cultivars. Since the oat flower is fragile compared other cereals and it is easily harmed during the emasculation and pollination process. The seed set percent observed was only 12 and 10 percent in the year 2019-20 and 2020-21, respectively.

Reviving a Neglected Crop: A Case Study on Lentil (Lens culinaris Medikus subsp. culinaris) Cultivation in Germany

Cultivation of lentils had ended by mid-20th century in Germany, but a revival was initiated in the first decade of this millennium in Southwest Germany. However, knowledge of lentil cultivation was almost lost, and today’s yields are still low. To gain an overview of current farm practices and of factors that can help lentil cultivation thrive, 25 lentil farmers (21 organic, 4 conventional) from SW Germany answered questionnaires for agronomic data on lentil cultivation in the years 2015, 2016, and 2017. Eleven farmers took part in additional semi-structured interviews about their motivation and the most important factors (economic, ecological, and social) that encouraged them to grow lentils. Neither the lentil variety (Anicia, Späth’s Alblinse I and II), nor the companion crop for the usual mixed cropping (spring barley, oat, and camelina), significantly influenced lentil yield. If lentil cultivation is to further expand, data from more farmers could be evaluated and factors that contribute to crop thriving analyzed more clearly. The cultivation techniques currently practiced are diverse, and lentils integrate well into existing structures. Farmers appear motivated to grow lentils by good examples of colleagues, by availability of marketing channels, and by the desire to promote lentils’ ecological and social benefits.