Identification of mechanisms to regulate growth habits in yam (Dioscorea rotundata) aiming at cost-effective mechanization in farmer’s fields

The economic value of yam (Dioscorea spp.) production exceeds all other African staple crops. Each year, more than 96 million tons of yam (Dioscorea spp.) are produced in Sub-Saharan Africa on an area of 8.3 M Ha. Over 95% of this production lies in Nigeria, Benin, Togo, Ghana, and Côte d´Ivoire.

Therefore, yam has a high potential to mitigate at least three of the 17 sustainable development goals: ”No Poverty”, “Zero Hunger” and “Good Health and Well-being”.Yam is a climbing vine with an indeterminate growth habit that, for optimal yield, needs to grow on a support, usually in the form of stakes making cost effective mechanization difficult.

Developing yam varieties that yield well without growth support is a prioritized goal among yam breeders.

Since such varieties are not available, we propose to study molecular factors controlling plant architecture using metabolomics and transcriptomics to identify key genes and signaling mechanisms regulating growth habit.

Such results will be crucial to design molecular markers to be used in yam breeding programs as well as biotechnological approaches such as gene editing.

Genotypes which do not need support system for maximal yield would be a game changer in yam agronomy and benefit the yam industry as well as the small household farmers.The project will in parallel offer considerable opportunities for knowledge transfer and training student and researchers in several advanced molecular technologies and bioinformatics.