04 Aug 2013
Katja Kehlenbeck
Possible MSc projects on baobab (Adansonia digitata) in the frame of
ongoing fruit projects of ICRAF, Nairobi (Kenya)
Background: Baobab is an important indigenous fruit tree in African drylands that provides
valuable products and environmental services. Some projects on domestication and
improved cultivation of the species have been performed in Western and Southern Africa
and baobab fruit pulp is exported from the mentioned regions to Europe and the US.
However, in Kenya baobab is neglected in research and development. Knowledge on
occurrence, abundance, natural regeneration, performance and marketing of the species is
largely lacking. ICRAF has performed a pilot study on baobab occurrence on farms along a
transect from Kibwezi (Eastern Province) to the coast of Kenya, where fruits from about 80
individual trees were sampled and farmers interviewed to gather data on yields and uses of
harvested fruits, among others. The collected fruits of each of the accessions are already
morphologically characterized but we would like to also perform some studies on
germination rates and early performance of seedlings in the nursery under drought stress.
In addition we would like to extend our collection and characterization of baobabs to the
areas north and south of Kibwezi. Of special interest is the area close to Mount Kilimanjaro
where possibly a new species of baobab exists on altitudes above 800 m asl.
Therefore we are offering two MSc research topics in the frame of the baobab project. Both
field studies will be performed in Nairobi and in the Eastern Province of Kenya and may each
last about 6 months for the field study. Supervision during field work will be provided by the
team of the Tree Diversity, Domestication and Delivery Unit at ICRAF, particularly by Dr.
Katja Kehlenbeck (email k.kehlenbeck@cgiar.org). It is expected that interested students
apply for a GIZ stipend to cover living costs and international travel. All field and lab costs
are covered by ICRAF. In the following, the two research topics are described in more detail.
1. Genetic and morphological diversity of baobab accessions from Eastern Kenya
along a transect from Mount Kilimanjaro to Kitui
The student will collect fruit and leave material from baobab accessions along a
transect from Mount Kilimanjaro to Kitui in Eastern Kenya. In addition, trees will be
measured in the field and farmers interviewed on background data for each of the
trees. Fruits will be characterized morphologically while leaves will be used to extract
the DNA and apply SSR molecular marker analysis in the BECA lab of ILRI in Nairobi.
Different software will be used to assess the genetic diversity and to detect
similarities among the accessions. The molecular similarities will be compared with
results of the morphological characterization by using cluster techniques, among
other statistics.
04 Aug 2013
Katja Kehlenbeck
2. Performance of baobab seedlings from Eastern and Coastal Kenya under different
watering regimes and potting media in the nursery
The student will develop a nursery experiment at the ICRAF research nursery in
Nairobi. Seeds from fruits of different accessions will be germinated and raised while
assessing their germination rates. The same seedlings will then be exposed to
different treatments, including different planting media (sand, clay, cocopeat),
different watering regimes and possibly different salinity levels. Variables such as
seedling height, girth and leaf area will be measured continuously, other variables
such as above- and below-ground biomass and selected nutrient contents in the
different plant parts on a subsample of seedlings at the end of the experiment. Usual
statistics such as multi-factorial ANOVA will be applied to analyze the data.
For enquiries, please contact:
Prof. Dr. Anthony Whitbread
Georg-August-Universität Göttingen
Department for Crop Sciences\Dept. für Nutzpflanzenwissenschaften
Crop Production Systems in the Tropics\Tropischer Pflanzenbau
Grisebachstr. 6
37077 Göttingen
Germany
+49 (0)551 39 33751 (office)
awhitbr@gwdg.de
http://www.uni-goettingen.de/en/106511.html