Page 20 - 7-Windhoek MORNING SESSION e-BOOK (27 April 2023)

School of Agriculture & Fisheries Sciences
FACULTY OF AGRICULTURE,
ENGINEERING & NATURAL SCIENCES
DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY IN
AGRICULTURE
(CROP SCIENCE-PLANT BREEDING)
CANDIDATE:
CHATAIKA Ebarthlomew Y

CANDIDATE’S DISSERTATION
PRE-BREEDING OF SPIDER PLANT
(GYNANDROPSIS GYNANDRA L.) FOR
NUTRACEUTICAL AND YIELD POTENTIAL.
The doctoral study was undertaken and completed under the Project
coordination and major academic supervision of Professor Levi
Shadeya-Mudogo Akundabweni at the University of Namibia- the
host institution. Other MoBreed supervisors included: Professor Enoch
Achigan-Dako of Abomey Calavi University in Benin, Professor Julia
Sibiya of KwaZulu Natal University and a Malawian home supervisor
Dr. Kingdom Kwapata of Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural
Resources.
The candidate researched one of the popular indigenous African
Leafy Vegetable (ALV) species in Namibia and in the region.
Despite being an underutilized crop, research has shown that spider
plant is, indeed, a highly nutritious ALV. It is said to have medicinal
properties and hence regarded as a nutraceutical crop. The study
confirmed the crop’s socio-cultural value in Namibia and the region.
Phenotyping was undertaken across several testing environments,
nutraceutical, and genotyping, availed key pre-breeding aspects of
the species, which have the potential of stimulating further breeding
and agronomic studies aimed at enhancing its utilization. The key
findings of the research work include shedding light on indigenous
knowledge on species diversity and domestication, different ways of
utilizing the spider plants, and identifying the production challenges
and trait preferences amongst smallholder farmers. The candidate
also quantified the dietary phytochemical levels and identified
candidate accessions for use in Nutraceutical breeding. Subsequently,
the candidate genotyped the accessions using modern molecular
technologies to identify genomic regions associated with traits of
agronomic and nutraceutical importance.

His work constitutes a key step towards developing an effective
demand-driven breeding program that will contribute to resolving
challenges associated with the domestication, production, and
utilization of this highly nutritious indigenous plant species.

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