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In Bangladesh, sweet potato holds the fourth position as a crucial carbohydrate source, trailing rice, wheat, and potato. However, locally grown sweet potato varieties often display limited stability and yield. To tackle this challenge, diverse selection methods and statistical models were utilized to pinpoint sweet potato genotypes showcasing both stability and superior yield and quality traits. In the initial two years, multiple selection methods were employed to narrow down the collections based on preferences for yield and its contributing traits. Subsequently, a multi-environment trial (MET) was conducted in the following year to pinpoint superior and stable genotypes with desirable yield and quality characteristics. An integrated approach involving the Multi-Trait Genotype Ideotype Distance Index (MGIDI), Factor Analysis and Ideotype-Design (FAI-BLUP), and Smith-Hazel Index (SH) led to the identification of 71 superior sweet potato genotypes out of a total of 351 in the initial growing season. In the subsequent season, the MGIDI selection index was applied to the 71 genotypes, resulting in the selection of 11 top-performing genotypes. This selection process was complemented by a detailed analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of the selected genotypes. In the MET, the mixed effect model, specifically the linear mixed model (LMM), identified significant genotypic and genotype-environment interaction (GEI) variances. This points to elevated heritability and selection accuracy, ultimately boosting the model's reliability. By combining the strengths of LMM and additive main effects and multiplicative interaction (AMMI), the best linear unbiased prediction (BLUP) index identified H20 as the top-performing genotype for marketable root yield (MRY), H37 for dry weight of root (DW), H8 for beta carotene (BC) and H41 for vitamin c (VC). These genotypes surpassed the overall average in the WAAS index. For simultaneous stability and high performance, the WAASBY index selected H37 for MRY, H6 for DW, H61 for BC, and H3 for VC. Finally, genotypes H3 and H20 were selected using multi-trait stability index (MTSI), as they possessed high performance and stability. Based on the selection sense, the objective has been achieved with regards to the trait MRW, which serves as a major criterion for a superior variety of sweet potato.

Eggplant (Solanum melongena Linn.), or brinjal, was engineered to express an insecticidal protein (Cry1Ac) from Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) and commercialized in Bangladesh on a limited basis in 2014. As part of an insect resistance management strategy, studies were conducted to determine the susceptibility of the targeted insect pest, the eggplant fruit and shoot borer, Leucinodes orbonalis (Guenée), to Cry1Ac using a diet-incorporation bioassay method. Eighteen populations of L. orbonalis were collected from the main brinjal growing areas in 17 districts of Bangladesh during 2018−2019 and assayed. Larvae from each population were reared to adults and allowed to mate. Eggs from the matings were allowed to hatch, and neonates were used for bioassays. Bioassays were performed with different concentrations of Cry1Ac and an untreated control. Median lethal concentrations (LC50) ranged between 0.035 and 0.358 ppm and molt inhibitory concentration (MIC50) values ranged from 0.008 to 0.181 ppm. Variation in susceptibility among field populations was 10.22-fold for LC50 and 22.63-fold for MIC50. These results were compared to values from 73 populations in India. Overall, the results showed similar natural variation and suggest that these Bangladeshi values can be used as benchmarks for resistance monitoring as Bt brinjal becomes more widely adopted in Bangladesh.