Field Guide of Discovery-based Exercises for - Aseanipm ...

Section 7 • Participatory Plant Breeding, Seed Production, Harvest, and Post-Harvest Management
5 Fruit characters of the selected parents
5 Pest and disease reactions of species or varieties selected as parent materials for
hybridization; and
5 Yield comparison of species or varieties selected as parent materials for hybridization
4. Facilitate each small group to do hands-on of best experiences on studying crops’
biological processes and cross-breeding exercises for some cross-pollinated vegetables
(e.g., cucurbits) organically-grown in learning field, as follows:
Plant Morphology and Growth Stages of Cucurbits:
Note: This activity on morphology and growth stages of vegetables helps farmers to structure
and share their knowledge on plants with each other.
5 Ask participants prior to session to collect as many samples of any suitable cucurbit crops.
For comparison, include plants of different varieties and different crops. Ensure that entire
plants are dug up, including stems, vines, fruits, and root systems.
5 Each small group of 5-6 farmers observes plants carefully and note differences between
different growth stages, crops, and varieties. Make drawings of plants and plant parts,
name parts, and mention their functions.
5 In addition, give each small group one or more of following tasks:
• Assess number of days between germination and flowering, fruiting, fruit harvest, and
seed maturity. Prepare a timeline and indicate respective number of days for dates
of flowering, fruit harvest, and maturity of crops and varieties used in hybridization
studies.
• Count number of nodes to first female flower
• Count number of male and female flowers on plants and compute female sex rate as follows:
Female Sex Rate =
Number of female flower x 100
Total number of flowers
• Count number of fruits and female flowers and compute fruiting rate:
Fruiting Rate =
Number of fruits x 100
Total number of female flowers
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