Bonny Oloka
Research Scholar, Sweetpotato Breeding and Genetics Program
Bio
Bonny is a research scholar in the Potato and Sweetpotato Breeding and Genetics Programs at NC State University. His duties include: coordinating and conducting genomic-assisted potato and sweetpotato breeding activities; working collaboratively with local and sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) team members to design and execute conventional and genomic selection breeding experiments; assisting with the development of an electronic data capture and database system to facilitate potato and sweetpotato improvement; collaborating with ongoing cultural management studies; and, collaborating with food and other scientists.
His research focuses on crop improvement using a combination of traditional and advanced plant genetics and breeding approaches. He is most interested in identifying useful genetic variants/alleles for important agronomic, pest and disease traits as well as nutritional/quality components using genomics, bioinformatics and quantitative genetics approaches. Bonny completed his Ph.D (Plant Breeding’18) from NCSU and went back to Uganda, where he worked as a senior research scientist prior to coming back “home” to NC State.
Publications
- Breeding Cultivars for Resistance to the African Sweetpotato Weevils, Cylas puncticollis and Cylas brunneus, in Uganda: A Review of the Current Progress , INSECTS (2023)
- Genome-wide association study and pathway analysis to decipher loci associated with Fusarium ear rot resistance in tropical maize germplasm , GENETIC RESOURCES AND CROP EVOLUTION (2023)
- Guidelines for construction and management of mini screenhouse for sweetpotato seed production , (2023)
- Heterotic gains, transgressive segregation and fitness cost of sweetpotato weevil resistance expression in a partial diallel cross of sweetpotato , EUPHYTICA (2023)
- Identification of the key morphological sweetpotato weevil resistance predictors in Ugandan sweetpotato genotypes using correlation and path‐coefficient analysis , Crop Science (2023)
- Targeting market segment needs with public-good crop breeding investments: A case study with potato and sweetpotato focused on poverty alleviation, nutrition and gender , Frontiers in Plant Science (2023)
- Combining ability and heritability analysis of sweetpotato weevil resistance, root yield, and dry matter content in sweetpotato , Frontiers in Plant Science (2022)
- Genetic Variation Among Tropical Maize Inbred Lines from NARS and CGIAR Breeding Programs , Plant Molecular Biology Reporter (2022)
- Breeding Progress for Vitamin A, Iron and Zinc Biofortification, Drought Tolerance, and Sweetpotato Virus Disease Resistance in Sweetpotato , Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems (2021)
- Discovery of a major QTL for root-knot nematode (Meloidogyne incognita) resistance in cultivated sweetpotato (Ipomoea batatas) , Theoretical and Applied Genetics (2021)