Prosopis alba (Leguminosae) is an important species from ecologic and economical points of view in arid and semi-arid regions of Argentina. In several open-pollinated species, pollen contamination from off-orchard parents and selfing have been proven to reduce orchard seed quality. In 2002, the first clonal orchard of Prosopis alba was established in Fernández (Santiago del Estero, Argentina) with 12 trees phenotypically selected from a progeny trial, based on height, pod production per year and pod sweetness. The aim of this study was to evaluate the mating patterns and pollen contamination rate in the orchard using ten SSR markers and paternity analysis. All the clones together with the progeny of a single clone (open-pollinated seeds) were genotyped. Data was processed by two different methods based on likelihood and Bayesian approaches, respectively. A high consistency (89%) of results was observed between the two methods, and pollen contamination rate was estimated between 27% and 37%. The minimum number of different pollen donors per mother plant varied from three to five and selfing occurrence was low (<1.6%). Based on the estimated status number (Ns = 4.4), the expected coancestry in the seed crop is equal to a Mendelian population with an effective size of 4-5 individuals. Genetic analyses are encouraged during the establishment and monitoring of trials in forest breeding and management programmes. It is strongly recommended to establish seed orchards in isolated areas and to guarantee equal representation of parental genotypes in the orchards.

Improvement of the nutritional quality of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) has been quite challenging, due, in part, to the limited variation found in modern cultivars and the strong effect exerted by the environment, which hinder the selection process. The aim of this study was to characterise the mineral profile of grains of 35 Argentinean-adapted, mostly spring wheat cultivars in two successive years. Concentrations of most mineral nutrients in grains spanned approximately a two-fold range. Our study revealed a strong effect of the environment, but also that some key differences among genotypes are maintained over years. Correlation and principal component analyses showed the existence of a strong and stable association of variables determining the global elemental profile in grains of the wheat lines under analysis. In this regard, some cultivars displayed, over successive years, opposite global patterns of elemental composition, suggesting the existence of a genotype dependent ionome signature. Important negative correlations were found for the concentration of most, but not all, nutrients with yield, thus indicating a potential compromise among beneficial traits. The genotypic variation characterised in the present study has potential to be used in breeding programs aimed at improving wheat grain quality.