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New CIMMYT-based maize hybrid released in Colombia

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Colombia’s Agriculture and Livestock Research Corporation (CORPOICA) has released a new maize hybrid, CORPOICA PALMIRA H-262, for the country’s Cauca Valley Department. The new single-cross hybrid, which yielded more than 9 tons per hectare on average in tests in the region, was developed using acid-soil-tolerant inbred lines CLA176 and CLA215 from CIMMYT, according to Luis Narro, Center maize researcher in South America.

“This shows how quality breeding materials developed for certain environments—in this case, acid soils—can be successful in a range of settings,” according to Narro, who says that acid-tolerant maize is routinely evaluated for yield potential in locations, such as Cauca Valley, with fertile soils and normal pH.

The new hybrid emerged from tests in Cauca Valley in 2001, with support from the Colombian Ministry of Agriculture, to find a variety that would out-yield available commercial hybrids. CORPOICA and CIMMYT assembled a trial comprising 20 hybrids—17 experimental hybrids from CIMMYT, and 3 commercial checks. “H-262 won out not only for its high yields, but also because it yields well under diverse conditions and has good grain quality: semi-flint type, and good for making the popular food ‘arepas,’ ” Narro says.

Dominated by the river which gives the Department its name and home to nearly 3 million people, the Cauca Valley is the country’s leading sugarcane producer. Farmers there also grow maize on some 20,000 hectares; just over half of it on holdings of less than 30 hectares.

The hybrid was released in February 2006 in a ceremony attended by CORPOICA Director General Arturo Vega, Colombian farmers, researchers, and policymakers. Diego Aristizábal Quintero, Director of CORPOICA’s Palmira facility, thanked CIMMYT and others who contributed to the development of H-262.

“I would like to take this opportunity to recognize CIMMYT’s close and effective collaboration, the participation of FENALCE, and the support of the Ministry of Agriculture, whose funds allowed us to obtain the product that we are proudly turning over today for the benefit of the Valley’s farmers…” At the time of release, 8.2 tons of seed of H-262 were available—enough to sow more than 500 hectares.

The road to ISO9000 for SIDU

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The seed health laboratory, part of CIMMYT’s Seed Inspection and Distribution Unit (SIDU), has just begun the process of obtaining ISO9000 accreditation with the International Standards Organization. Seed health certification is a major bottleneck that can delay the rapid, timely, and efficient international distribution of CIMMYT seed. That means that CIMMYT must have approved processes in place to ensure that any seed we distribute is disease and pest free.

Since 1998 CIMMYT has worked under the authority of the Mexican Phytosanitary Direction General (DGSV). Now that department also requires CIMMYT to obtain the ISO9000 certification. The accreditation process started on May 31 with a workshop given by CENCADE, a company hired to lead seed health personnel through the process of accreditation. The workshop was attended by 19 staff from SIDU, HR, ICT and Purchasing, as all of these groups will have to contribute to the process. The accreditation process will take approximately 6-7 months.

 

Published in 2006.

China and CIMMYT: new science agreement and support

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Masa Iwanaga, CIMMYT Director General, visited the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) and had a fruitful meeting with Wang Jie, Vice President of NSFC. An agreement was signed with Han Jianguo, DG of the NSFC International Cooperation Department, for collaborative research between CIMMYT and Chinese scientists. Other key staff at the meeting included Bai Ge, DDG of the International Cooperation Department; Du Shengming, Executive DDG of the Life Science Department; NSFC scientists Zhang Yinglan, Luo Jing, and Zhang Yongtao; and He Zhonghu and Han Nanping from the CIMMYT-China office.

NSFC supports basic research in various disciplines. Applied and basic research in agriculture is conducted by the Life Science Department of NSFC, which seeks to improve the quality of science in China through international collaboration. NSFC has provided continuous support to China-CIMMYT collaborative research on wheat quality, the genetics of disease resistance in wheat and maize, and workshops and conferences, contributing more than US$ 300,000 over the last five years.

“The real value of the agreement is that the Chinese government provides us with money for science, through a merit-based selection process,” says Iwanaga. “Thanks to He Zhonghu’s efforts, we have this partnership. Now NSFC wants to formalize it through a memorandum of understanding that can serve as a model for their other contributions to the international science community.”

Research with China has resulted among other things in significant advances in the quality of Chinese wheat cultivars, and the CAAS-CIMMYT Wheat Quality Laboratory has become an internationally recognized center for wheat quality research. There is also good progress in understanding the genetics of resistance to yellow rust and powdery mildew in Chinese wheats.

 

Published in 2006

Accessing vital knowledge in data: CIMMYT hosts important crop information workshop

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One of the most important aspects of any crop breeding program is the collection, storage, retrieval and analysis of data for germplasm (e.g. wheat and maize seed) plant breeders use. This includes phenotypic (physical) and molecular characteristics, as well as their pedigree or ancestry. When a plant breeder is trying to combine useful characteristics to make a potentially useful variety, she has to find parents that are likely to produce offspring with those traits. That is where mining crop information databases is vital.

CIMMYT has been a leader in developing computer-based crop information systems. Now the International Crop Information System, (ICIS) has just held two weeks of meetings at El BatĂĄn. More than 40 scientists and data specialists, including a large contingent from the International Rice Research institute (IRRI), participated in the two-week event. The last time the group met at CIMMYT was in 2000.

Addressing the group, CIMMYT senior wheat breeder Richard Trethowan said that vital crop information was in danger of being lost because information systems developed in the past could not cope with the way breeding was being done today. The ICIS system is designed to address this constraint and CIMMYT is now converting its crop data to the new system. “ICIS is broad enough to handle information about a wide range of crops,” says Graham McLaren, the leader of the IRRI-CIMMYT program on research informatics.

The ICIS meeting was divided into two parts. The first week was for users and potential users such as breeders and data curators to learn how to make the best use of the system both in terms of putting in their current data and searching the electronic databases for useful information.

The second week was designed more for the people developing various aspects of the software. They reviewed development progress over the past year and planned activities for the next 12 months. The focus was on the use of ICIS for managing germplasm collections, seed inventories, and genotyping data.

The crop information software is being developed through an open source project and is freely available to institutions and breeders around the world as a global public good. In fact, one of the presentations came from the International Potato Center (CIP). CIP staff in Lima, Peru, were able to participate in the meeting via a video conference link.

Quality protein maize awareness workshop held in Harare

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In an effort to promote quality protein maize (QPM), CIMMYT, in collaboration with the Agricultural Research and Extension Service (AREX) in Zimbabwe, recently held a workshop on QPM awareness. QPM contains enhanced levels of the amino acids lysine and tryptophan, which together with other amino acids in maize are essential for the production of protein in the human body. Protein malnutrition is a serious health problem in southern Africa.

In addition to promoting general awareness, the workshop concentrated on sensitizing and educating participants about the usefulness of QPM in both human and animal nutrition. It also stimulated discussion that organizers hoped would get people thinking about how to promote quality protein maize in Zimbabwe.

The workshop was attended by participants from the University of Zimbabwe, University of Midlands, poultry and livestock industry, departments of extension, researchers and NGOs. Presentations covered the development, utilization, and seed production of QPM. During the discussion it was clear that the participants saw the potential of QPM in mitigating malnutrition in Zimbabwe.

At present only one QPM openpollinated variety has been released in the country and there is a need to release more varieties. In the recent past the variety release committee has insisted on presentation of data from animal feeding trials for a variety to be released as a QPM variety.

However, during the course of the workshop (which was attended by several members of the variety release committee) it was agreed that a QPM variety could be released on the strength of its agronomic performance and high values of lysine and tryptophan from lab tests. High lysine and tryptophan in a QPM variety were seen as valueadded traits. It was agreed that feeding trials are no longer necessary as long as there is lab data to show that a candidate variety contains a high level of lysine and tryphtophan compared to non-QPM variety. At present QPM varieties have been released in Malawi, South Africa, Tanzania, Mozambique, and Zambia.

 

Published in 2006

CIMMYT active in Njoro, Kenya

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Technical staff of the Njoro Agricultural Research station of KARI in Kenya have completed planting a large stem rust screening trial. Ten thousand different wheat samples from more than 30 countries were planted as part of the Global Rust Initiative.

CIMMYT, ICARDA, and national partners are testing the samples to assess the world’s wheat germplasm for vulnerability to Ug99, the new and virulent form of stem rust that is now in eastern Africa. In addition, the team hopes to identify sources of potential resistance that could be used in breeding programs to produce new varieties resistant to the disease.

Past outbreaks of stem rust have destroyed up to 40% of wheat production in affected countries. The Njoro station is in the middle of Kenya’s wheat growing area near Nakuru. This region is a known hot-spot for rust diseases like Ug99, where local wheat is already infected by the fungus, and so makes a perfect test ground.

Rick Ward, co-facilitator of the Global Rust Initiative, went to Njoro to monitor the planting. The actual screening for susceptibility will take place in late August or September, when the wheat plants mature.

 

 

Published 2006

Jorge Bolaños remembered

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The 52nd annual meeting of the Central American Cooperative Program for Improvement of Crops and Animals (PCCMCA), held in Nicaragua 24-28 April 2006, was dedicated in memoriam to Jorge Bolaños. Jorge was remembered in the opening ceremony with words by NoĂ«l Pallais, Director of INTA, Chris Dowswell (on behalf of Norman Borlaug), and Nicaraguan President – and Jorge’s father – Enrique Bolaños.

At least 200 people crowded in the meeting hall to remember Jorge and reflect on his many contributions to Nicaragua, CIMMYT, science, farmers, family and friends. A brief video was shown with footage of Jorge meeting with journalists, talking with friends, interacting with farmers, and smoking his trademark cigars. Among the many things said of Jorge, perhaps the most memorable were the words of a poor Nicaraguan farmer who could scarcely conceal his disbelief and appreciation that this son of the President was meeting, talking and “rubbing elbows” with him in his remote village.

Jorge was also remembered for his leadership of the PRM, the Swiss-funded Central American regional maize program; scientists credit Jorge with modernizing the way they conduct research both individually and collaboratively.

Of course, Jorge was well known to the CIMMYT community. He was a bright physiologist, known worldwide for his research at CIMMYT on drought tolerance in maize. Jorge was also known for his special friendship with and support of field workers, particularly at the Tlaltizapan field station, where he conducted much of his drought tolerance research. Jorge was a unique, flamboyant character: outspoken, humorous, irreverent, intellectual, fun-loving, unforgettable.

 

Published 2006

Conserving the genetic heritage of maize

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Experts from around the world met at headquarters this week to begin hammering out a strategy to ensure the long-term conservation of the genetic diversity of maize, a central pillar of humanity’s food security. Pivotal to this issue is the well-being of gene banks. Both national and international gene banks have not fared well, as investment in public sector agricultural research has steadily declined and fierce competition for dwindling resources in the agricultural sciences has risen.

The meeting, sponsored by the Global Crop Diversity Trust, the World Bank, and CIMMYT, was called to initiate a global response to this growing crisis, with nothing less at stake than the survival of the genetic heritage of this essential crop. At a time when molecular genetics opens new opportunities daily to exploit genetic resources carrying resistance to combat plant diseases, insect pests, and threats such as drought, soil salinity, and heat stress, collecting and preserving the basic sources of resistance traits takes on added importance.

Given the global distribution and subsequent evolution of maize, the job is too large for a single institution or nation—thus the need for a broad-based solution, says maize genetics expert and meeting co-organizer Major Goodman of North Carolina State University.

“With the experience and expertise at this meeting,” says Suketoshi Taba, director of the CIMMYT maize gene bank, “we are posed to discuss and make recommendations, based on ground-level reality, to address the threats to conserving the genetic treasures of maize and to focus our efforts and resources.”

 

 

Published 2006

Maize field tour in Bangladesh

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A high-level delegation from the government of Bangladesh has just taken a first-hand look at hybrid maize seed being produced by the Bangladesh Agricultural Development Corporation (BADC). The group included M. Nurul Alam, Executive Chairman, Bangladesh Agricultural Research Council (BARC); M. Sahadad Hussain, Director General, Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute (BARI); A. Bari, Director, Department of Agricultural Extension; M. Matiur Rahman, Director of Research, BARI; and officials from BADC itself.

With technical support from CIMMYT, BADC is producing hybrid maize seed from CIMMYT-derived materials developed by BARI. The group visited the seed production plots and farmers growing the hybrids. The farmer and their families had taken part in whole family training on maize production, one of the key tools CIMMYT and partners in Bangladesh use to ensure farm families get the most from growing maize.

After visiting the seed production and grain production fields, the group attended a farmer’s rally where growers, seed producers from the public and private sectors, seed dealers, local level extension officers, NGOs and researchers participated and exchanged views.

The policy implication of this visit and meeting is that the CIMMYT whole family training approach for maize will continue with national and CIMMYT support. BADC will produce hybrid maize seed on 161 hectares of land in 2006 with contact growers contributing 20% of the total seed requirement and DAE will do country-wide demonstrations with these hybrids for farmer awareness and adoption.

The field visit was arranged by CIMMYT Affiliate Scientist, Nur-E-Elahi.

 

Published 2006

Safe in Nepal

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It has been a trying two weeks for staff in the CIMMYT South Asia Regional Office in Kathmandu, Nepal. During the time of large daily demonstrations, often met with military force, the government ordered daytime curfews. This made operating the office difficult.

“We in the CIMMYT office have been working whenever the curfews permit, says Memo Ortiz Ferrara, the CIMMYT regional coordinator in Nepal. “If the curfews start late in the day, we come to the office to do some urgent work. When the curfews are declared for the whole day, we of course stay at home.”

Late last week, some international organizations and embassies were preparing to evacuate their international staff as the crisis worsened but on Monday, when the King of Nepal agreed to many of the opposition demands, the situation in Nepal stabilized. Demonstrations have stopped and the daytime curfews have been lifted. All CIMMYT staff in the regional office are safe and the office is working normally.

Memo Ortiz Ferrara wants to thank Director General Masa Iwanaga and members of the Management Committee for their moral support during the crisis.

 

Published 2006

Scientific renewal

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Three scientists from Pakistan have just concluded a two-week visit to CIMMYT that included a stopover in ObregĂłn during the harvest. The visitors were Nafees Sadiq Kisana, National Coordinator for Wheat, Barley and Triticale, Mukhtar Alam, International Cooperation Office Ministry of Agriculture, and Liaquat Ali Hashmi, International Liaison & Training Officer with the Pakistan Agricultural Research Council (PARC).

For Kisana it was a homecoming. In 1983 he was a Wheat Program trainee with CIMMYT for eight months. “It was interesting to see how much the work at Obregón has developed in that time,” he says. For Mukhtar Alam, the visit to Mexico and CIMMYT was a first, though he says CIMMYT was not a new name for him. “I heard about CIMMYT from the time I was a student,” he says. “But coming here I found CIMMYT friendlier, more open and more focused than I had expected.”

As a result of this visit, and a visit to CIMMYT last year of the PARC chairman, Pakistan will again start sending visiting scientists to CIMMYT. There has been no coordinated program for almost a decade, but starting later this year the first of up to 30 mid-career Pakistani agricultural scientists will spend time at CIMMYT. “It will be useful for our scientists, who are well-qualified to give focus to their work and exposure to an international organization,” says Ali Hashmi.

The program is being funded by the government of Pakistan in conjunction with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).

Minister visits

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Mr. M.K. Anwar, Minister of Agriculture for Bangladesh visited CIMMYT for two days this week. In addition to a welcome presentation by the Director General, he toured the Genebank, Biotech, and Cereal Quality labs and saw the Crop Research Informatics Lab (CRIL). The minister noted that wheat production in Bangladesh was declining and hoped CIMMYT could assist in solving the leaf blight problem plaguing Bangladeshi wheat farmers. CIMMYT is currently working with the Bangladesh Wheat Research Centre on this problem.

CIMMYT hosts high level visitors

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Showing our best to some high level donor representatives was the name of the game the week of March 20 as CIMMYT played host to several important visitors. Ms Jacqueline Schafer, Assistant Administrator Bureau of Economic Growth Agriculture and Trade (EGAT), USAID came with three colleagues. Their original plan to leave in mid afternoon was shelved when Ms Schafer decided to stay longer and spend more time with CIMMYT staff. Among the stops on her tour – an explanation of conservation agriculture work for small holder farmers. Mr. Fernando Delgado, Field Superintendent in Toluca came to make an enthusiastic presentation on the long term conservation agriculture plots at El Batan.

Former Japanese Prime Minister, Mr. Ryutaro Hashimoto, also visited. He was escorted on his tour by Director General Iwanaga and several of CIMMYT’s Japanese scientists. These visits gave CIMMYT staff the chance to talk about the impact of agricultural research for development and key roles Centers like CIMMYT play in helping alleviate poverty. This message is especially important at a time when donor countries are assessing their funding priorities. A

Also visiting CIMMYT headquarters were the Palestinian Minister of Agriculture, Dr. Walid Abed Rabboh, and Dr. Amor Chermiti Director General of INRA, the national agricultural research program of Tunisia.

 

Published 2006

Wheat yield symposium in Obregon

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From March 20 to 24, approximately 130 participants from more than twenty nations attended the week-long “International Symposium on Wheat Yield Potential: Challenges to International Wheat Breeding,” held at Ciudad Obregon. The symposium was sponsored by CIMMYT and the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR) with the aim of charting a course for wheat research in developing countries for the coming decade and beyond.

Special acknowledgment must be given to the symposium organizers and implementers: Matthew Reynolds, chair of the organizing committee; Diana Godinez (administrative support); Arnoldo Amaya (travel and logistics); Rodrigo Rascon and Albertina de Gracia (local logistics); Ma. Teresa Rodriguez (computer and logistical support); Carmen Espinosa, Eleuterio Dorantes, and Petr Kosina, visas; and David Poland, Miguel Mellado and the CIMMYT Graphic Design Unit, extended abstracts and posters.

 

Published 2006

A World Tour: Program Director Profile

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CIMMYT E-News, vol 2 no. 7, July 2005

JCrouchNow that all of CIMMYT’s new program directors have been officially installed, it is time to get acquainted with them, as well as their ideas and plans for the programs. This month we feature Jonathan Crouch, director of the Genetic Resources Program.

“Probably the best drought team in the world,” raves Jonathan Crouch, director of CIMMYT’s Genetic Resources Program, referring to his new CIMMYT colleagues. Ever since working in the Negev desert breeding heat and salinity tolerant potatoes, Crouch has been interested in harnessing biotechnologies for improving dryland agriculture. “There are many exciting advances in genomics that now offer the possibility of helping to breed better crops for these harsh environments” he says.

He started his career, however, in a very different environment, the swamps of West Africa, using tissue culture and molecular markers in the breeding of plantains and bananas at the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) in Nigeria. Soon realizing that he needed more practical experience in plant breeding, he joined the private sector to set up a European canola breeding program. This gave him a better perspective of the realities of biotechnologies in modern crop breeding. From there, going to the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), it was obvious that in many developing countries a chasm exists between the outputs of international public goods research and the inputs of private sector product development. “By working with the private sector, we hope to populate that gap with interdisciplinary scientists, who will bring prestige to this area of research,” says Crouch, who also champions a similar approach in his half-time position in the management group of the Generation Challenge Programme.

The Genetic Resources program aims to foster more diverse and intimate relationships with multinational corporations and small- and medium-sized enterprises. “We also want to build a strong product development pipeline from the genebank to the farmer. The Genetic Resources program will start the reaction, which will then reach farmers through our regional programs and national partners, giving them the traits and tools they need.”

This global research program houses three important aspects of CIMMYT’s work—the maize and wheat genebanks, the biotechnology group, and prebreeding activities, which create suitable starting material for plant breeding programs from tens of thousands of possible unimproved plants. Crouch is excited about this organizational unit, the first of its kind in the CGIAR: “It offers tremendous opportunities for capturing synergies in all disciplines. The regional programs identify priorities, such as drought tolerance, and we work on identifying novel useful genetic variation and the tools required to efficiently manipulate it.”

And considering he is building on CIMMYT’s existing legacy of quality biotechnological science, Crouch’s confidence in this program is not unfounded.