“CIMMYT is famous for helping farmers all over the world, but what fewer people know is that they also help Mexican researchers and students who will become the next generation of researchers through the courses and workshops they offer,” said Alejandro Ledesma, maize researcher at Mexico’s National Forestry, Agricultural and Livestock Research Institute (INIFAP). Above, Ledesma (L), receives certificate from CIMMYT Director General Martin Kropff, Juan Burgueño Ferreira, Head of CIMMYT’s Biometrics and Statistics Unit, and Kevin Pixley, Head of the Genetic Resources Program at a course on statistical analysis of genetic and phenotypic data for breeders held at CIMMYT. Photo: CIMMYT

The Seeds of Discovery (SeeD) project seeks to empower the next generation of Mexican scientists to use maize and wheat biodiversity to effectively meet the needs of Mexican agriculture in the future. By providing professional agricultural research and development opportunities for current and future maize and wheat scientists, SeeD works to ensure that the materials they develop will reach those who need it most. For this reason, SeeD is developing a platform of publicly available data and software tools that enable the efficient use of maize and wheat genetic resources. These genetic resources, or biodiversity, include more than 28,000 maize and 140,000 wheat samples, known as accessions, that are conserved in CIMMYT’s seed bank and available to researchers worldwide.

Genetic resources are the raw materials or building blocks used to develop new maize and wheat varieties needed to meet the demands of a growing population in a changing climate. Many of these maize and wheat accessions contain positive traits such as drought tolerance or disease resistance, which if bred into new varieties  have the potential to improve food security and livelihoods in countries such as Mexico in the global south.

However, the specific potential impact of SeeD on Mexican agriculture and society will only be realized if breeders and scientists effectively use the products resulting from the project. By inviting researchers, professors and students to participate in workshops, training courses and diverse research projects, a growing cadre of scientists is learning how to use the databases and software tools developed by SeeD and validating their utility.

Cynthia Ortiz places DNA samples into a thermal cycler in the CIMMYT Biosciences laboratory. Photo: Jennifer Johnson

“Sharing the knowledge generated by SeeD and making it available to the scientific community will help accelerate the development of new varieties that will benefit long-term food security in Mexico and the world,” said Cynthia Ortiz, a graduate student in biotechnology at the Center for Research and Advanced Studies of the National Polytechnic Institute (CINVESTAV) in Mexico City.

Ortiz is conducting research for her Master of Science thesis mentored by SeeD scientist Sukhwinder Singh, who is helping her map the quantitative trait loci (QTL) for phenological and grain yield-related traits in wheat varieties created by crossing synthetic wheat varieties with elite lines. She has participated in two SeeD workshops focusing on wheat phenotyping for heat, drought and yield as well as on the use of the maize and wheat molecular atlas, where she learned to use SeeD software such as Flapjack and CurlyWhirly to visualize the results of genetic diversity analyses.

“The materials SeeD has developed have opened the door for identifying genetic resources with positive traits such as heat and drought tolerance, or resistance to pests and diseases that affect crops all over the world,” Ortiz said. “And the best part is that at the same time, they have sought to protect the genetic diversity of these crops, using the native biodiversity we have in Mexico and the world to confront the challenge of ensuring food security.”

David Gonzalez, a recent graduate of the Chapingo Autonomous University in Texcoco, a city about 30 km (20 miles) from Mexico City, agrees. He worked with SeeD scientists Sarah Hearne and Terence Molnar on his Master of Science thesis, identifying genetic resources with resistance to the maize leaf disease “tar spot complex” (TSC) by using genome-wide association study (GWAS) and genomic selection.

David Gonzalez (L) scores maize plants for signs of tar spot disease alongside SeeD scientist Terence Molnar (R) in the state of Chiapas, Mexico. Photo: Jennifer Johnson

“The software and databases SeeD develops for analyzing genotypic and phenotypic data are novel tools that can be used for research as well as academic purposes,” Gonzalez said. “They are a valuable resource that can be utilized by academic institutions to train students in genetic analysis.”

Gonzalez attended the CIMMYT training course “Technologies for Tropical Maize Improvement,” where he learned about new tools for field trial design, data analysis, doubled haploid technology, molecular markers, GWAS and genomic selection.

“This training, as well as the valuable help and support from CIMMYT scientists, really helped me develop myself professionally,” he said. “It was exciting to work with such an ambitious project, doing things that have never been done before to discover and utilize maize and wheat genetic diversity for the benefit of farmers. I look forward to using what I’ve learned in my future career to develop varieties that meet the needs of farmers in Latin America.”

SeeD is a joint initiative of CIMMYT and the Mexican Ministry of Agriculture (SAGARPA) through the MasAgro project. SeeD receives additional funding from the CGIAR Research Programs on Maize (MAIZE CRP) and Wheat (WHEAT CRP), and from the UK’s Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC).

A farmer uses a mini-tiller in the midwestern region of Nepal. Photo credit: CIMMYT/CSISA

The recent 7.6 magnitude earthquake that struck Nepal on 25 April, followed by a 7.3 magnitude aftershock on 12 May and several hundred additional aftershocks, has had huge negative impacts on the country’s agriculture and food security. Around two-thirds of Nepal’s population rely on agriculture for their livelihoods, and agriculture contributes 33% of Nepal’s GDP. It is estimated that about 8 million people have been affected by the earthquakes, with smallholders in hilly regions being the hardest hit.

The earthquakes damaged or destroyed agricultural assets, undermining the longer-term food production capacity of farm families and disrupting critical input supply, trade, and processing networks. Farmers lost grain and seed stocks, livestock, agricultural tools and other inputs, and are facing significant labor shortages. Widespread damage to seed and grain storage facilities has affected smallholder farmers’ ability to secure their harvested crops during the rainy season.

In response to the devastation, USAID-Nepal has provided US$1 million to the CIMMYT-led Cereal Systems Initiative for South Asia in Nepal (CSISA-NP) for earthquake relief and recovery. The Earthquake Recovery Support Program will be implemented for a period of 13 months in close coordination with the Ministry of Agricultural Development (MoAD), Department of Agriculture, Department of Livestock Services, Nepal Agricultural Research Council, and District Disaster Relief Committee. The districts that will receive support include Dolkha, Kavre, Khotang, Makwanpur, Nuwakot, Ramechap, Sindhupalchowk, and Solukhumbu, which suffered particularly high levels of damage.

According to Andrew McDonald, CIMMYT Principal Scientist and CSISA Project Leader, “Even if seed is available, farmers’ ability to plant and harvest crops has been severely diminished due to the loss of draft animals and the exacerbation of labor shortages.” To aid them, the earthquake recovery program will provide more than 33,000 farming households with 50,000 grain storage bags, 30 cocoons for community grain storage, 400 mini-tillers and other modern agriculture power tools (e.g., seeders, reapers, and maize shellers), 800 sets of small agricultural hand tools, and 20,000 posters on better-bet agronomic practices for rice and maize.

“First we will focus on getting horse-powered mini-tillers into affected communities, and subsequently broadening the utility of these machines to power a host of essential agricultural activities including seeding, reaping, threshing, and shelling, as well as driving small pumps for irrigation,” said Scott Justice, Agricultural Mechanization Specialist, CSISA-NP.

CIMMYT scientists train farmers on how to use a power tiller in Dadeldhura, Nepal.
Photo credit: Lokendra Khadka/CSISA-Nepal

At the program’s inception workshop on 28 August, Beth Dunford, USAID-Nepal Mission Director, remarked that USAID-Nepal has arranged for a special fund to help earthquake-affected people. Beyond the devastation of houses and public infrastructure such as roads, the earthquake has seriously disrupted agriculture and the rural economy in the impacted districts. Re-establishing vital agricultural markets and services is key to how quickly these communities will recover from the earthquake, underlined Dunford.

To coordinate and monitor program activities effectively, management committees at the central, district, and local levels have been formed with the purpose of identifying the earthquake-affected areas within a district and ensuring efficient and transparent distribution of aid items.

MoAD Joint Secretary Rajendra Adhikari highlighted that the Ministry feels a real sense of ownership over this program and is committed to implementing program activities through its network. The farm machinery support program will be a perfect platform for MoAD to expand its farm mechanization program into other areas of the country. The Earthquake Recovery Support Program also aligns with the Nepalese Government’s agricultural development strategies, which focus on community-wide inclusive development.

Maize is a stable crop that requires less water, has lower input costs and earns farmers greater profit thanks to its growing demand as food and feed for livestock. Tribal farmers in Odisha are increasing maize yields with the use of new technologies and improved agronomic practices. Photo: Ashwamegh Banerjee/CIMMYT

Badbil is a remote and deeply impoverished tribal village in the plateau region of Mayurbhanj in the east Indian state of Odisha. The village is home to 200 families belonging to four indigenous tribes who have traditionally grown a local rice called Sathia.

Due to regularly occurring droughts and declining rainfall, families have started giving up rice cultivation. The rice crop’s high demand for water has resulted in about a 40% decline in total rice production in India’s eastern states during severe droughts, with an estimated loss of US$ 800 million. As a result, Mayurbhanj’s plateau area is now considered unsuitable for growing rice and remains fallow for most of the year.

“Farmers also face the problem of nutrient-depleted lateritic and acidic soils, which are dominant in these areas and commonly dismissed as degraded and unproductive by the local population,” said R.K. Malik, CIMMYT Senior Agronomist.

Over 100,000 packets of nearly 1,200 hybrids and varieties developed by CIMMYT-Zimbabwe and partners were distributed to national agricultural research systems and private seed companies throughout eastern and southern Africa. Regional trial requests are in high demand from emerging seed companies across the region as well as Egypt, Nigeria, Pakistan and other countries in Asia and Latin America. Photo: Amsal Tarekegne/CIMMYT.

The year 2015 marked 30 years of CIMMYT’s Southern Africa Regional Office (CIMMYT-SARO) developing new maize varieties adapted to smallholder farmer needs in Zimbabwe and across sub-Saharan Africa.

“Multiple stress tolerant and nutritious maize hybrids developed by CIMMYT-SARO have been released by partners throughout eastern and southern Africa,” said Amsal Tarekegne, CIMMYT-SARO Senior Maize Breeder.

CIMMYT-SARO and partners have also produced new maize varieties that yield 20-30% more than currently available widely grown commercial varieties under drought and low nitrogen stress conditions.

Farmers in eastern and southern Africa need maize varieties that are climate resilient, high-yielding and nutritious.

Ancestors of modern wheat (R) in comparison with an ear of modern cultivated wheat (L). Photo: Thomas Lumpkin/CIMMYT.

In a world where the population is expected to reach 9 billion by the year 2050, grain production must increase to meet rising demand. This is especially true for bread wheat, which provides one-fifth of the total calories consumed by the world’s population. However, climate change threatens to derail global food security, as instances of extreme weather events and high temperatures reduce agricultural productivity and are increasing faster than agriculture can naturally adapt, leaving our future ability to feed the global population uncertain. How can we ensure crop production and food security for generations to come?

In order to continue feeding the planet, it is imperative that we identify crop varieties that display adaptive and quality traits such as drought and heat stress tolerance that will allow them to survive and flourish despite environmental stresses. For this reason, a recent study by Sehgal et al., “Exploring and mobilizing the gene bank biodiversity for wheat improvement,” was conducted to characterize wheat seed samples in the CIMMYT germplasm bank to identify useful variations for use in wheat breeding.

The study analyzed the genetic diversity of 1,423 bread wheat seed samples that represent major wheat production environments around the world, particularly regions that experience significant heat and drought. The tested samples included synthetic wheat varieties, which are novel bread wheat varieties created by making crosses between the progenitors of modern bread wheat, durum wheat and wild grassy ancestors; landraces, which are local varieties developed through centuries of farmer selection; and elite lines that have been selectively bred and adapted. The samples were analyzed through genotyping-by-sequencing, a rapid and cost-effective approach that allows for an in-depth, reliable estimate of genetic diversity.

The results of the study suggested that many of the tested landraces and synthetics have untapped, useful genetic variation that could be used to improve modern wheat varieties. When combined with elite wheat germplasm, this genetic variation will increase stress adaptation and quality traits as well as heat and drought tolerance, thus leading to new wheat varieties that can better survive under climate change. The study also found new genetic variation for vernalization, in which flowering is induced by exposure to cold, and for glutenin, a major wheat protein responsible for dough strength and elasticity. Based on the information generated by the study, over 200 of the diverse seed samples tested have been selected for use in breeding, since they contain new specific forms of genes conferring drought and heat stress tolerance. This new genetic diversity will help bread wheat breeding programs around the world create new varieties to feed the world’s growing population in a changing environment.

This research is part of CIMMYT’s ongoing Seeds of Discovery (SeeD) project, which is funded by the Mexican Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Rural Development, Fisheries and Food (SAGARPA) through the Sustainable Modernization of Traditional Agriculture (MasAgro) project, as well as the CGIAR Research Program on Wheat (WHEAT). SeeD works to unlock the genetic potential of maize and wheat genetic resources by providing breeders with a toolkit that enables their more targeted use in the development of better varieties that address future challenges, including those from climate change and a growing population.

To read the full study, please click here:

Citation:

Sehgal D, Vikram P, Sansaloni CP, Ortiz C, Pierre CS, Payne T, et al. (2015) Exploring and Mobilizing the Gene Bank Biodiversity for Wheat Improvement. PLoS ONE 10(7): e0132112. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0132112

Related Publications:

Exploiting genetic diversity from landraces in wheat breeding for adaptation to climate change (2015) Lopes, M.S., El-Basyoni, I., Baenziger, P.S., Sukhwinder-Singh, Royo, C., Ozbek, K., Aktas, H., Ozer, E., Ozdemir, F., Manickavelu, A., Ban, T., Vikram, P.

Coping with climate change: the roles of genetic resources for food and agriculture, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)

By 2050, seasonal temperatures are expected to increase over 2°C in all maize producing regions of eastern Africa. Africa is one of the most vulnerable continents in the world to rising temperatures and rainfall variability due to climate change, with 96% of Sub-Saharan African (SSA) farmers depending on rainfall to water their crops.

While climate change is expected to decrease maize yields in most parts of Africa by a margin of 6-12%, some countries like Ethiopia and Kenya may see overall maize yields increase under climate change, according to CIMMYT climate and crop models.

“Our results suggest that the likely maize yield increase in Ethiopia and Kenya is due to anticipated temperature increases in the highland regions,” says Jill Cairns, maize physiologist at CIMMYT. Current temperatures in this area are too low to produce good yields, so an increase in temperature could positively affect maize farmers’ harvests in the future.

“New maize varieties will be needed to capitalize on these potential yield gains in the highlands,” adds Cairns. Commercial maize varieties currently grown in the East African highlands will not tolerate future higher temperatures. Varieties that are adapted to the region’s future climate coupled with recommended agronomic practices and correct timing for planting will be necessary to increase farmers’ yields.

Maize production overall has been declining in Kenya since 1982, due largely to drought conditions experienced across Africa and lack of varieties that can withstand this stress. CIMMYT estimates that 40% of Africa’s maize growing areas face occasional drought stress, resulting in yield losses of 10-25%. As a result of these climate shocks, Africa yields just two tons per hectare of maize, compared to the world’s average of nearly five tons per hectare.

CIMMYT is currently developing climate and crop models to predict the impact of future climate on maize production, and has also established the world’s largest tropical maize stress screening network under public domain. This network is being used by partners, including national agricultural organizations in SSA, to develop improved varieties that will tolerate current and future climate challenges. Currently being addressed are drought, heat, low soil fertility, insect pests and diseases such as maize lethal necrosis (MLN).

Improved maize hybrids with drought tolerance and nitrogen use efficiency are already on the market across eastern Africa and in the larger SSA region. Significant efforts have been made in recent years to develop heat tolerant and MLN resistant maize varieties in Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda. These improved varieties yield much more than current commercial varieties and most have stress tolerant traits that help farmers tackle multiple abiotic and biotic stresses.

CIMMYT, with the support of its partners, has developed 57 improved drought tolerant (DT) maize varieties for eastern Africa’s market, each with farmer-favored traits. Over 12 million people have benefited from DT maize varieties across Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda. Through public and private seed companies, nearly 17,300 tons of certified DT maize seeds have been produced.

“With this work on climate resilient maize, we are playing an important part in making Africa a food-secure continent,” says Stephen Mugo, CIMMYT’s Regional Representative for Africa.