Two recent conservation agriculture (CA) events in Sonora, Mexico, attracted more than 20 farmers and technicians, and marked the beginning of a new CA technician certification course.

On April 13, the day of the first event, experienced CA farmers shared their knowledge with other farmers who were considering CA adoption. “If you are a good farmer, if you are innovative, you’re not to going to have problems with CA,” said Mayo Félix, who has extensive experience farming with CA. “You have CIMMYT’s support and ours.”

CIMMYT CA experts Jesús Mendoza and Dagoberto Flores led the event, which was the second of what will be a series of monthly CA meeting for local farmers in the Mexican Pacific zone who collaborate with CIMMYT and host CA modules in their land. The expectation is that the meetings will be a venue for farmers to exchange ideas and suggestion to improve their practices. “Conservation agriculture is good and has many advantages,” said farmer Héctor Aguilar, “but we, as farmers, must keep up-to-date on CA.”

Since training and knowledge is key to successful CA adoption, CIMMYT’s Conservation Agriculture Program designed a CA technician certification course. The first part of this one-year certification course took place on 22 April at the Norman E. Borlaug Experiment Station (CENEB) in Sonora. The day focused on the primary steps for summer crops—such as sorghum and maize—and included topics such as good residue management, proper fertilization, irrigation, weed control, and how to remake beds. Course leaders used a CIMMYT designed multiuse-multipurpose machine to demonstrate these steps; the same machine is used by several farmer unions, such as USPRUSS, UCHC, UCAC, and UCAY, whose representatives were among the certification course attendees.

Bram Govaerts, leader of CA efforts in Mexico, said that at the end of the one-year course participants will take a hands-on exam in a CA plot and will be required to establish two CA modules with their farmer-clients. Those who successfully fulfill these requirements will become CA certified technicians and will have access to CIMMYT facilities, including the long-term plots, which they will be able to use as a training platform.

Attendees agreed that the day was very helpful, especially the machinery demonstrations. The course was coordinated by CIMMYT with assistance from the Mexican National Institute of Forestry, Agriculture, and Livestock (INIFAP), Mexico’s national wheat marketer’s organization (CONATRIGO), the Patronato for Research and Agricultural Experimentation of the State of Sonora (PIEAES), and the Association of Agriculture Organizations of Southern Sonora ( AOASS), and with support from Fundación Produce Sonora.

Special thanks to CA team members for their help with the events: Jesús Mendoza, Nele Verhulst, Manuel Ruiz, Jesús Gutiérrez, Beatriz Martínez, Juan de Dios Sánchez, Álvaro Cermeño, Luz Paola López, Zita Gallardo, and CENEB superintendent Rodrigo Rascón.

In addition to being part of the basic diet for millions of people, maize plays a role in many other food products and has a diverse array of non-consumption uses, such as for cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, and biofuels. To identify what grain is suitable for what purpose requires a series of lab tests and analyses. A similar process is used to identify maize with certain nutritional benefits, such as high levels of pro-vitamin A.

As part of a collaborative research agreement between the Mexican Ministry of Agriculture and CIMMYT, a workshop titled “Nutritional and industrial quality of maize” was held at El Batán during 19-24 April. More than 20 experts in breeding, biochemistry, and food technology and physiology from nine Mexican public and private institutions attended the workshop.

During the workshop participants practiced methodologies used in CIMMYT’s lab to analyze the physical and chemical properties (such as protein, starch, carotenes, lysine, tryptophan, grain hardness, and color) that determine the industrial and nutritional quality of maize grain. The group also spent two day working in labs operated by the Mexican National Institute of Forestry, Agriculture and Livestock Research (INIFAP) in the State of Mexico. Under the guidance of INIFAP researcher Gricelda Vásquez, course participants set quality parameters for nixtamal—maize cooked with lime—and tortilla during interactive hands-on sessions.

The workshop introduced participants to new methodologies that will help them meet the demand for germplasm characterization, and it will help ensure the conservation and effective use of germplasm. Because learning is more effective through practice and applicability—which is how this course was structured—participants said that they would enjoy attending more workshops like this one. “All the methodologies we practiced this week will be helpful in strengthening our laboratory and will help ensure the characterization of native materials from collections of our germplasm bank,” said Ángel Jiménez Cordero from the University of Guadalajara.

Seed company participants said they recognize the importance of characterizing materials to set parameters of nutritional and/or industrial quality, and including this information on seed packages. They added that the methodologies used throughout the course will be helpful for further seed characterization.

“It is so gratifying to help train the new generation of researchers in lab methodologies necessary to sustain and provide extra value to maize and its products,” said Natalia Palacios, CIMMYT maize nutrition expert and workshop organizer. “However, perhaps even more gratifying is the strengthening of existing networks and establishing new partnerships with Mexican institutions.”

CIMMYT lab workers also benefited from the workshop, as it gave them the opportunity to present theoretical and practical aspects of seed characterization, and widened many of their perspectives about their work in the laboratory. “Standing in front of a big group was new for us. It was a challenging but enriching experience,” said Aldo Rosales, research assistant. “For those of us working with maize quality, it was a week of a lot of learning and a reminder that we are always gaining new knowledge.”

Thanks to the staff of CIMMYT’s and INIFAP’s maize quality labs, along with those from the training office who helped make this workshop a success. The participating Mexican institutions were INIFAP, Colegio de Postgraduados, Autonomous University of the State of Mexico, National Autonomous University of Mexico, University of Guadalajara (UDG), Tecnológico de Monterrey, Semillas Ceres, ICAMEX (an advanced research institution in Mexico State), CINVESTAV (a postgraduate and research institution), and Centro Agronómico Tropical de Investigación y Enseñanza (an organization based in Managua, Nicaragua, that promotes sustainable agriculture and natural resource management)

The first 7:24-minute video is The Norman Borlaug Legacy. Dr. James traces the path that Dr. Borlaug took to become an icon of agricultural development for poor farmers of the developing countries of the world. His passion and vision helped “to provide bread for a hungry world” while his acknowledgment of the power of biotechnology has contributed to a better appreciation of the technology.

from: http://www.isaaa.org/resources/videos/normanborlauglegacy/default.asp

Various research and extensions workers collaborating with the project “Sustainable Intensification of Rice-Maize Systems in Bangladesh” organized five farmer field days throughout March and April 2010. The events took place in the districts of Comilla, Rangpur, and Rajshahi and attracted over 350 farmers.

During the field days, farmers gathered in front of maize fields with site-specific nitrogen management (SSNM) and conservation agriculture (CA) trials and shared their experiences, both positive and negative, with the researchers and extension workers. At all the project sites, there are CA farmer-participatory adaptive trials and researcher-managed SSNM trials for maize and rice. Some of the key new and improved CA technological options being introduced and promoted through these trials include maize planted under minimum tillage using a powertiller operated seeder (PTOS), strip tillage, zero tillage, fresh beds, and permanent beds. In all trials, farmers’ common practice is compared with CA technologies, and researcher-managed SSNM trials have treatments ranging from zero to reduced levels of nitrogen, potassium, and phosphorus.

“These field days provided ample opportunities for farmers, stakeholders, and researchers to share their experiences with each other on these new CA technologies being introduced and promoted by the project,” said Jagadish Timsina, IRRI-CIMMYT senior cropping system agronomist and project leader. “Grain yield and cost of production data are being collected from these trials that will allow us to compare the production and profitability of various CA technological options against farmers’ current practice of growing maize.”

Though the project, which started in November 2008, initially focused on adaptive research in farmers’ fields, it is now starting to emphasize dissemination of improved CA practicies and SSNM technologies to farmers as well. This will be done through training and capacity building with researchers, farmers, extension workers, machinery manufacturers, and service providers.

The project is run jointly by CIMMYT and the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) and funded by the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR) with national partners from governmental and non-governmental organizations. This project was recently featured in The New Nation: Bangladesh’s Independent News Source.

On 24 April 2010, roughly 80 farmers and technicians gathered in a maize field surrounded by mountains for a farmers’ field day. The event was held in the Central Valleys of Oaxaca, Mexico, and was part of an effort to increase the genetic diversity in farmers’ fields and provide them with additional seed selection options.

The day revolved around the introduction of four maize seed varieties—H-318 (INIFAP hybrid), Pool 31 and Pool 32×31 (CIMMYT), and San José (Chapingo University). The seeds are open pollinated varieties and were selected for high yield and high forage to meet the subsistence and livestock feed needs of farmers in central Oaxaca. Humberto Castro García (pictured bottom, right) from the Autonomous University of Chapingo, Oaxaca campus, and event organizer, partnered with local farmers to multiple the seeds, which then went through testing procedures required by Mexican law, and were packaged for distribution and sale.

“The idea is to try and bring more improved diversity to the area,” said Suketoshi Taba (pictured middle photo, far left), head of the CIMMYT maize germplasm bank. “Most farmers here grow for self-consumption with low inputs, so the power of the seed is important.” Mexico is the center of diversity for maize, and Oaxaca is the Mexican state with the most natural maize diversity, he added.

After opening announcements and addresses, García took farmers around the maize plots and introduced each variety to the group, detailing the characteristics, qualities, and differences between each one. All the attendees had received an information sheet that included varietal information such as grain type, plant height, cob length, and flowering period, and many carried these around throughout the presentation to make additional notes. Several also took photos of the varieties.

“I came here because I didn’t know how to make the most of my land or how to obtain better production,” said Severo Mendoza, an attendee who farms one hectare of land in Santiago Apóstol Ocotlán, Oaxaca. “I produce my own food but, with what my land produces, I am not self-sufficient. And since I have no access to technology or knowledge, I have to buy additional food.”

Mendoza’s day ended on a happy note; he not only learned about new available varieties, but he was also one of 13 attendees to receive a free 20-kg bag of seed, enough to plant his hectare of land. These volunteer farmers will plant the seed in May and will host field demonstrations at the end of the growing season. Eight other farmers chose to purchase bags of seed.

To round out the day, the participants also saw a demonstration on small machinery for husking maize and chopping forage, as well as metal tin storage containers, which are used to store grain without the use of chemicals. The airtight containers force any bugs to crawl to the surface for survival, where they then die from lack of oxygen, efficiently separating the bugs from the grain. The event ended with a delicious lunch and casual socializing.

García will facilitate five other field days in central Oaxaca throughout April and May. Taba and García hope to later visit the fields of the farmers growing the seed to see how the introduced varieties benefit livelihoods and on-field diversity. The event was part of a larger in-situ maize conservation project with farmers in Oaxaca that includes on-farm variety testing, collection of landrace germplasm, and the production and distribution of improved seed and landraces.

An improved tool can play a key role in distinguishing open-pollinated maize varieties (OPVs) and ensuring that seed being sold is genuine. DNA fingerprinting, also referred to as DNA profiling, enables one maize variety to be distinguished from another using molecular markers. It is an important way to help ensure that only certified seed enters the market, and to identify individuals or companies that sell fake seed.

A team of CIMMYT scientists has tested a new technique to differentiate OPVs using a more costefficient method of DNA fingerprinting. Their work was published in Crop Science 50: 1-11, and is accessible at the Drought Tolerant Maize for Africa (DTMA) project website.

In January 2010, 61 samples of the OPV ZM 521 taken from various seed lots in Malawi, Zambia, and Zimbabwe underwent the new cost-efficient DNA fingerprinting at Proteios, a laboratory in South Africa. Peter Setimela, maize breeder, and John MacRobert, seed systems specialist, presented the results of these tests to the Zimbabwe Emergency Agricultural Input Project (ZEAIP), the World Bank, and SeedCo Ltd., a seed company in Zimbabwe. ZEIAIP wants to ensure that the seed purchased for relief is genetically pure and genuine, which is also of interested to the World Bank, as it supports seed relief efforts in the country and tries to reduce the dissemination of fake seed.

Using this methodology, the scientists were able to conclusively identify the OPVs, thus ensuring that the correct high-yielding seed of locally-adapted varieties could reach the farmers. Results from the fingerprinting also determined, however, that one hybrid had been mislabeled as ZM521. If this seed had been planted, it would have yielded much lower than expected, and is just one example of the importance of seed purity testing.

In Africa, many farmers grow OPVs rather than hybrid varieties because the seed can be saved and replanted without the yield loss associated with the replanting of hybrid maize seed. Compared to hybrids, OPVs are less uniform and it is easier for seed companies to sell fake or non-certified seed.

Staff and other members of the CIMMYT community gathered near the library entrance in El Batán on 22 April 2010 for a ceremony to bid fond farewell to volunteer and information specialist, John Woolston, who is retiring and returning to Canada on 24 April after 18 years at CIMMYT. The ceremony included the formal renaming of the library as the “John E. Woolston International Library,” in honor of Woolston’s many contributions to the center’s work and to the greater CIMMYT community. A plaque with the new name is now located at the library’s entrance and carries special words chosen by Woolston that reflect the importance of publishing and sharing information: “Reading records of past research could inspire your next big idea.”

Scott Ferguson, deputy director general for support services, recounted highlights of Woolston’s career, which included work as director of the division of scientific and technical information at the International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna, Austria, and as vicepresident, information programs, at the International Development Research Center (IDRC), in Ottawa, Canada. “From what I can gather, John has already retired three times previously,” Ferguson said. “So I’m not sure where this next move is going to take him.” He mentioned Woolston’s legacy at CIMMYT, particularly the databases of publications on CIMMYT wheat cultivars (IWIS-Bib), of staff journal articles, of pedigrees of CWANA region wheat cultivars, and of doctoral theses supervised by CIMMYT staff.

Deputy director general for research and partnerships, Marianne Bänziger, referred to Woolston’s qualities as a caring human being who provided generous support to visiting scientists and training course participants, including additional assistance for some when critical moments of personal crises called for it. “I have known John for 18 years and have enjoyed and treasured our friendship,” she said. Acting head of corporate communications, Mike Listman, read special messages from Edith Hesse, former head of the CIMMYT library, and from Clive James, former CIMMYT deputy director general, both of whom were instrumental in Woolston’s coming to CIMMYT and who interacted with him over the years. Everyone recalled Woolston’s Tuesday evening Texcoco dinner outings with new staff and visitors, which practically became an institutional tradition. On behalf of the global wheat program, associate director Etienne Duveiller presented Woolston with a lovely shirt.

Upon unveiling the library name plaque, Woolston was clearly moved and spoke of his surprise. “As far as I know, the only persons who have had parts of these buildings named after them are Norman Borlaug, Edwin Wellhausen, and Glenn Anderson*, so I’m extremely honored and humbled to be in such hallowed company!”

Bänziger expressed the shared sentiments of many when she said how much the CIMMYT community would miss Woolston. “Though you’ll be a bit distant from us, we hope you’ll still keep in touch and support our work,” she said.

All the best from your dear friends and colleagues, John!

*Editor’s note: Japanese philanthropist Ryoichi Sasakawa also has a seminar room at El Batán named after him.

Would you store grain in a metal can? That was the question posed during a humorous skit presented at a stakeholders’ workshop in Homa Bay, Kenya. The can in question is the metal silo and the performance was part of an awareness exercise organized by the Catholic Diocese of Homa Bay. The diocese partners with CIMMYT in the Effective Grain Storage project, where CIMMYT previously facilitated the training of artisans. The project has since continued its work on improved grain storage and creating awareness about the metal silo.

Forty-five participants attended the April 2010 metal silo workshop, including government officials from the Ministry of Agriculture, representatives of nongovernmental organizations, community-based organizations, and artisans, as well as Tadele Tefera, Effective Grain Storage project coordinator, and Judie-Lynn Rabar, CIMMYT-Kenya science writer/editor. Also present were representatives of a local bank, who spoke about the micro-finance opportunities available for agricultural produce, including the metal silo.

The metal silo is gradually gaining ground in the Homa Bay area as a viable postharvest storage technique. This was evident from responses and reactions by both users and artisans. Take the case of Sister Barbara Okomo, the principal of St. Theresa’s Girls’ Secondary School. She is an ardent supporter of and advocate for the metal silo as a storage facility for grain, having used them for over five years.

“With other storage methods, we would lose up to 90% of our stored grain—now we lose nothing,” she said. Sister Okomo has 10 silos at her school to store grain used to feed the students throughout the year. In her opinion, local craftsmen would benefit from formal training on fabrication of the metal silo.

Nicholas Omondi is one beneficiary of the training for artisans that was facilitated by CIMMYT. Despite never having heard of metal silos before CIMMYT’s involvement, he is glad that the diocese selected him for training. Apart from his work as a metal smith, he also grows maize on a one-acre plot of land, mainly for subsistence. “I trained in metal work, but my returns were very low. Now that I am trained in making silos, my income has almost tripled,” he said, adding that he advises small-scale farmers, like himself, to try using the silo and assures them that they will not regret it.

During the three day of ceremonies and celebration in Ciudad Obregón, northern Mexico, to commemorate the late Nobel Laureate Dr. Norman Borlaug, there was one special event that bore witness to the great man’s continued capacity to bring people together. In the “Dr. Ernesto Samayoa” auditorium on 24 March 2010, some 70 former friends and associates of Borlaug and of CIMMYT gathered for an entire afternoon to share personal reminiscences about work and other interactions with Borlaug.

Global wheat program director Hans Braun led off with a presentation on Borlaug’s life, on CIMMYT’s inception tracing back to Borlaug’s work, and on the center’s recent structure. After that, the microphone was passed around to anyone who wished to speak, giving rise to personal accounts of Borlaug’s intensity, his dedication to his work and to farmers, and his ability to inspire those around him to work as hard as he did.

“You couldn’t be around Norm without being involved. He was a great teacher and he was always there and available,” remembered Willie McCuistion, adding that Norm was so driven that he would keep everyone out in the field until dark every night.

All the participants had been associated with CIMMYT in some way during their careers, but subsequent professional pursuits had led most on diverging pathways. What brought them together on that afternoon was their affection and reverence for Borlaug. “The feeling was that of a reunion of old friends who need more reasons to see each other on a regular basis,” said CIMMYT intern Mary Attaway, who filmed the testimonials.

This was precisely the intention of former CIMMYT wheat scientist Art Klatt, who served as associate director of the CIMMYT wheat program in the 1980s and led much of the investigative work to locate old center and Borlaug associates for the Obregón gathering. “I hope to start a database or web page that would help these folks stay in touch,” said Klatt, who now works in Oklahoma State University’s Department of Plant and Soil Sciences.

The three days of memorial events surrounding the gathering on 24 March included a “get reacquainted” welcome cocktail, several field tours, a special Obregón “carne asada” (barbecue), and culminated in the renaming of the Obregón experiment station in Borlaug’s honor and the unveiling by his daughter, Jeannie Borlaug Laube, of a Borlaug statue and monument (see CIMMYT Informa 1695). To view a video of the full remembrance event, visit: http://tiny.cc/c1zg1.

CIMMYT staff got a sneak peak at the new crop resource portal GENESYS on Tuesday 13 April 2010. Mohamed Fawzy Farag Nawar from Bioversity International demonstrated how easy it is to use the new portal and explained why Bioversity, the Global Crop Diversity Trust, and the Secretariat of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture have teamed up for this project.

“The number one reason we created this system is because, until now, other systems didn’t have complete characterization and trait data,” Nawar said. “GENESYS will make the huge amount of currently existing work and date available to the public.”

GENESYS is built upon previous crop data systems, such as the CGIAR’s SINGER. The idea is to create a comprehensive portal where users can easily find accessions using improved search tools that incorporate characterization and evaluation data along with environmental data from the accession’s collection point. The portal contains 22 crops and 2 million accessions. For more information visit: http://www.genesys-pgr.org/.

The ACIAR-funded project “Sustainable intensification of rice-maize (R-M) systems in Bangladesh” held a traveling workshop in Bangladesh during 03-08 April. Fifteen researchers attended and traveled to four featured project sites in the Bangladesh districts of Comilla, Gazipur, Rajshahi, and Rangpur.

Participants visited fields at many collaborating institutions, as well as farmers’ fields. The selected visits focused on rice and maize cropping systems sown with conservation agriculture (often in comparison to farmers’ practice) and site-specific nutrient management (SSNM). At each site, they formed three groups to critically evaluate key trials and they often had the opportunity to talk with local farmers.

The workshop took participants to numerous sites and field locations, including several Bangladesh Rice Research Institute (BRRI) research locations, Rangpur Dinajpur Rural Services (RDRS) trials, and project sites of the Australian Center for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR), among others. Participants came from four collaborating organizations: the Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute (BARI), the Bangladesh Academy for Rural Development (BARD), BRRI, and RDRS. Jagadish Timsina, IRRI-CIMMYT senior cropping system agronomist and project leader, led and coordinated the workshop.

This workshop was modeled off of a previous rice-wheat consortium for the Indo-Gangetic Plains and a fruitful experience from the ACIAR rice-maize project conducted in October 2009.The course helped established further links among researchers and the Cereal System Initiative for South Asia (CSISA) project.

On 09 April 2010, a team of four executives from BRAC International (formerly Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee) visited CIMMYT-Kenya’s Nairobi office to discuss increased collaboration.

In 2009, BRAC-Tanzania collaborated with CIMMYT offices in Kenya and Zimbabwe on regional maize trials. Thirteen of these trials performed well and will be planted again this year in five locations in Tanzania to test some of the best CIMMYT hybrids. After testing these new hybrids for drought tolerance, BRAC plans to release and market hybrid seed of these varieties in Tanzania.

After winning a competitive grant from the Drought Tolerant Maize for Africa (DTMA) Project through the Maize Working Group, the BRAC team requested stronger collaboration with CIMMYT – mainly through the sharing of maize germplasm and the training of their maize breeders and technicians. They will now work closely with CIMMYT maize breeder Dan Makumbi and, the Selian Agricultural Research Institute in Arusha, Tanzania, one of CIMMYT’s partners.

BRAC International, the largest non-governmental development organization in the world, is committed to fighting poverty through improvements in agriculture, health, education, and income. Founded in Bangladesh, BRAC’s work is mainly in Asia and Africa, with offices in 11 countries. In Africa, BRAC is working in Tanzania, Uganda, Southern Sudan, Sierra Leone, and Liberia.

“We are excited by this collaboration, and we appreciate CIMMYT-Kenya’s support to BRAC in Tanzania on maize research and seed production,” said Aminul Alam, executive director of BRAC International Programs. “As we expand to cover five more African countries, and to develop and promote suitable maize varieties, we look forward to continuing this collaboration.”

Attendees of the CIMMYT-BRAC meeting included Wilfred Mwangi, Global Maize Program associate director, Makumbi, Alam, and Imran Matin, BRAC deputy director. BRACTanzania was represented by Abdus Salam, senior production agriculture manager, and Mizanur Rahman, livestock senior manager.

Over 50 experts gathered in Lusaka, Zambia during 15-18 March 2010 for HarvestPlus’s 5th Maize Team Meeting. The meeting, organized by CIMMYT and hosted by the Zambia Agricultural Research Institute (ZARI), included overviews of progress reports, four field visits, and identification of needs and development plans for further success.

HarvestPlus is a CGIAR Challenge Program that uses biofortification to improve the nutritional value of staple foods.

A key topic at the meeting was the development and use of maize varieties with high amounts of provitamin A and their potential benefits for consumers in Zambia. Between one third and half of all Zambian children suffer from vitamin A deficiency, which weakens their vision and immune systems, makes them more vulnerable to various diseases, and reduces their productivity and quality of life. Maize is Zambia’s staple food. HarvestPlus uses conventional breeding to create maize hybrids and open-pollinated varieties with a high density of pro-vitamin A.

ZARI and private companies are currently evaluating advanced experimental varieties for yield and agronomic characteristics; the best of these will be tested for pro-vitamin A content. Additionally, a new generation of varieties with higher amounts of pro-vitamin A than today’s best hybrids is now being bred. New information on a crucial gene that increases pro-vitamin A has made this possible. This information was published in a March 2010 article in Nature Genetics.

During the meeting, attendees presented and discussed several other topics and studies. These included socio-economic work to assess the likely consumer acceptance of biofortified orange maize; food technology to assess the effects of food preparation on the nutritional value of maize; biochemistry to assess the causes and losses of pro-vitamin A during milling and storage; and nutrition to assess the health impacts on children who eat biofortified maize.

A particularly fruitful session involved several stakeholders from Zambia, including representatives from the Ministry of Health, nongovernmental organizations, ZARI, and seed companies. Partnerships with these and other Zambian colleagues are essential for the delivery of biofortified maize to farmers and consumers. CIMMYT attendees included Kevin Pixley, Natalia Palacios, Hugo de Groote, John MacRobert, Sebastian Mawere, and Amsal Tarekegne.

At first, Fieldbook for sweet potato breeding seems highly unlikely. However, following a recent Fieldbook training session in Nairobi, Kenya, the sweet potato breeders at the CGIAR’s International Potato Center (CIP) are exploring the use of the application for just that. Jan Low, CIP’s leader of the Sweet Potato for Profit and Health Initiative, recently requested a Fieldbook demonstration from CIMMYT experts.

Fieldbook is CIMMYT software specially designed for managing maize breeding programs. The software manages pedigrees, data, seed stocks, and fieldbooks. Marianne Bänziger, CIMMYT’s deputy director general of Research and Partnerships, initially developed Fieldbook, which was further improved by Bindi Vivek, CIMMYT maize breeder. Now in its eighth version, Fieldbook is freely available from CIMMYT and is used by breeders from the International Institute for Tropical Agriculture (IITA) and by several national agricultural system partners.

On 31 March 2010, Dan Makumbi, CIMMYT maize breeder, and Joseph Kasango, CIMMYT research technician, conducted an hour of requested interactive training on the use of Fieldbook and demonstrated the application’s main features for the CIP breeders, their new research information systems manager, Jens Riis-Jacobsen, and other participants. The training was to help the CIP team discover if they could adapt the software for their new sweet potato initiative.

“Our breeders were very interested. Although the main difference between maize and sweet potato breeding is the starting material (vines for sweet potato), we are confident that we can adapt and use the Fieldbook for our work,” said Riis-Jacobsen, who used to be based at CIMMYT-Mexico when Fieldbook was under development. CIMMYT’s Makumbi agreed that the session was a success. “The training session was great for us to exchange views, and to find out whether Fieldbook can be of use to breeders working on other crops,” he said.

CIMMYT has also received follow-up requests for similar training and copies of Fieldbook from maize breeders from the Kenya-based firm East African Seeds. For more information about Fieldbook visit: here.

A 32-member team of scientists from four national wheat programs (India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Nepal) participated in a wheat breeding roving seminar in Nepal during 20-26 March 2010. The objective of the seminar was to encourage interaction among wheat scientists on major wheat breeding issues, pathology, and physiology in the South Asia region, and to share experiences and strengthen future wheat research. The event was part of the Cereal Systems Initiative for South Asia’s (CSISA) objective 4 wheat breeding activities, which are being undertaken by CIMMYT.

The traveling seminar included three research stations in three different areas of Nepal: Bhairahwa, Lumle, and Kathmandu. Discussion at the stations focused on wheat breeding for biotic and abiotic stresses; important diseases and their management; crop management for high yield potential; and up scaling seed production and dissemination activities for new Ug99 resistant wheat varieties. Scientists also met with farmers, extension workers, private seed growers, and other stakeholder throughout the week.

At Bhairahwa, the team visited the National Wheat Research Program (NWRP). This location generated a lot of interest among the team because of the program’s large number of CIMMYT trials and nurseries under CSISA. Ug99 resistant CIMMYT lines Francolin#1, Danfe#1, Pauraque#1, and Picaflor#1, and Nepal’s new line BL 3063 were under seed multiplication on roughly five hectares at the time of the visit. The group also visited three villages (Pipariya, Belahiya, and Semrana) to see participatory varietal selection (PVS) activities, pre-release seed multiplication of Ug99 resistant lines, and HUB activity under CSISA.

At the village Pipariya, a farmer group is involved in pre-release seed multiplication of Ug99 resistant wheat varieties with the local seed company Kalika Seeds and with assistance from Madan Raj Bhatta, wheat breeder with the Nepal Agricultural Research Council (NARC). The team saw around 35 hectares of seed multiplication plots of new varieties (BL3063, Francolin#1, Danfe#1, Picaflor#1, Pauraque#1, and Quaiu#1) on farmers’ fields. The visit also included a farmer-scientist meeting to help farmers find answers to their queries and for scientists to better understand farmers’ problems. At Belahiya, another village, the team saw HUB activities mainly led by D.P. Sherchan and A.P. Regmi who are involved with conservation agriculture.

Later in the week at Lumle, the team visited the Regional Agricultural Research Station (RARS), which controls the promotion of new technologies for 16 of Nepal’s 75 districts. The team visited national coordinated varietal trials for mid- and high-hills, seed multiplication, and a trap nursery for yellow and stem rust. Because the area is considered a hot spot for yellow and brown rust, the visiting group had a short discussion about the past, present, and future of breeding for rust resistance in South Asia. Representatives also gave individual country reports.

At Kathmandu, the team visited the wheat fields and the greenhouse facility of the National Agriculture Research Institute (NARI) and met with Gautam Buddha Manandhar, NARI director, and other members of the center. Then the team visited a PVS site at the villages Jorpati and Dhandi, where a group of mainly female farmers shared their experiences and expectations for increasing wheat production and profitability. The mother-baby trial here generated a lot of interest among the visiting team as a tool for faster wheat variety dissemination. In the evening, the visiting team met Bhartendu Mishra, executive director of NARC, and N.P. Adhikari, director of Crops and Horticulture at NARC, who expressed a desire for greater collaboration among South Asian wheat research centers.

Overall, the seminar improved the participants’ understanding of diversity in germplasm; awareness of environment and farmer management in Nepal compared to their own country/ location; and spurred strong interest in further collaboration on emerging issues. The seminar also created a new environment for collaboration among wheat partners of the region.