Location: China

CIMMYT E-News, vol 4 no. 12, December 2007

Three high-quality wheat varieties developed by researchers from the Shandong Academy of Agricultural Science and the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Science (CAAS), drawing on CIMMYT wheat lines and technical support, were sown on more than 8 million hectares during 2002-2006, according to a recent CAAS economic study. They contributed an additional 2.4 million tons of grain—worth USD 513 million, with quality premiums.

“Improving processing quality has become an extremely important objective for sustainable development of the wheat industry in China,” says Zhonghu He, CIMMYT wheat expert in the country and researcher at the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Science (CAAS). He was part of a joint research team from CAAS and Shandong Academy of Agricultural Science (Shandong AAS) that combined Chinese and CIMMYT wheat lines to develop three outstanding varieties for making pan breads and noodles—mainstays on Chinese dinner tables.

The three varieties were sown cumulatively on more than 8.0 million hectares in China during 2002-2006, adding an additional 2.4 million tons of grain to Chinese wheat production and some USD 411 million to wheat farmers’ incomes, according to analyses by the Agricultural Economy and Development Institute of CAAS. “Farmers benefited by an additional USD 101 million in quality-based premiums,” says He, “and USD 8 million more was generated through marketing seeds of these varieties. Finally, the improved quality of these wheats has greatly benefited the milling and food industries.”

Award-winning wheat and work

The research team has received two Scientific Progress Awards from China’s State Council, as well as awards from the Shandong Provincial Government (2003) and Beijing Municipal Government (2006). In December 2007, in a ceremony in the Great Hall of the People, the team was given the 2007 Award for Outstanding Agricultural Technology in the Asia-Pacific Region of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR). “This is the only research team in the Chinese agricultural community that has produced such impact and received such high honors from the provincial and central governments in recent years,” says He.

The wheat quality research team also established methodologies to test for Chinese noodle quality and for applying molecular markers. “A total of 72 scientific papers have been published in refereed journals on this work, including 19 in leading international journals,” says He. “Besides being used throughout China, the molecular marker and noodle evaluation procedures are widely used in Australia and at CIMMYT.”

Decades of strong partnership

Chinese and CIMMYT wheat researchers have carried on joint research since the early 1970s, helping both parties to develop varieties with enhanced disease resistance and higher yields, among other traits. CIMMYT has contributed particularly to the quality of Chinese wheats. Two of the varieties emerging from the work described above were improved for grain quality through cross-breeding with the CIMMYT wheat genotype Saric F74. The breeder who developed them, Liu Jianjun, attended CIMMYT training courses and did his MSc thesis on noodle quality under the supervision of He and of Roberto J. Peña, head of industrial quality at CIMMYT. CIMMYT and China have jointly organized more than a dozen training courses, workshops, and conferences involving at least 1,000 Chinese researchers.

New CAAS-CIMMYT effort to confront climate change and killer strain of wheat disease

On 04 December 2007, CAAS and CIMMYT launched a three-year joint breeding initiative worth USD 1 million per year to develop new wheat varieties that tolerate heat and drought—helping farmers face climate change—and that resist major diseases of the crop.
“Of particular concern is the new, virulent strain of stem rust, Ug99, which appeared in eastern Africa eight years ago but has since moved on prevailing winds to the Middle East and could soon threaten the vast wheat lands of Asia,” says He. “One of the varieties, Jimai 20, developed by the CAAS-Shandong team, was the only wheat cultivar from China to show high resistance to Ug99 in field screening in Kenya.”

For more information: Zhonghu He, wheat breeder (zhhe@public3.bta.net.cn)

January, 2005

New Publication Presents Outcomes of Eighth Asian Regional Maize Workshop

A copy of the Proceedings of the Eighth Asian Maize Workshop is now available in PDF form. The workshop, which took place during 5 – 8 August 2002 in Bangkok, Thailand, was titled “New Technologies and Technology Delivery Systems for the New Millennium.” Jointly organized by CIMMYT, Kasetsart University, and Thailand’s Department of Agriculture, the event drew more than 150 participants from Asia and invited speakers from Latin America and Africa. The 61 papers included in the proceedings cover molecular tools for maize improvement, genetics and breeding, crop management, biotic and abiotic stresses affecting maize, technology adoption and dissemination, and country reports. Published by CIMMYT, it was edited by G. Grinivasan, P.H. Zaidi, B.M. Prasanna, F. Gonzalez, and K. Lesnick. In addition to the PDF, seven hundred paper copies are available.

Slated for September 2005, the Ninth Asian Regional Maize Workshop will convene in Beijing, China. For further information, please contact Dr. Zhang Shihuang, CAAS, Beijing, China. Executive Secretary, Organizing Committee, 9th ARMW. Email: cshzhang@public.bta.net.cn

The PDF can be found here: http://staging.cimmyt.org/english/docs/proceedings/armw/contents.htm

February, 2005

The demand for maize in Asia is expected to skyrocket in the next two decades, driven primarily by its use for animal feed. In the uplands of seven Asian countries, however, demand is also increasing in the farming households who eat the maize crops they grow. CIMMYT and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) have recently completed a project promoting food and livelihood security for upland farmers in Asia who depend on maize for food and feed.

By 2020, the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) estimates that demand for maize in all developing countries will surpass the demand for wheat and rice, with Asia accounting for over half of this growth. Responding to these predictions, teams of researchers visited farmers in the uplands of China, India, Indonesia, Nepal, the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam to discover ways in which maize technologies could improve livelihoods.

To further develop maize improvement recommendations, national workshops and seven publications built upon the farmer surveys. Careful planning and appropriate procedures on the part of scientists and policy makers will ensure an easier transition as farmers face the oncoming demand. A clear message that emerged from the study in Vietnam, for example, was the need to help farmers apply sustainable practices to avoid degrading natural resources—particularly in fragile, marginal settings—as the demand intensifies.

These conclusions were drawn by researchers conducting rapid rural appraisals with farmers in commercial and semi commercial systems in the up- and lowlands of these seven countries. The second stage of fieldwork entailed more in-depth participatory rural appraisals in marginal, isolated areas and involved village leaders and groups of farmers. Details on the sociological, agro-economical, environmental, and technological aspects of maize production were assembled, and the resulting publications can be viewed, downloaded, or ordered here.

In addition to CIMMYT and IFAD, the project involved collaboration with IFPRI, Stanford University, senior officials of national research programs, and ministries of agriculture.

CIMMYT E-News, vol 2 no. 9, September 2005

CIMMYT’s wheat quality lab expands and upgrades to meet growing demand of wheat for diverse food uses.

If you live in the Middle East or North Africa, you probably eat couscous. Chapati, a type of flat bread, accompanies meals in India. Many have noodles with meals in China. As varied as these foods are, they all come from wheat but require different characteristics to be considered of “good quality”—so that the wheat will mill and bake well for the desired preparation. CIMMYT works to provide farmers worldwide with wheat that will be valued in their area and has recently expanded capacity to meet growing demand, which for developing countries is nearing 300 million tons of wheat per year.

“To make a wheat variety good for both the farmer and the eater, you need to consider yield, disease resistance, and quality,” says Roberto J. Peña, Head of Grain Quality at CIMMYT. Peña works with breeders at CIMMYT and national programs all over the world to test wheat quality. Traits such as yield and disease resistance are obvious at harvest, but examining quality traits such as starch content and elasticity require complex and time-consuming tests. These difficult tasks have become easier with a new laboratory and upgraded technologies.

To reduce the time it takes to screen for quality traits, CIMMYT has equipped a quality laboratory in Ciudad Obregon in northwestern Mexico, in addition to the lab at headquarters. Now thousands of wheat lines can be screened for quality immediately after being harvested in Obregon. CIMMYT wheat breeders can see the results before they plant the next round of wheat lines. Looking at desirable quality traits much earlier in the breeding process will save time, money, and plot size as it will be easier for breeders to plant only wheat with high quality and all of the other traits they are looking for.

Peña intends to make more use of techniques like near infrared spectroscopy (NIR) analysis and marker-assisted selection (MAS) to enhance the efficiency of quality testing. “By screening thousands of lines quite simply, we are able to have a clear vision of what wheat lines aren’t going to be useful—we’re implementing modern technologies for improving end-use and nutritional quality,” he says.

Near infrared spectroscopy can be used to evaluate grain texture, starch, protein, elasticity, and mineral content. By looking into these attributes it is possible to determine whether the environment or crop management influenced the quality—all of this without the effort of milling the wheat into flour, making dough, and finally baking it. When the tests are complete, the same grain can be planted and the breeder knows what to expect.

By using MAS data from CIMMYT’s molecular biology lab, Peña and his team can take a glimpse at a particular wheat line’s DNA to determine if particular genes are present or absent. They can also see what genes have a more relevant role in defining quality, as well as tell if wheat carries high or low levels of protein. For example, if wheat has high levels of protein, it will be more elastic. In the future, they hope to start testing for the presence of specific genes associated with milling efficiency and starch properties.

By continuing to select for quality, CIMMYT hopes to enable farmers to grow wheat for quality food, whether it be couscous, chapati, or sliced bread.

For further information, contact Roberto J. Peña (j.pena@cgiar.org).

CIMMYT E-News, vol 2 no. 10, October 2005

A new genomic map that applies to a wide range of maize breeding populations should help scientists develop more drought tolerant maize.

Throughout the developing world, drought is second only to soil infertility as a constraint to maize production, and probably reduces yields worldwide by more than 15 percent (more than 20 million tons) annually. Lines have now been drawn on a new battleground: a map of the chromosomes that shows important areas that help maize resist drought.

Of the world’s three most important cereal crops (rice, wheat, and maize), maize has the most complex genetic structure. As maize has been bred and adapted to many different growing environments, selection has produced a crop that contains significant differences in levels of genetic diversity. But many genes and genetic sequences should be the same or similar. Scientists are hopeful that genetic traits for drought tolerance can be found in such shared genomic sections, across a wide range of tropical maize types. A new consensus map of genes across maize populations may be the key to identifying universal genetic “hot spots,” those genomic regions that confer drought tolerance in diverse settings to varying degrees.

“Are there any regions in the maize genome that come out as ‘hot spots’?” Jean-Marcel Ribaut and his team have asked. Known to scientists as quantitative trait loci (QTL), these regions tell scientists approximately where the genes determining a particular plant trait are located. The QTL is not a gene itself but a genomic region in which genes of interest are probably located. Prior genomic maps of QTLs for drought tolerance in tropical maize applied only to specific maize lines or populations. The CIMMYT team and partners have developed a single map that combines available drought QTL data from many trials of different tropical maize types in diverse environments. “Having all the QTL information integrated into a single map should allow us to identify the outstanding genomic regions involved in drought tolerance,” Ribaut says.

Scientists have measured drought related traits such as ear number, chlorophyll, and carbohydrate content of maize plants in the field, and have extracted and analyzed DNA from the same plants in order to plot the traits on the genomic maps. Ribaut, now Director of the Generation Challenge Programme, and CIMMYT molecular geneticist Mark Sawkins hope to link the traits they measured in the field with regions in the maize DNA.

“The idea is ambitious,” says Ribaut, “for it should allow maize breeders to select the right parents for drought tolerant maize by ensuring they have these important regions on their genome.”

With funding from the Rockefeller Foundation, members of the project team will give courses on this approach in to NARS scientists in Kenya and China over the coming months.

For further information, contact Jean-Marcel Ribaut (j.ribaut@cgiar.org) or Mark Sawkins (m.sawkins@cgiar.org).

Just outside Mexico City, a group of farmers who grow maize and other crops using sewage water are adopting cutting-edge conservation agriculture techniques to save on irrigation and reduce their costs.

Geraldo Gálvez Orozco is a man with wrinkles as deep as his voice and hair that is decidedly neither gray nor white. After concluding his 40-year career as a math professor Gálvez went looking for a new challenge and found it in farming.

Gálvez is a 79-year-old Hidalgo native who has been farming in the Mezquital Valley for 15 years. The valley is nestled in the rolling mountains of southwest Hidalgo State, situated 60 kilometers north of the country’s capital, Mexico City. It is a region known for many things; the Mezquital trees that canvas its hills, an arid climate, and surprisingly, a thriving agricultural sector. Despite the region’s parched soils—the Mezquital Valley receives an average of only 527 mm of rainfall each year— about half of the valley’s residents are farmers.

Putting waste to work

Since 1789, Hidalgo’s farmers have relied heavily on an unusual form of irrigation—wastewater from Mexico City. The valley’s farmers use the sewage water, referred to as ‘aguas negras’ or black water, to irrigate 563 square kilometers of grain. It is the largest wastewater-irrigation system in the world.

Using sewage water to irrigate food crops may raise the suspicions of some, but 10% of the world’s crops are irrigated using some form of sewage, according to the IRC International Water and Sanitation Centre. Farmers in India, China, Pakistan, Jordan, and Israel apply the practice. Wastewater is spiked with nutrients or ‘natural fertilizers’, so crops are enriched without the added cost of fertilizer. Precautions are taken to ensure the crops irrigated by the aguas negras are of the highest quality. By Mexican law, farmers can only use sewage water to irrigate cereal and fodder crops. Maize and alfalfa are the most popular.

Adopting in the face of change

Today, the farmers of the Mezquital Valley are facing change. Within the next two years, the black water irrigation supply will decrease due to a new government initiative to purify Mexico City’s wastewater and reuse it within city limits.

To reduce their water use and maintain their soils, farmers in Hidalgo are switching from traditional agriculture practices to an innovative way of farming that is used extensively in Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, and the USA.

From arithmetic to agronomy

Gálvez started experimenting with conservation agriculture-based practices eight years ago when he heard of its benefits from a fellow farmer. He began by trying zero-tillage, a practice whereby crops are seeded directly into field residues without plowing, and a key proponent of resource-conserving farm practices. Today, on the three-hectare farm where Gálvez grows maize and oats, maize husks and cobs litter the ground. Husks and cobs that assure any curious passer-bys that Gálvez indeed practices conservation agriculture, as leaving crop residue is another foundational principle.

“Since switching to conservation agriculture, I have noticed a small increase in my yields compared to what I used to produce under irrigation, but I don’t do it for the yields. Living in a climate like this, keeping my soils in good condition is my number one priority,” Gálvez says, “that’s why I practice conservation agriculture.”

According to Fermín Hernández Méndez, a graduate of CIMMYT’s conservation agriculture-certification course and a technician with the Mexican subsidiary of Monsanto, ASGROW seed company, Gálvez isn’t the only farmer in Hidalgo changing his ways. “In Hidalgo, conservation agriculture is a revolution,” said Hernández, “Farmers are adopting the practice because they know that a change is coming— a change that is most likely going to strain their soils.”

For soil’s sake

It can be seen in the Mezquital Valley, as well as around the globe, that farmers who have practiced traditional agriculture for generations are adopting conservation agriculture. This is because today, more than ever before, global changes are threatening agriculture and food security worldwide.

Climate change, drought, soil degradation, and a rapidly growing populace are taking effect, and traditional farming practices can’t keep up. In the face of this adversity, farmers are switching to sustainable farming practices –practices that use fewer resources, facilitate healthy, nutrient-rich soils, and improve farmers’ yields.

Conservation agriculture is a forward-thinking way of farming based on three principles: minimum soil movement, covering the soil surface with crop residues and/or living plants, using crop rotations to avoid the build-up of pests and diseases. These principles are widely adaptable and can be used for a variety of different crops in varied soil types and environments.

Sustainable and beneficial

Mezquital Valley farmers receive record yields due to their nutrient-rich irrigation system. Farmers in Mexico’s highlands – where crops rely on precipitation alone – are not so lucky, but because of conservation agriculture’s water-saving benefits, these farmers have produced acceptable yields in dry years when neighboring fields withered. During the 2009 drought in the Central Highlands, farmers who practiced conservation agriculture harvested up to 125% more maize than those who farmed the traditional way.

Other attractive benefits of conservation agriculture are its cost and labor savings. Reducing or eliminating plowing allows farmers to sow and fertilize a field in a single sweep, rather than multiple passes. Decreasing machinery use saves time, fuel, money, and wear and tear on machinery.

Combining higher yields with lower costs, conservation agriculture allows farmers in rainfed areas to earn more and save more. This meant an average net return that was almost twice as high as the earnings of traditional practitioners. The average net return of Mexican highlands farmers who practice conservation agriculture was more than 800 USD per hectare compared to the approximate 400 USD per hectare that conventional highlands farmers reaped. It is no secret that conservation agriculture is putting more money in farmers’ pockets and more food in mouths around the world.

A smooth transition

Although the benefits of conservation agriculture are numerous, its adoption worldwide faces hurdles. One is the competition for crop residues, which often have great value as forage. Also, farmers are skeptical about shifting from the traditional farming method, including tillage, which they and their peers have practiced for generations.

As a conservation agriculture-certified technician, Hernández works to help smooth the transition. “It’s nothing more than a question of culture,” he replied, when asked why some farmers are hesitant to adopt the new principles. “It’s not that they don’t believe us or think we mean ill, it’s simply that they are afraid of change.”

Yet these hurdles begin to appear less daunting as farmers face rising temperatures, sky-rocketing fuel prices, and looming water shortages, not to mention mounting demands to grow more food grains locally, rather than importing them. To help farmers, researchers are exploring and promoting flexible ways to apply conservation agriculture. For instance, they suggest that farmers keep a minimum of 30% ground cover year-round. The remaining residues can be used or sold as forage. The new system also opens opportunities for more diversified cropping, including growing fodder crops, which can provide additional income for farmers.

Patience paying off

“I’m not worried for myself, I have all I need. I am worried for my children. The land needs to stay healthy and fertile for the future generations,” Gálvez says as his shoes, one step behind his wooden cane, crunch through the corn husks and stalks that blanket his fields. The air is dry and the sun is searing, yet Gálvez’s crops seem at home in their arid environment.