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Location: Nepal

For more information, contact CIMMYT’s Nepal office.

Training teaches spot blotch detection

By Arun Joshi/CIMMYT
CIMMYT-Nepal and Banaras Hindu University (BHU) organized a training program on spot blotch in wheat from 21-23 February for scientists, students and field workers.

The program was part of the Cereal Systems Initiative for South Asia (CSISA) project Objective 4 and the CGIAR Research Program Strategic Initiative 5. It was an extension of activities conducted in the last crop cycle by Ramesh Chand and V.K. Mishra, BHU and CIMMYT’s Arun Joshi. Of the 45 participants, 11 were female, 42 were from India, two came from Nepal and one was from Nigeria. Participants represented institutions including the Sam Higginbotom Institute of Agriculture, Technology and Sciences, Naini, Allahabad; Rajendra Agricultural University (RAU), Pusa Bihar; Bihar Agricultural University (BAU), Bhagalpur Bihar; Uttar Banga Krishi Vishwavidayalaya (UBKV), West Bengal; Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER), Kolkata, West Bengal; and BHU.

Spot blotch of wheat training program participants at the BHU, Varanasi, farm. Photo: Himanshu Tewari

Trainees visited the laboratory established by Arun Joshi and Vinod Mishra under the Indian Council of Agricultural Research “Niche Area of Excellence” for molecular research on spot blotch in wheat. The trainees practiced DNA extraction from wheat leaves, learned steps for the purification of DNA, examined spot blotch symptoms, practiced isolation techniques from the infected leaves and recorded variation in the pathogen colony.

They prepared slides from infected leaves and observed the typical conidia spores and conidiophores of the pathogen Bipolaris sorokiniana. Participants characterized symptoms on 484 wheat lines and noted the progress of spot blotch disease during a visit to the polyhouse. They also recorded data on a range of hosts for this pathogen, prepared inoculum and counted spores in the suspension to maintain uniform inoculum.

Trainees were taught to use photography and C3 software to count lesions. They were also taught histopathological skills to understand the behavior of resistant wheat genotypes. Finally, trainees visited CSISA wheat nurseries, identified initial spot blotch symptoms and learned to distinguish them from similar symptoms.

Each participant screened 50 lines for the lesion mimic and appearance of spot blotch, which was then verified by experts. An interactive session allowed participants to ask questions prior to a graduation ceremony conducted by V.K. Mishra and Pawan Singh

Pioneering advocate of innovation, resource conservation and technology adoption visits South Asia

By Andrew McDonald/CIMMYT

 

A former CIMMYT scientist recently returned to South Asia to share his expertise in conservation agriculture.

 

Peter Hobbs worked for CIMMYT as a regional agronomist from 1988 to 2002 and co-led the creation and management of the Rice-Wheat Consortium (RWC) for the Indo-Gangetic Plains. Hobbs now works at Cornell University, most recently as associate director of International Programs. The Cereal Systems Initiative for South Asia (CSISA) project invited Hobbs to Bihar, eastern Uttar Pradesh and the Terai region of Nepal from 18 to 24 January, where he offered perspectives on South Asia’s progress in the last decade in ricewheat systems research, and heard comments from colleagues.

Former CIMMYT scientist Peter Hobbs. Andrew McDonald/CIMMYT
Former CIMMYT scientist Peter Hobbs. Andrew McDonald/CIMMYT

“Peter Hobbs is the pioneer of zero tillage wheat in South Asia – one of CIMMYT’s best contributions in this region after Norman Borlaug,” said R.K. Malik, a member of CSISA’s senior management team who accompanied Hobbs through India. Malik was a core member of the RWC during Hobb’s time and a champion of zero tillage (ZT) for sowing wheat in rice-wheat rotations. Malik recalled CIMMYT’s early efforts to introduce conservation agriculture in India. Hobbs was integral, bringing the first ZT machine to India from New Zealand in 1989 -the Aitchison drill which was later modified, improved and widely adopted in India.

 

He said that Hobbs applied innovative and multi-disciplinary approaches that united the efforts of the national research programs with an array of public and private stakeholders. “This technology was dependent on identifying champions in the areas where we worked to engage innovative farmers, energize the scientists involved and link them with local machinery manufacturers and farmers, Hobbs said. Hobbs shared observations on his travels through the eastern Indo-Gangetic Plains. “After seeing the fields in Bihar and eastern Uttar Pradesh, there is no question that ZT and reduced-tillage technologies do work and do provide benefits as long as they are done properly and the enabling factors are in place,” he said.

 

He stressed that farmers must have access to machinery, inputs and related expertise, perhaps through a network of service providers. “That means we have to look at the way research can help farmers – having a more participatory approach and providing incentives to scientists and extension workers based on accountability and performance is critical for success,” Hobbs stated. “The RWC and legacy of pioneering scientists like Peter Hobbs, Raj Gupta and R.K. Malik established the foundation for CIMMYT’s ongoing work and impact with farmers in the region through projects like CSISA,” said Andrew McDonald, CSISA project leader. “It was a true pleasure to have Peter’s insights into where we are succeeding and where we can do better. South Asia is changing quickly, but the core lessons from where we’ve come still resonate.”

 

Hobbs is optimistic about the potential of these technologies in Bihar and eastern Uttar Pradesh. “It was very rewarding to see that interest in resource- conserving technologies has grown and continues to thrive in this region, and specifically in the eastern Indo-Gangetic Plains, where there is great potential to benefit farmers and also contribute to food security in a more environmentally friendly way.”

Nepal project explores wheat diversity

By Brenna Goth/CIMMYT
A CIMMYT project in Nepal made significant progress in identifying local wheat diversity last year.

Members of a seed cooperative in the Changathali village, Lalitpur district near Kathmandu, Nepal. The group has been practicing participatory
varietal selection (PVS), seed production and dissemination for the last 10 years, but is now facing problems due to urbanization. Maiya Maharjam (wearing the yellow scarf) is the leader of this cooperative and previously won the NARC award for PVS and seed distribution.

The project, “Collection, multiplication, characterization and safety duplication of wheat and barley landraces from Nepal,” led by Arun Kumar Joshi, principal scientist for the Global Wheat Program, began in January 2013 and will run until October 2015. National partners include Madan Raj Bhatta and Bal Krishna Joshi from the Nepal Agriculture Research Council, Khumaltar, Lalitpur.

Since the project began, researchers have developed guidelines “to explore, collect and characterize wheat and barley diversity,” according to the project’s 2013 Technical and Financial Progress Report. They found that traditional wheat diversity exists with opportunities for further exploration.

A cabinet in the headquarters of the National Wheat Research Program, Bhairhawa, displays a selection of wheat seed. Photos: Emma Quilligan

Researchers focused on the Baitadi, Dadeldhura and Doti districts in western Nepal, a traditional wheat region. Researchers visited Village Development Committees and farmers to collect seed and interviews. Farmers are still cultivating a variety of landraces, which feature drought tolerance and good chapatti quality. In total, 85 wheat accessions were collected and mapped along with 16 barley landraces. Employees from Nepal’s gene bank also helped with the effort.

The collections are currently under regeneration. The gene bank will send about 180 wheat and 50 barley collections to CIMMYT and the International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA) by June 2015 for duplication.

Nepali scientists trained on heat stress-resilient maize

By P.H. Zaidi/CIMMYT

Nepali scientists learned about developing heat stress-resistant maize during a training event organized by Nepal’s National Maize Research Program (NMRP) and CIMMYT on 16 January at the NMRP in Rampur, Chitwan, Nepal. The event was part of the Heat Tolerant Maize for Asia (HTMA) project supported by USAID under the Feed the Future initiative.

Participants record heat-stress phenotyping data in the field. Photo: Courtesy of NMRP
Participants record heat-stress phenotyping data in the field. Photo: Courtesy of NMRP

Nearly 30 participants attended the training, including maize breeders, agronomists and field technicians from the NMRP, the Regional Agricultural Research Station (RARS) in Nepalgunj and the Agricultural Research Station (ARS) in Surkhet. Keshab Babu Koirala, NMRP coordinator, gave an overview of maize research in the country and emphasized the effects of climate change on national production. Koirala noted the importance of developing stress-resilient maize varieties and hybrids for sustainable maize growth.

P.H. Zaidi, maize physiologist and project leader of HTMA, gave lectures on developing heat stress-resilient maize hybrids, including maize phenology and physiology, how maize responds to heat stress, technical details of precision phenotyping, selection criteria for heat stress breeding and development of heat-tolerant hybrids. Zaidi used a bilingual interaction model to encourage participation in both English and Hindi in the presentations and discussions.

In the afternoon, participants visited HTMA maize trials at the NMRP experimental farm, where participants were divided into groups to score the performance of more than 900 hybrids planted there. Participants were excited to see new, promising hybrids. Attendees also had the opportunity to interact with Zaidi, Koirala and each other. “It is exciting to see quite a few very promising hybrids from the HTMA project, which are well-adapted in Tarai, Nepal,” said Tara Bahadur Ghimire, chief of ARS in Surkhet, Nepal. “If we select only 10 percent of the hybrids planted here, we will have a choice of about 100 to take forward. These hybrids will help us in switching from open-pollinated varieties to hybrids to boost maize production in our country and enhance its food security.”

Nepali-Scientists

After the field visit, participants gave feedback on the training and handson exercises. In the training, the scientists and field technicians learned key aspects of abiotic stress breeding and developing heat stress-tolerant maize. In his closing remarks, Koirala thanked USAID and CIMMYT for supporting NMRP in capacity building. “This is an excellent approach, which benefitted many scientists in one go rather than inviting a few to CIMMYT-India,” he said. “This needs to be replicated again in the near future so that scientists from maize research stations — other than those that are participating in the HTMA project — can get this opportunity.”

Travelling seminar shows project progress in Nepal

Travelling Seminar participants visit the NARC Agricultural Research Station, Dailekh. Photo courtesy of Everest Media Pvt. Ltd
Travelling Seminar participants visit the NARC Agricultural Research Station, Dailekh. Photo courtesy of Everest Media Pvt. Ltd

By Nirmal Gadal/CIMMYT

A three-day travelling seminar organized by CIMMYT’s Hill Maize Research Project (HMRP) and partners gave policy makers a first-hand look at the status of maize varietal development, source seed production, agronomic interventions and seed multiplication and marketing in 20 districts of Nepal. In close partnership with the Nepal Agriculture Research Council (NARC) and the Department of Agriculture (DoA), HRMP hosted this third annual seminar from 27 to 30 August for 25 officials representing donors such as the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), as well as organizations including the National Planning Commission, Ministry of Agriculture Development (MoAD), Ministry of Finance, non-government organizations, private companies and the media.

Participants visited a variety of sites. At the Agriculture Research Station (ARS) in the district of Dailekh, attendees interacted with scientists and observed maize research activities and conservation agriculture trials. In this area, the project is promoting intercropping white quality protein maize (Poshilo Makai-1) and off-season vegetables such as bitter gourd, tomatoes and radishes. HIV/AIDS infected women farmers in Rakam village of Dailekh were also invited to participate. “Our main resource is land,” said 30-year-old farmer Mana Sara Sijapati during a group discussion. “We must increase our production from this land to have food security in our households during the entire year.” She asked the participants for a program targeted toward farmers affected by HIV/AIDS. Ram Prasad Pulami, joint secretary at the MoAD, asked NARC and DoA representatives to respond to the request immediately.

The group then participated in an interactive program with farmers, observed seed production activities and assessed on-farm trials and demonstration plots at the Basnatamala and Jeevanjyoti Women Community Based Seed Production (CBSP) Group. Dr. G. Ortiz-Ferrara, team leader for HMRP/CIMMYT, and Pulami jointly inaugurated an HMRPfunded seed store house that was built for the CBSP group. The team also visited the Sambriddhi Agriculture Cooperative, Ltd., as well as a quality protein maize village, where conservation agriculture trials will soon be established. Ortiz-Ferrara thanked all the participants, including the HMRP team, for their active participation and support in making the seminar successful. Pulami said during his closing remarks that he appreciated HMRP’s efforts and progress, especially the partnerships between the project and a number of diverse stakeholders. He said the government of Nepal is implementing a “Mid-hill Mega Maize Production Program” focused on 40 hill districts and will utilize HMRP’s experiences and research innovations.

Project spotlight: the Hill Maize Research Project

HMRP partners visiting CBSP groups in the hill district of Palpa, Nepal. Photo: G. Ortiz Ferrara/CIMMYT
HMRP partners visiting CBSP groups in the hill district of Palpa, Nepal. Photo: G. Ortiz Ferrara/CIMMYT

By Dilli KC/CIMMYT

Beginning in August, the Hill Maize Research Project (HMRP-IV), has worked with the Seed Entrepreneurs Association of Nepal and the District Agriculture Development Office to facilitate formal contracts between 51 community-based seed production (CBSP) groups and 25 seed buyers/traders for a total of 201 tons of improved seed of different maize varieties. Of the total contracted seed, seed companies account for 55 percent; agrovets, 20 percent; community seed banks, 13 percent; and cooperatives, 12 percent.

Launched in 1999, HMRP is in its fourth phase. The project focuses on improving the food security and income of resource-poor farm households in the hills of Nepal by raising the productivity, sustainability and profitability of maize-based cropping systems. Work now covers 20 hill districts of Nepal and is jointly funded by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). CIMMYT implements the project in partnership with an array of public and private sector institutions in Nepal. Principal partners include the National Maize Research Program under the Nepal Agricultural Research Council, the Crop Development Directorate under the Department of Agriculture, the Seed Quality Control Centre and the National Seed Board under the Ministry of Agriculture Development. Other partners include community-based organizations, farmer groups, NGOs, private entrepreneurs, seed companies and universities.

Community Based Maize Seed Production

The project began multiplying seed of improved maize varieties through CBSP groups in 2000. That year, about 14 tons of improved maize seed were produced by seven CBSP groups. By 2011, more than 1,140 tons of improved maize seed were produced by 195 CBSP groups and, in 2012, 207 groups produced 1,036 tons. Of the total marketable surplus seed produced in 2011, about 75.1 percent was marketed or exchanged, compared to 83.3 percent in 2012. The seed was marketed mainly across the 20 hill districts of the HMRP project area. Seed production through CBSP groups has been a successful model in Nepal and has contributed to increasing the adoption of improved maize varieties and technologies. The CBSP model helps ensure the availability of improved maize seed in remote hill areas on time at lower prices.

Pre-sowing seed contract
Maize seed marketing is one of HMRP’s major challenges. Until 2012, CBSP groups did not consider the supply and demand in markets, resulting in surplus seed in some areas and deficits in others. The 2013 project phase initiated pre-sowing seed contracts for improved maize varieties, assisting and guiding CBSP groups and seed buyers/traders (agrovets, community seed bank cooperatives and seed companies) to sign formal agreements.

ICAR-CIMMYT organize training in molecular tools in wheat

By Arun Joshi, CIMMYT

Twenty young scientists from India and Nepal learned about existing and up-and-coming wheat breeding tools during a training program last month. Continuing earlier training programs initiated during the last few wheat crop cycles in India, the Global Wheat Program in South Asia organized the three-day “ICAR-CIMMYT Molecular Breeding Course in Wheat” from 25 to 27 August. It took place at the Directorate of Wheat Research (DWR) of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research in Karnal.

ICAR-CIMMYTThe training was for young scientists from different wheat research stations of India involved in a BMZ-funded project to increase the productivity of wheat under rising temperatures and water scarcity in South Asia. The training program attendees’ enhanced understanding of existing molecular tools for wheat breeding as well as emerging tools such as genomic selection. “Molecular tools will play an increasing role in wheat breeding to meet challenges in coming decades,” said Indu Sharma, director of DWR in Karnal. The program covered both theory and practice on the use of molecular makers in wheat breeding, especially those related to vernalization, photoperiodism and earliness per se, which could be used to enhance early heat tolerance. Practical sessions in the molecular laboratory of DWR focused on extraction of DNA, quantification and quality control of DNA, polymerase chain reaction polymerase chain reaction amplification and electrophoresis.

During various sessions, the instructors explained the steps of molecular tools to be used for such work. The participants tested their new scoring skills during an exercise which involved scoring the bands and cross-verifying results. Laboratory procedures on safety were also explained. CIMMYT wheat breeder Arun Joshi and Vinod Tiwari, principal scientist and principal investigator of crop improvement for DWR in Karnal, coordinated the training under the WHEAT CRP Strategic Initiative 6 (enhanced heat and drought tolerance). Indian resource participants included Ratan Tiwari, P.K. Gupta, Vinod Tiwari and a team of molecular scientists including Rajender Singh, Rekha Malik, Sonia Sheoran and Pradeep Sharma from DWR, Karnal. The CIMMYT scientists involved were Susanne Dreisigacker and Arun Joshi while the practical lessons were organized and led by Tiwari and Dreisigacker. A laboratory manual “ICAR-CIMMYT molecular breeding course in wheat” was also developed for the course, which was later released in the All India Wheat and Barley Workers meeting.

‘The 50 PACT’ Conference: collaborate for better food security in South Asia

The-50-PACTFarmers need to be more involved in developing and refining technology. This was one of the key conclusions of a technology working group comprised of leading Asian scientists, representatives of farmer groups and entrepreneurs who met during “The 50 Pact,” an international conference jointly organized by the Borlaug Institute for South Asia (BISA) and the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) to celebrate 50 years of Dr. Norman Borlaug’s first visit to India. Held in New Delhi during 16-17 August, the event brought together more than 200 participants from agriculture institutions, the government, think tanks, industry, and civil society of various countries including Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Belgium, Germany, India, Malaysia, Mexico, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and the United States.

South Asia is the most populous region in the world and several models predict that this region is going to be dramatically impacted by climate change. “We must devise new ways to feed more people with less land, less water and under more difficult climate change conditions,” said Thomas Lumpkin, Director General of CIMMYT, highlighting a significant challenge that requires critical innovations, collaborations and commitments to solve food insecurity and strengthen agriculture in South Asia. This sentiment was echoed by others in the opening session of the conference, including S. Ayyappan, director general of ICAR, government of India, R.S. Paroda, president of Trust for Advancement of Agricultural Sciences (TAAS), R.B. Singh, president of the National Academy of Agricultural Sciences (NAAS), Swapan Datta, ICAR and Marianne Bänzinger of CIMMYT. Remembering their personal interactions with Dr. Borlaug, “the Nobel laureate with a heart for the poor,” and his association with CIMMYT and India, they also felt the need to make a pact to bring about a second green revolution in the South Asia region. M.S. Swaminathan, a legendary figure in Indian agriculture, paid tribute to Dr. Borlaug for his immense contribution in agriculture during the opening ceremony. “From Bengal famine to Right to Food Act of India, it has been a historic transition and Dr. Borlaug played a very important role in this transition through his work in the last 50 years,” Swaminathan said. Jeanie Laube Borlaug, chairperson of BGRI and the daughter of Dr. Norman Borlaug, presented Swaminathan with the Dr. Norman Borlaug Award.

The-50-PACT2Technology and innovations will play a key role
Bangladesh, India, Nepal, and Sri Lanka will have to work together to find regional solutions to food insecurity. Representatives from these countries talked about different agricultural developments during the post-green revolution period and emerging challenges and opportunities. They also highlighted how the BISA, with its mandate, furthers research on farming systems in addition to focusing on an eco-regional approach involving other CG centers. Utilizing all technologies, including molecular breeding, biotechnology, precision agronomy, and mobile-based decision making will be crucial. The session on technology highlighted this and also pushed for greater involvement of farmers at every step of new technology development. It is important to capture the process of adoption of innovation by farmers and use new technology to provide feedback to the researchers. The group advocated for increased political will and a better policy environment on the adoption of GM crops. Making agriculture profitable is important for producers and the entire agricultural value chain. Ramesh Chand of ICAR said that his recent analysis in India shows the real farm income is not declining, but the income gap between agricultural and non-agricultural income is widening. Agricultural infrastructure is not well developed, investments are low and land fragmentation is increasing. These are major concerns for this sector. The participants talked about a need for an enhanced cyber infrastructure for crop research, open access to agriculture database, and strengthening the value chain balancing the role of market, price, and technologies.

Greater regional synergy needed
More emphasis on synergy, partnerships, farmer’s welfare, productivity, profitability, and nutrition will be critical to address the problem of hidden hunger and food security in this region. Other areas to focus on include providing access to and the use of cutting edge research and new technologies that are not yet available in the region, ensuring commitments from governments and other donors for investments in agricultural research, advocating for a policy environment that embraces new technologies and invests in agricultural research, building a regional platform of collaboration with partners from all sectors, research centers, governments, the scientific world, and the farming community who share our mandate to transform farmers’ lives in the region.

Focus on heat stress resilient maize for Asia

HTMA-meetingScientists from the Heat Stress Tolerant Maize for Asia (HTMA) project and representatives from collaborating public and private sector institutions from the region, Purdue University, and CIMMYT gathered together during 30-31 July 2013 in Kathmandu, Nepal, for the 1st HTMA Annual Progress Review and Planning Meeting. The meeting was jointly organized by the National Maize Research Program (NMRP) and CIMMYT to discuss progress to-date and future HTMA work plans. HTMA, supported by USAID under the Feed the Future initiative, is a public-private alliance targeting resource-poor people in South Asia who rely on growing maize for subsistence or income in rainfed conditions and whose welfare is directly dependent on maize yields and negatively affected by crop failures.

K.B. Koirala, National Maize Coordinator for Nepal, welcomed all participants and highlighted the importance of the public-private alliance through HTMA, especially for addressing such complex issues as developing and distributing heat stress resilient maize. CIMMYT Global Maize Program director B.M. Prasanna reiterated the need for and importance of maize breeding for heat-stress resilience in his opening remarks, while USAID’s Larry Beach stressed the project’s significance in addressing the emerging effects of climate change.

The first day was devoted to an annual progress review, which was initiated by senior maize physiologist and CIMMYT and HTMA project leader P.H. Zaidi, who presented updates on the project execution and status of progress during the project’s first year. The following session, chaired by Nepal Agricultural Research Council (NARC) executive director D.B. Gurung, covered membrane lipid profiling in relation to heat stress; identifying quantitative trait loci (QTL) for heat-stress tolerance and component traits by joint linkage analysis; association mapping for heat tolerance; latest marker statistics on genotyping-by-sequencing; genomic selection for heat stress tolerance; and development of target populations for rapid-cycle genomic selection. The afternoon session was chaired by Pakistan Agricultural Research Council (PARC) chairman Iftikhar Ahmad and focused on phenotyping for heat-stress tolerance; crop modeling and the IMPACT model component; a road map for development and distribution of heat resilient maize; seed distribution systems; and seed companies’ perspectives on target markets.

During day two, participants discussed and developed a workplan and activities for the second year of the project for each collaborating institution. This was followed by a special session on “Exploring linkages & synergy among USAID-funded projects in South Asia.” Representatives from various ongoing projects in the region, including the Hill Maize Research Project (HMRP), Cereal System Initiative for South Asia (CSISA), and HTMA, as well as NARC and the Nepalese Ministry of Agriculture, joined in the lively discussion, which helped to identify opportunities for potential linkages among the region’s initiatives and a synergy between them. The linkages could offer a win-win situation for all stakeholders.

The meeting was concluded with an HTMA project steering committee meeting chaired by B.M. Prasanna. The committee members expressed their satisfaction with the strategy, ongoing activities, and the progress being made.

Research battles wheat spot blotch disease

wheat-spot-blotch-diseaseAfter screening some 500 wheat lines and varieties at 6 sites in Bangladesh, India, and Nepal, a group of scientists were able to identify 35 genotypes that resist spot blotch. This is the number-one disease of wheat in the Eastern Gangetic Plains, seriously damaging the crops of farmers—who are mostly smallholders—on some 9 million hectares.

The results were reported at a meeting of participants in two projects of WHEAT, the CGIAR Research Program on this crop, at Mohanpur Campus of IISER-Kolkata, India, on 24 June 2013. Funded through multi-year competitive grants from WHEAT, the two project are “Deciphering phytohormone signaling in modulation of resistance to spot blotch disease for identification of novel resistance components for wheat improvement,” led by Shree P. Pandey, IISER-Kolkata, and “Spot blotch of wheat: Delivering resistant wheat lines and diagnostic and molecular markers for resistance,” led by Ramesh Chand of Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi. Among other things, participants discussed year-one outcomes and laid plans for the coming crop cycle.

Chand reported on the seedling stage resistance found in the wheat tested. In this type of resistance, the pathogen is present on wheat seedlings for up to 25 days without any infection, exhibiting responses such as lesion mimic and tissue necrosis, which appear to attenuate pathogen effects. The resistance gene Sr2 was also found in most of the resistant seed.

Exciting moments in the meeting were the discussions of biochemical and histo-pathological parameters and their possible integration in the resistance screening. Pandey and his team reported novel research to understand phytohormone signals that regulate wheat’s resistance against Bipolaris sorokiniana–the causal pathogen of spot blotch—and which are synthesized in response to the pathogen’s attack. The IISER group is assembling a dictionary of signaling genes that can serve as genomic tools for resistance breeding in wheat. “Expression of these DNA ‘words’ changes when plants are attacked by the spot blotch pathogen,” said Pandey. “Deciphering this word choice can elucidate the chain of command in plants in to the pathogen, helping breeders to design plants better-equipped with resistance genes.”

Finally, there was a report on the field performance of the 500 lines at two other locations, UBKV Coochbehar and RAU Pusa.

In addition to the scientists mentioned above, participants included WHEAT manager Victor Komerell; CIMMYT researcher Arun Joshi; Prof. V.K. Mishra, BHU, Varanasi; Prof. Apurba Chowdhury; Dr. P.M. Bhattacharya, UBKV; and Dr. Rajiv Kumar, Rajendra Agricultural University, Pusa, Bihar; as well as other wheat researchers from IISER-K.

“The partners here submitted separate proposals for the projects,” said Komerell. “This meeting furnishes an example of how WHEAT has encouraged them to collaborate.”

Nepal wheat scientists receive government award

NepalThe Government of Nepal and the Nepal Agricultural Research Council (NARC) awarded Madan Raj Bhatta, Sarala Sharma, Deepak Bhandari, Dhruba Bahadur Thapa, and Nutan Raj Gautam — winners of the first-ever Borlaug Global Rust Initiative (BGRI) Gene Stewardship Award — for their outstanding contribution to food security through development and promotion of rust resistant wheat varieties in the country and for highlighting the country’s research globally. The award – one million Nepalese rupees (11,440 US$) and a plaque – was presented by the Minister of Agricultural Development Tek Bahadur Thapa Gharti on 8 May 2013 on the occasion of the 22nd anniversary of NARC in Khumaltar, Lalitpur.

On behalf of the awardees, Bhatta and Sharma thanked the Government of Nepal and NARC for recognizing their contributions and praised the role of CIMMYT’s Global Wheat Program and BGRI in promoting agronomically superior rust-resistant wheat varieties crucial for food security in the region. “I am going to use 100,000 rupees of my prize money to establish a fund awarding two farmers or technicians every year for significant contributions towards wheat rust management,” said Sharma in her award acceptance speech. On behalf of CIMMYT, wheat breeder Arun Joshi congratulated the award-winning team and NARC for their remarkable contributions in bringing about excellence in development and release of rust-resistant wheat varieties, seed multiplication of resistant varieties with diverse genetic backgrounds, disease surveillance, participatory research with farmers, and improvement of livelihoods of small-scale farmers to combat the problems of food security.

“Wheat has played a great role in internal food supply in the country, a role equivalent to more than 26 billion rupees annually,” said B.B. Gurung, NARC executive director. “The new technologies and wheat varieties introduced by the team have brought a significant increment in wheat area and productivity in the last five years,” he added, referring to the increase in wheat area from 0.7 million hectares to 0.8 million, production from 1.4 million tons to 1.8 million, and productivity from 2.1 t/ha to 2.3 t/ha.

Nepalese wheat researchers trained on spot blotch disease in India

Spot blotch is one of the major diseases in the wheat growing regions of Nepal and the knowledge allowing researchers to identify and understand the disease is thus crucial. A group of 12 wheat technical research staff from Nepal visited Banaras Hindu University (BHU) in Varanasi, India, during 18-21 March 2013 with that purpose exactly: to learn more about the spot blotch disease and participatory varietal selection. The training was coordinated by CIMMYT wheat breeder Arun Joshi under the CRP WHEAT Strategic Initiative 5: durable resistance and management of diseases and insect pests. The main resource persons for the training were Ramesh Chand, Vinod Kumar Mishra, and B. Arun; Naji Eisa (Yemen), Conformt Sankem (Nigeria), Chhavi Tiwari, and Punam Yadav (India), all PhD students from BHU, facilitated the program.

The training covered identification of spot blotch pathogen Bipolaris sorokiniana in the field and the lab; preparation of Bipolaris inoculum using colonized sorghum grain; understanding the spot blotch disease infection process; creating artificial epiphytotic in the polyhouse and the field; screening wheat genotypes under high humidity and temperature in the polyhouse; recording disease severity in field and polyhouse conditions; and increasing data reliability in research on spot blotch of wheat and barley.

Participants first visited the pathology laboratory in the Mycology and Plant Pathology department, where they learned to identify B. sorokiniana under the microscope and to prepare Bipolaris inoculums from colonized sorghum grain. The infection process was explained using different samples available in the lab, as was a new technique for evaluation of spot blotch resistance in barley and wheat using monoconidial culture of the most aggressive isolate of B. sorokiniana developed at BHU. Participants observed the collection of the blotched portions of infected leaves for the production of conidia by associated fungal hyphae. They were also trained in conidia collection for further multiplication and categorization into different classes based on the aggressiveness of isolates.

In-FieldOn the second day, participants visited the polyhouse and research station to learn about screening wheat genotypes
under high humidity and temperature. They recorded the disease severity a number of times and saw that if inoculation is done properly the susceptible genotypes burn. The variation among genotypes for resistance to spot blotch disease was explained with the help of repeated disease notes and developing area under disease progress curve. Participants also observed the CRP project on spot blotch carried out at BHU in collaboration with the Nepal Wheat Research Program. The visiting team fruitfully interacted with the BHU wheat researchers, especially with Chand and Mishra, as well as with master’s and doctoral students working on spot blotch. A planned one-hour question-and-answer session expanded to three hours due to the visitors’ enthusiasm and wide-ranging questions.

On their final day, the team visited three participatory varietal selection sites where Harikirtan Singh, the lead farmer, demonstrated the performance of the most popular and newly developed lines under different seeding conditions (surface seeding, zero tillage, and conventional tillage) and multiplication of a number of agronomically superior zinc-rich wheat lines selected from the HarvestPlus project.

The training also allowed participants to visit other research experiments and trials associated with the Cereal System Initiative South Asia (CSISA) and HarvestPlus projects, and to learn to identify agronomically superior biotic and abiotic resistant varieties.

The Nepalese team regarded the visit highly successful as it provided an excellent opportunity to work with the most recent tools and techniques in spot blotch and other wheat researches and to enrich their experience on proper data recording and conduct of participatory varietal selection trials.

New project launched: Heat Stress Tolerant Maize for Asia

South Asian farm lands have been increasingly experiencing climate change related weather extremes. A report from the Asian Development Bank in 2009 warns that if the current trends persist until 2050, major crop yields and food production capacity of South Asia will significantly decrease — by 17% for maize, 12% for wheat, and 10% for rice — due to climate change induced heat and water stress. In response to this situation, USAID’s Feed the Future (FTF) initiative has decided to support the “Heat stress resilient maize for South Asia through a public-private partnership” (Heat Tolerant Maize for Asia, HTMA) project to develop heat resilient maize for South Asia.

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Global Maize Program meeting: The old and the new intersect in Kathmandu

Lone Badstue (CIMMYT gender and monitoring and evaluation specialist; third from left, bottom) talks with four coordinators of community-based seed production groups in Nepal (top, from right). Also present are Katrine Danielsen, Senior Advisor, Social Development and Gender Equity of the Royal Tropical Institute of Denmark (far left), and Kamala Sapkota, intern working in the Hill Maize Research Project (second from left).

 

Applying advanced technologies and reconciling dramatic growth in funding, staffing, and complex partnerships with the need to speed farmers’ access to options for better food security and incomes were the themes of discussion among more than 60 specialists in maize breeding, agronomy, socioeconomics, and diverse related disciplines who met in Kathmandu, Nepal, during 28-31 January 2013. “This was a great opportunity for old and new staff to get acquainted and help launch the vibrant evolution of our Program to meet clients and stakeholders’ needs,” said GMP director B.M. Prasanna. “The participation of colleagues from other programs and organizations was crucial, allowing us to identify and address logjams and potential synergies and continue our journey toward being an institution, rather than a mere collection of isolated projects.”

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