ICRISAT Archival Report 2006 - The seedlings of success in the ...

Milestone A1.1.2: At least one new breeding target identified in collaboration with regional networks to address
evolving challenges for either sorghum or millet by 2009
Sorghum for bio-ethanol: Fuel prices skyrocketing and concomitant shrinking supplies have triggered efforts in
exploring the use of alternative and renewable fuel sources. . One such alternative is bio-ethanol and many
developing countries are racing for bio-ethanol production. In recent years sweet sorghum (Sorghum bicolor L.
Moench) stalks are emerging as viable alternative sources. Comparative advantages for the use of sweet sorghum,
status of available technology, challenges and opportunities on the use of sweet sorghum based ethanol have been
articulated. NARS partners of South Africa, Zimbabwe and Kenya have shown interest in this area and ICRISAT-
ESA envisages working in collaboration with diversified range of partners from these countries. The main focus will
be to establish a holistic and integrated system that will look into the sweet sorghum germplasm identification,
adaptation testing, linking it with the seed systems and processing technologies. To kick off this new intervention,
germplasm have been acquired from ICRISAT India (22 varieties and 45 hybrids) and also from the ESA region for
preliminary evaluation for adaptability and also for identification of the most productive varieties. The evaluation
has been initiated in 2006/07 season in Kiboko, Kenya and Matopos in Zimbabwe. The expected outcome will be
expanded sweet sorghum utilization in the bio-ethanol production to expand livelihood opportunities and
environment protection
MA Mgonja and E Manyasa
Milestone A1.1.4: At least one group of NARS working together for pearl millet improvement by 2007
Pearl millet breeders have released a number of improved varieties (11 in ECA and 19 in SADC) that are high
yielding potentials and adaptable to the targeted environments. However, production and productivity has remained
low due to the continued use of low yielding landraces, poor crop production practices under environments with
declining fertility. A proposal was developed by ICRISAT in collaboration with NARS partners from Eritrea,
Sudan, Tanzania and Kenya and was funded in 2006 by ECARSAM through the Competitive Grant System. The
proposed project is IGNRM oriented and focuses on introducing genetically superior varieties and environmentally
friendly integrated production practices to increase production and productivity. By integrating findings on soil and
water management, variety improvement, crop protection, farmer seed knowledge, production and delivery systems
and environment conservation awareness, the project will be putting to use cumulative findings from related
scientific departments and disciplines in the region over periods of time for the benefit of the current pearl millet
farming community.
Use of GIS will ensure effective environmental placement of integrated production packages during validation and
evaluation to save in both time and resources. Pooling of review and validation findings across partner countries will
enhance sharing of scientific findings from these. Inclusion of the farmers and extension personnel will ensure sense
of ownership of the findings and sustainability of the technologies.
In preparation for effective implementation of the project, NARS collaborators from Zimbabwe, Sudan, Kenya and
Tanzania participated in the International Pearl Millet Training course held in ICRISAT-India in May 2006 to
sharpen skill on pearl millet improvement and seed production. The project’s implementation period is 2007 to 2009
MA Mgonja and B Mitaru
Output Targets A2: Genetically diverse sorghum varieties tolerant to striga and midge developed in
collaboration with NARS participating in breeding networks [2011]
Activity A2.1: Transfer Striga resistance in sorghum to elite African cultivars using marker-assisted selection
Milestone A2.1.1: Elite farmer varieties carrying 1 to 3 QTLs evaluated through a participatory approach (2007)
Flanking simple sequence repeats (SSR) markers to the QTLs in marker-assisted backcrossing is vital in transferring
Striga resistance from the donor cultivar N13 to susceptible farmer preferred sorghum varieties (FPSVs). In this
project entitled, “Arresting the scourge of Striga on sorghum in Africa by combining the strengths of marker-assisted
backcrossing and farmer-participatory selection”, NARS in the Kenya, Mali, Eritrea and Sudan are being assisted to
strengthen Striga resistance of farmer-preferred sorghum varieties (FPSVs) through a combination of markerassisted
backcrossing (MAB) and farmer-participatory selection. Near-isogenic FPSVs carrying one to three Striga
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