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

proven in target areas. This project therefore aims to transfer the terminal drought tolerance genomic segments
(QTLs) in donor parents B 35 and E 36-1 into five commercial, locally adapted, open pollinated farmer-preferred
sorghum varieties in Kenya, Uganda, Eritrea, Ethiopia and Sudan. Subsequently, the efficiency and effectiveness of
marker assisted breeding for stay green trait in sorghum backgrounds selected from these countries will be
determined. An integral part of the project’s objectives is to enhance the capacity of scientists in the participating
countries in marker assisted breeding technologies. To this end, a one-week a training course for seven scientists,
technicians and MSc students involved in the project was organized in November 2006 at the ICRISAT/BecA lab in
ILRI,Nairobi. It was organized in collaboration with Nairobi University and the Kenya Agricultural Research
Institute (KARI). Participants were trained in DNA extraction, quantification and quality checks using agarose gel
electrophoresis and purity tests using nanodrop spectrophometer. They were also trained in PCR optimization and
genotyping using capillary electrophoresis. The project teams will now generate the backcrosses and using the skills
gained, come back to the ICRISAT/BecA lab for genotyping.
D Kiambi and T Hash
Output Target B2: A diversified set of sorghum varieties tested for sensitivity to photo-periodism by 2011
Activity B2.1: Develop marker assisted breeding program for the photoperiod sensitive sorghum to enhance
adaptability and productivity
Milestone B2.1.1: Capability of a diversified set of sorghum varieties to sense the rate of change of photo-periodism
clarified by 2008 (MAM, SGM)
Work starts in 2007 and no progress is due for 2006
Milestone B2.1.2: Segregating populations for photoperiod sensitivity and stay green evaluated using
molecular markers from 2009 (MAM, SGM)
Work starts in 2007 and no progress is due for 2006
Activity B2.2: Integrate drought tolerant sorghum and millet varieties with water management to improve
productivity for sorghum and millet
Milestone B2.2.1: Adaptable drought tolerant varieties for evaluation with water management technologies
identified by 2007
Participatory approaches to identify crop water productivity enhancing technologies (IGNRM)
Total crop production needs to increase under increasing water scarcity. The Challenge Program Water for food
(CPWF) seeks to identify and deploy interventions that can contribute to increasing food production and saving or
using water more efficiently. One of the interventions can be improvement of genetic resources (germplasm) for
drought resistance and integrate these with water management technologies. The Challenge Program Water for
Food Project no 1 focuses on integrating improved crop varieties with soil fertility and water management to
enhance crop water productivity and partnership linkages with markets to improve profitability. Participatory
approaches were deployed with NARS partners of Mozambique, South Africa and Zimbabwe collaborating in the
CPWFPN1 to identify adaptable crop varieties for evaluation with water management technologies. These include
released crop technologies of sorghum, pearl millet, maize, legumes and groundnut varieties. Exploratory field
trials comparing the productivity (crop productivity as a measure of water productivity in rainfed situations) of
different crop species and varieties using different water conservation techniques and fertilizer use strategies were
established in Mozambique and Zimbabwe. Trials mostly followed the Mother-Baby technique with one complete
replication of a 2 x 2 x 2 factorial trial in a village and several partial replications of this trial established on fields of
nearby farmers. Results from the first year of trials have helped refine the focus of future field work in the project
for the 2006/07 season. The total numbers of the crop varieties x soil fertility x water management technologies that
will be evaluated with farmers in the 2006/07 season are 485, 108 and 47 for Zimbabwe, South Africa and
Mozambique respectively. Training on crop varieties, seed production and water management techniques was
provided to 86 collaborators from extension and farming communities of the three target countries
MA Mgonja and Sakile Kudita
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