CIAT helps African cassava "Bridegroom" find perfect match
Contact: Neil Palmer (n.palmer@cgiar.org)
Tel: +57 (2) 445 0000 x3008
Disease-tolerant cassava variety just released in Nigeria highlights the importance of conserving cassava germplasm from Latin America for scientific research in Africa.
CALI, COLOMBIA – 7th February 2011 - A new disease-tolerant cassava variety released in Nigeria could help to dramatically improve production of one of the country's most important staple food crops. The work also highlights the importance of conserving cassava germplasm and the value of marker-assisted selection in crop improvement.
The new cassava crop combines two forms of resistance to the devastating cassava mosaic disease (CMD): one found in the so-called "Bridegroom" cassava variety, a Nigerian landrace, and the other from a wild relative of the South American root crop.
Cassava is the world's second-most important source of carbohydrate, and is consumed by hundreds of millions of people every day as a vital staple food. Nigeria is the world’s largest producer of cassava for food. But while CMD devastates cassava crops across Africa and parts of India, it is not found in South America.
CIAT imported cassava with natural resistance from Nigeria to its headquarters in Colombia, and crossed it with parental lines from Latin America, conserved in the institution's gene bank. CIAT scientists identified molecular markers linked to CMD resistance, enabling them to select for CMD resistance without the disease itself being present.
After several years of subsequent trials in Nigeria, CMD –resistant cassava variety CR41-10 was officially released in December 2010, and is being multiplied and distributed by the Nigerian Root and Tuber Expansion Program (RTEP), as part of an IFAD-funded project.
The new variety also has a number of additional desirable traits, including high yield potential and roots that are very good for producing gari – a coarse, toasted flour, which is the primary use for cassava in Nigeria.
The release follows a decade of collaboration in cassava research involving CIAT, its CGIAR sister-center the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) and Nigeria’s National Root Crop Research Institute (NRCRI), with initial funding from the Rockefeller Foundation and later the Generation Challenge Program, initiated by former CIAT cassava geneticist, Martin Fregene.
"This is proof that the excellent cassava germplasm developed at CIAT can directly add value to cassava in Africa," said Chiedoze Egesi, of NCRCI. "We hope many new varieties will follow in its footsteps."
CIAT cassava breeder Hernan Ceballos was also delighted by the release. “It’s a momentous occasion," he said. "This variety is the first example of a product involving biotechnology that directly reaches cassava farmers."
"Over the years there has been a huge amount of work to identifiy molecular markers for improving food crops – now we’re showing that this work can be applied to improve food production in developing countries where it is most needed."
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The International Center For Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) belongs to the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) . The CGIAR works to reduce hunger, malnutritionoverty and environmental degradation in developing countries by generating, sharing and spreading agricultural knowledge, technologies and policies. This development-oriented research is conducted by a Consortium (http://cgiarconsortium.cgxchange.org) of 15 CGIAR centers working with hundreds of partners worldwide. The CGIAR is supported by a multi-donor Fund (www.cgiarfund.org).