New Director General of IRRI, a Long-time Friend of CIAT
 CIAT,
and the Rice Project in particular, are pleased with the appointment
of Dr. Robert (Bob) Zeigler as Director General of International
Rice Research Institute (IRRI).
Dr. Zeigler is a former CIAT staff member, who worked as visiting scientist in the
Cassava Program from 1980 to 1982, time at which he was named Senior Scientist in the area
of Plant Pathology and subsequently leader of the Rice Program, a position he served until
1992 when he retired to work with IRRI.
This appointment is a well-deserved recognition of Dr. Zeigler's excellent work
capacity, vision, and experience in agricultural research.
 For more information
see the IRRI
press release.
Simple Genetic Mapping Software
MapDisto
 MapDisto is a program
for mapping genetic markers in experimental segregating populations
like backcrosses, doubled haploids, and single-seed descent.
One of its specificities is to propose recombination fraction
estimates in case of segregation distortion. Thanks to its
graphical user interface, MapDisto is very easy to use. It
has many features such as drawing genetic maps, computing
allelic disequilibria, finding linkage groups, automatically
ordering loci, conducting simple QTL analyses, and exporting
data and maps to other mapping software. This current version
of MapDisto (1.4.2) is written in Microsoft Visual Basic.
It is not a stand-alone application, so to run it, you will
need Microsoft® Excel 97 or higher (Windows, MacOS 9, or MacOS
X).
Edited and reproduced with kind permission of the
copyright holder Mathias Lorieux from "MapDisto"
Visit the MapDisto Web site.
Rice Biodiversity (photo gallery)
 According
to César Martínez, CIAT rice genetist, "Biodiversity
is found everywhere and it is not just restricted to any kingdom.
Take some time and enjoy genetic diversity available at our
hands in the Rice Project. From people to rice cultivars collected
and preserved worldwide... Africa, China, Indonesia, India,
Philippines, France, and Latin America ".
Visit our photo gallery at:
http://www.ciat.cgiar.org/riceweb/Rice_Diversity/
Course on Integrated Crop Management in Rice
 A course
on integrated crop management in rice was held from 25 to 29 October at CIAT headquarters
in Palmira, Colombia. The 36 professionals who attended the course work with different
rice-related research and technology development projects throughout Colombia.
Participants discussed and analyzed the characteristics of rice cultivation in
Colombian and the problems faced by rice farmers. The course combined a series of
conferences with field practices and visits to rice producers of Valle del Cauca and
Tolima.
This course was offered under the framework of the technical and scientific
collaborative agreement subscribed between CIAT and Colombia's Ministry of Agriculture and
Rural Development (MADR,
its Spanish acronym).
See the photo gallery at: ftp://iserver.ciat.cgiar.org/webciat/evento/index.html
The MeGAA Network
 Suggestions
for a new rice breeders' network were made at a Brazilian
conference held in March to celebrate the International
Year of Rice. The participants, working in the field of
genetic improvement of Latin American rice, expressed the
need for more effective germplasm exchange, including for
existing varieties. They also wanted improved collaboration
between rice breeders.
The formation of Red-MeGAA—that is, the Network for the Genetic Improvement of
Rice in the Americas—and its statutes and operational regulations were discussed at
another meeting in June. Drafts of these instruments are now downloadable from this site
(Spanish only) . The meeting took place in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, at RedBio's 2004
Meeting on Agricultural Biotechnology. Participants came from 10 Latin American and
Caribbean countries and three international centers operating in the region (CIAT, CIRAD, and FAO).
We invite the public and private institutions who identify
with the network's objectives to participate in Red-MeGAA.
If you would like to become a member, register here. For more
information, contact César Martínez, CIAT, Cali,
Colombia, at c.p.martinez@cgiar.org,
Tel. +57(2) 4450197/ Fax: +57(2) 4450094.
Conference and Workshop on Genetic Improvement of Rice in Latin America and the
Caribbean, 15-19 March 2004, Goiânia, Brazil
 This event, which formed part
of the regional agenda of celebrations of the "International
Year of Rice", was attended by representatives of 11
countries (Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica,
Cuba, Ecuador, Nicaragua, Dominican Republic, Peru, and Venezuela);
international organizations such as CIAT, CIRAD,
and FAO; Brazilian research
institutions such as the Instituto Agronômico de Campinas
(IAC), the Empresa de Pesquisa Agropecuária e Extensão
Rural (EPAGRI)
of Santa Catarina, and the Institute Rio Grandense do Arroz
(IRGA); EMBRAPA units; the Latin American Fund
for Irrigated Rice (FLAR); and the private
sector. The workshop was sponsored by FAO and funds corresponding
to Brazil's contribution to the EMBRAPA/CIAT Collaborative
Fund.
The most important outcome of this event was the endorsement of a proposal to create a
Rice Improvement Network for Latin America and the Caribbean. During the RedBio 2004
meeting to be held in Dominican Republic from 21 t0 25 June, representatives from
CIAT, CIRAD, FAO, the Danac Foundation, and EMBRAPA will have the opportunity to continue
discussions and define the creation of the Network.
If you are interested in participating in this meeting, you can
register here or directly
contact César Martínez, CIAT, Cali, Colombia,
at c.p.martinez@cgiar.org,
Tel. +57(2) 4450197/ Fax: +57(2) 4450094.
 Download the complete
technical
summary of the Conference (in Spanish, 322 kb).
2004, The International Year of Rice
 For
the first time, the United Nations has declared a year in
honor of a crop, marking 2004 as the International Year of
Rice (IYR) with the theme Rice is life. The Food and Agriculture
Organization of the United Nations (FAO) describes rice as:
. . . the staple food of over half of the world's population. In Asia
alone, more than 2 billion [2000 million] people obtain 60 to 70 percent of their energy
intake from rice and its derivatives; it is the most rapidly growing food source in Africa
and is of significant importance to food security in an increasing number of low-income
and food-deficit countries.
(from FAO's Web page)
For much of the world's population, rice is not only life, but is also profoundly
related to the cultural patrimony of numerous societies. CIAT is working with its partners
and collaborators to celebrate IYR by carrying out activities in different countries of
Latin America. For general information on the IYR and its events see: http://www.fao.org/rice2004/
International Seminar-Workshop on Upland Rice Improvement for Latin America and the
Caribbean, 19-22 August 2003, Villavicencio, Meta, Colombia
Proceedings Now On-Line
 The CIRAD/CIAT upland rice project has regional scope
and, over the years, has formed ties with the principal improvement
programs in Latin America and the Caribbean. In 1999, an informal
improvement network, known as GRUMEGA, was formed and is now
coordinated by the project. The network's main objective is
to integrate the region's upland-rice breeders. Its workshops
help provide forums for exchanging ideas and experiences in
managing conventional and population improvement, and developing
segregating and fixed lines. Plant breeders also get a chance
to practice participatory improvement by selecting germplasm
under field conditions.
The 2003 event was attended by 32 researchers from 7 countries:
Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Cuba, Honduras, Nicaragua, and
Venezuela. Other significant attendees included two reviewers
from the European Union visiting CIAT, and who also interacted
with the group of plant breeders. The Director-General of
CIAT participated in the activities planned for the first
field day.
Check out the
proceedings.
Registry of Rice Crosses
Made at CIAT
 Rice
researchers, especially from Latin America, frequently ask
CIAT for information on the progenitors that CIAT use to develop
lines that eventually give rise to improved varieties. Such
information is deposited in the database maintained by the
CIAT Rice Project, which, thanks to progress in Systems, can
quickly and conveniently be made available to users.
The database on crosses began in 1957 through the Rice Program of the Colombian
Ministry of Agriculture, with support from the Rockefeller Foundation. It was run jointly
by ICA and CIAT from 1967 to 1984. In 1984, the CIAT Rice Program took sole charge of the
database, which is now maintained by CIAT's Rice Project.
The database therefore contains information on the crosses, coded "CT", made
by CIAT since 1984 to date; the crosses that ICA and CIAT made together during 1967-1983,
and coded "P" after Palmira, the city headquarters for ICA's rice program since
its beginnings; and the series of crosses carried out by ICA before 1967 and coded as
"P".
The CIAT Rice Project expresses its gratitude to the many people who have contributed
to the compilation and development of the database, including plant breeders, research
assistants, support personnel, and secretaries. They all deserve very special recognition.
Consult
the Database
(in Spanish).
Contact:
César P. Martínez
New Technical Manual
Methodologies to Raise and
Evaluate Tagosodes orizicolus (Muir)
 Tagosodes
orizicolus, also referred to in Latin America as sogata,
is a major pest of rice crops in the tropics of South America,
Central America, and the Caribbean. The insect directly damages
the plant by feeding on the phloem and mesophyll, but also
causes serious indirect damage by transmitting the rice ‘hoja
blanca’ virus (RHBV).
This manual, available only in
Spanish, indicates how to evaluate different rice lines to determine their level of
resistance to direct damage caused by the oviposition and feeding of T. orizicolus
as well as to infection by RHBV. It also explains how to establish the two types of
colonies required for evaluation: a healthy colony (insects do not transmit the virus) and
a vector colony (insects capable of transmitting the virus).
 Download
the manual
(555 kb).
Guía para el Trabajo de Campo en el MIP del Arroz,
4a Edición Revisada y Ampliada (Field Guide for IPM in Rice, 4th Revised and Extended
Edition)
 Rice
in Latin America is affected by four major insect pests, four
major weeds, the rice "hoja blanca" (white leaf)
virus, and two fungi. All these pathogens cause serious economic
losses for rice farmers at certain times of the year. These
species have also been reported as having caused heavy losses
in rice yield in various Latin American countries, particularly
T. orizicolus, the rice "hoja blanca" virus,
and the fungi. An integrated pest management (IPM) program
must have sufficient flexibility and competence to adapt to
changes as needed for reducing the harm done by pests, while
protecting the environment and workers’ health. The IPM
is not a technology, but a procedure for solving problems,
with the farmer playing a vitally important role. The Spanish
guide has four sections, which discuss major rice insect pests,
weeds, and diseases, and provides general recommendations
for IPM for the rice crop.
Downtload the complete document (582 kb).
CIAT’s Rice Project Receives Recognitions
Brazil
 Brazil’s Rice
Production Chain made a public recognition of the contributions made by CIAT’s Rice
Project toward the development of irrigated and upland rice cultivars in that country over
the past 20 years.
Lee Calvert, Rice Project Manager, received a plaque at a ceremony
held during the First
Brazilian Rice Production Chain Congress, held between 20 and 23 August 2002, at the
Convention Hall in Florianópolis (Santa Catarina, Brazil).
Dominican Republic
 On 7 July 2002, the
National Cereal Grains Program of the Dominican Agricultural
and Forest Research Institute, IDIAF, presented a plaque of recognition to César
Martinez, CIAT Rice Project Breeder, within the framework
of the release of a new rice variety, IDIAF 1, and the celebration
of the 40th anniversary of the Juma Experiment Station, events
that were attended by the President of Dominican Republic,
agronomist Hipólito Mejía.Engineer César Moquete, Head of
the National Cereal Grains Program, delivered the mentioned
plaque and indicated that this recognition was motivated by
the valuable contributions made by Martinez to the genetic
improvement of rice in Latin America, enabling the expansion
of the genetic base of this grain, and his contribution to
the training of many of the region’s rice researchers.
Bolivia
 Within the framework of the 4th National Rice Day, held in Santa
Cruz, Bolivia, rice breeder Marc Chatel from CIRAD/CIAT received a plaque from Bolivia’s Tropical Agricultural
Research Center in recognition of “his support and collaboration in training,
germplasm supply, breeding methodologies, and unconditional friendship to CIAT-Bolivia and the Santa Cruz rice
sector”, signed by the San Juan Japanese Colony on 9 March 2002.
China Publishes the Complete Sequence of the Rice Genome
 The Beijing Genomics
Institute has produced a draft of the first sequence for indica
rice, the predominant subspecies grown in China, other Asian
Pacific countries, and Latin America and the Caribbean.
Research has shown that the rice plant probably has more genes
(46,000 to 55,000) than does a human being (30,000 to 40,000). However, the rice genome,
as with those of other plants, contains numerous duplications; about 75% of the
rice’s genes are repeated in the code. Scientists believe plants copy their genes,
then modify them to cope with the selective pressures associated with evolution.
For rice scientists at CIAT and for the rice community in general,
this map will complement information found in other maps already published, permit
comparisons of sequences between indica and japonica rices, and facilitate understanding
of gene functioning and expression. Moreover, improvement programs will benefit through
the identification of molecular markers associated with genes that control valuable
agronomic traits, such as resistance to pests, diseases, or abiotic factors. Programs for
molecular-marker assisted selection can then be established and implemented.
See the full
story.
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