CIP Annual Report 1997

8/9/2019 CIP Annual Report 1997

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CIP in 997

International

Potato Center

nnual Report


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International Potato CenterAv. a Universid a d 795 a MolinaApartado 1558Lima 12 PeruE-mail : cip @cgnet.comOn-line at: http ://www.c ipotato .o rg

CIP. 1 998C P in 7 99In t e rn a ti on al Po ta to Center Annu a l Report

im a Peru.

ISSN 0256 -6 3 Pr ess run: 2 500May 1 998


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ontents

A Year to Remember

l Nino: A Dress Rehearsal for Global Warming?

Virus Cleanup Boosts Chinese Sweetpotato Production

Getting the Numbers Right

Milestone Reached in Bacterial Wilt Research

Integrated Control of Bacterial Wilt Paying Off in East Africa

Late Blight Project Initiated a Year Early; Damage Reports Increasing

Genotype X Environment

Biotechnology Speeds New Potato Development

Brazil Achieves Seed Self-Sufficiency

Producing Pesticide-Free Sweetpotatoes

TPS Hybrid May Eliminate Need for Seed Tubers

Breeding Deep-Rooted Potatoes

997 Briefs

Board of TrusteesDonor Contributions in 997

Finance and Administration

Staff in 997

Selected Scientific Publications 997

Research n 997

Training in 997

Research Partners

Cl P s Global Contact Points

The Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research

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Year to Remember

4

Th e child shown in th e photograph o n the following page is sy mb o lic of milli ons of poorpeople in d eve lop in g countries w ho b e n ef it from CGIAR resea rc h on roo t a nd tu b er cro ps . Fo rproducers and co n sumer s n ew root and tuber c rop t ec hn o lo g ies r eprese nt alternatives forac hi ev ing food sec urit y a nd protecting the e n v ironm e nt , both at a n affo rd a ble pr i ce.

Thi s fact was underscored by a 199 7 st u dy that show e d potatoes a nd swee tp otatoes acco untfo r a co nsid e rab ly g reat e r p e rce nt age of th e food grow n in developing co untri es than waspreviously b e lieved. Acco rdin g to th e study , produced by a CGIAR in t erce nter work in g g roup ,a nnual grow th rates for potato n ow sta nd at a re mark ab le 4 a nd show n o s ig n of s low in gdown.

N ega ti ve predictions for swee tpotato a lso ap pear to h ave mis sed th e mark. Not o nl y isswee tp o tato production in creasing, produ ct io n is tak in g place in so m e of Asia and Africa ' spo o rest regions. C IP scientists be lie ve th at w ith a dditi o n a l impro ve m e nt s it wi ll be possible tou se swee tpot ato fo r a great e r number of industrial us es thus c re at in g a st rong e r and m o relu c rati ve m ar ket fo r farmers . Th e us e of swee tpotato for feeding a ni m a ls m ay a lso relieve th epressure on th e in t e rnation a l grai n mark et a nd possibl y eve n stabilize the pric es paid b ydeveloping co untri es for food a nd feed.

To s ust a in these a d va n ces, h oweve r, w ill require conti nu e d te c hn o log ica l inn ovat io nth r o u gh res ea rc h a nd tr a inin g, a lo n g w ith stro nge r scientific p a rtn e rshi ps. An example of th etype of effo rt that w ill be n eeded ca n b e fo und on page 10 of th i s repo rt. Entitl ed V ru sC lea nup Boosts C hinese weetpotato r od u ct ion th e story describes how a brok ered tec hnology developed in industrializ e d co untri es was ada pt ed to developing wor ld conditions a ndexte nd e d through o ne of Cl P's training programs to low in co me fa rm e rs in China. In thisin sta n ce a tissue c ulture tec hniqu e we ll-kn ow n in the United St ates a nd Europe for co ntrollin gv iru s disease s was u sed to boost sweetpo tato produ ct io n o n a n est im ated 300 000 hec ta res .

CIP eco nomi sts believe that th e tech n o logy, w hich is curren tl y b e in g ex te nded to ot h e rsweetpo tato-pr od u c in g re g io n s i n China , m ay eve ntu a lly acco unt fo r the Center 's s in glegreatest im p act in developing co untri es.

Th e exa mp l e of a brok e red tec hnolo gy exte nded through CIP un d e rsco re s th e importance ofm a in t a ining stro n g re lation sh ip s w ith a va ri e ty of p a rtn ers. It also demonstrates h ow it ispossible for resea rc h ce nt e rs s u c h as CIP -a ll of w hi c h h ave limi ted reso ur ces- to providein vestors with broad im p act that meet s CG IAR goa ls fo r productivity sus tain ab il i ty, eq uity ,a nd e n v ironm e nt a l friendliness. The im p o rt a n ce of such partnerships was further und e rlin e dthis past year by El Nino.

In Peru , CIP co llabo rat ed w ith the Ministry of Agr ic ul tur e to alert fa rm ers to th e dangers ofthe El Nino a nd t o provide technological op t io ns for dealing w ith m a jor s hifts in temperaturea nd rainfall. By a ll acco un ts the 19 9 7-98 El Nino created nea r-p e rfect co nditi o n s for lateb light infe c ti o n in the hi g h Andes a nd m ay have h e lp ed to sp read more v irulen t for m s of th edisease. Th e v irtu a l collapse of a CIP-developed Per u via n potato c ulti va r (see page 20) hi ghlig ht s the d a ngers in vo lved in depe nd e n ce o n just a few m aj o r c ul t iva rs a nd und ersco res th eneed for clones w ith mor e d ur ab le res ista n ce . Happil y, field trial s of th e Center's seco ndge nera tion of late blight-resistant materials sh ow e d co n s id era bl e promise during the yea r. As a


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result, the chances of achieving durable resistance that can be applied in a range of differentenvironments appears to be better than at any time in recent years.

Even so, improved varieties cannot be expected to do the job on their own. In the future,

farmers will need to combine the planting of disease-resistant cultivars with sound management techniques, a practice known s integrated disease management IDM). IDM is now amajor element of CIP s late blight work. It is being pursued in cooperation with a varietypartners, including many of the agencies working under the umbrella of the Global Initiativeon Late Blight (GILB).

Through GILB, CIP is working to increase scientist-to-scientist interaction and make betteruse of existing resources. The first genotype by environment study involving a root and tubercrop, for example, will be generating results in 1998 with the cooperation of scientists ineight countries. It is a striking example of how researchers, by pooling funds, facilities, andtalent, can tackle a global problem that would have been beyond their individual resources.

To achieve this type of integration across all elements of our research agenda, Centerscientists worked throughout 1997 to put the final touches on the Center s project-based management structure. The new system, which is fully supported by our on-line project budgetingsystem and newly developed CIP management information software, is designed to bringgreater focus to our research priorities and stimulate innovation by giving greater flexibility andresponsibility to scientists on the front line.

Starting in 1998, the new system puts day-today control of project funds and operations in thehands of some of our youngest and most capable

researchers. It should also help to create abroader base of research managers needed totackle the difficult problems that lie ahead.While it is too soon to show practical results,early indications are that the system is stimulating innovation and new research partnerships. Ifthe experience of 1997 is any guide, innovation

and partnership must go hand in hand if we are toachieve food security and environmental goals ataffordable prices.

Hubert Zandstra

Director General


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l Nifio


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In certain ways 1997-98 l Nino may be remembered as a dress rehearsal for global

warming. Along Peru s coastal desert directly adjacent to the center of the l Nino

phenomenon farmers produce potatoes during the winter growing season andsweetpotatoes year-round. This year temperatures were 3 to 5 degrees above

Even so, the immediate effects of higher temperatures were mixed.


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l Nino: A ress Rehearsal for Global Warming?

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In the Canete Valley south of Lima, potato yields were cut in half; but in othercoastal areas they were essentially unchanged. In the high Andes, two phenomenawere observed. In northern Peru, higher rainfall led to severe outbreaks of lateblight. And in the southern Andes drought and higher temperatures reduced frostdamage, but led to early plant maturity and lower yields. In the case of sweetpotato,the area planted in the Canete Valley increased 5 and production was believed tobe higher than any year in the past decade, probably in response to hotte weatherand higher pest pressure on other crops.

C IP ec o no mi sts be lieve El Ni n o p rovide d a nindi ca ti o n of w ha t c ould b e in sto re if g loba lwa rmin g is seve re . If te mp e ratur es ri se sub sta nti a lly fa rm ers w ill c h a n ge h ow a nd w h e re th eyg ro w p o ta to a nd swee tp o ta to e s. T o acco mm o d a teclim a te c h a n ge th ey w ill nee d va ri et ies th a t a re

in c reas in g ly heat a nd d ro u g ht to le ra nt a n dres ista nt to p es ts a nd di seases .

Sin ce th e las t El N ino in 1 982 -83 , C IP pl a ntb ree d e rs h ave b ee n buildin g a co llec ti o n of p o ta tova rie ti es th a t a re he at to l e ra nt , ca rr y v iru s res ista n ce , a nd a re ear ly m a turing . Two c lo nes br e d foru se a lo n g Pe ru ' s coa st a l d es ert loo k p a rti c ul a rl ypromi s in g , y ie ldin g 3 0-40 to n s p e r h ecta re in ju st1 00 d ays. C IP sc ie nt i sts say th a t th ese po ta toesreq ui r e less wate r than th e b est co mm e rc ia lva ri e ti es a nd a re s uitabl e fo r pr ocess in g. Se ries o fb ot h im p rove d p o ta to a n d swee tpotato va rie tiesh ave a lso b ee n deve lo p e d in coope ra ti o n w ith th eUn i ve rs id a d Jo rge Basadr e Grohm a nn in Tac n aPe ru , a nd th e Eur o p e an Ec onomi c Co mmunit yM ajes Pr o jec t.

Marginal Areas Facing Danger

It is i m poss ib l e to say w hat th e ove ra ll im p ac t ofc li m a te c h a nge w ill be. Th e seco nd ary effects o fg lo b a l wa r mi n g su c h as c h a nges in ra in fa llpa tte rn s a n d yea r- to- yea r t e mp e ra u re va ri ab iI tya re n ot we ll un de rstood , a nd co ul d h ave m a rk e dl y

diff e re nt co n se qu e nc e s in diff e re nt pl aces . So m ea reas- reg io n s pron e to frost , for exa mp l e - co uldb e nef it fro m wa rm e r temp e ratur es but su ffe r fro mdrou g ht. O th e rs a reas, s u c h as tr o pi ca l low la nd s,co uld s u ffe r fr o m h ea t str es s, bu t b e n e fit fro mhi gher at m os ph e ric le vels of ca rb o n di ox ide.Ce nt er e c o no mi sts b e lieve, h oweve r, if c lim a tec ha nge is g ra du a l, m os t far mer s s ho uld b e a bl e to

ad a pt b y a dj u s tin g pl a ntin g dat es a nd c h a n g in gcrop va rie ti es.

In ge n e ra l, m a jor p ro ducti o n zo nes sho uld nobe a d ve rse ly affec te d , says Rob e rt H ijm a n s, a C IPgeo g ra ph i c in fo rm a ti o n s peciali st . Th e d a nge r is

in m a rg in a l a reas w here c rops a re a lr ea d y pu shi n gthe l im its of h ea t, d ro u g ht , and p es ts . Hijm a n ssa ys th e exte nt o f g lo b a l w armin g re m a in s uncl ea rbut te m pe ra tu res a re pr ed ic te d to ri se be tw e e n 2and 5 deg rees b y th e middle of th e n ex t ce ntur y,as th ey did in Pe ru durin g the 1 9 97 El Ni n o .Clim a te c ha n ge a pp ea rs not to h ave bee n mu c h o fa p ro bl e m in th e p as t. But it mi ght b eco m e o ne aspopul a ti o n grows, a nd if c li m a te c h a nge is la rgea nd d eve lo p s m o re qu i c kl y th a n expec te d . In th ateve nt , th e flow of tec hn o log ie s w i need toincr ease so th at fa rm e rs ca n co p e w ith m o rediff icult p ro bl e m s. La te b lig ht di sease , Hijm a n sno t es wo uld li k e ly in c rease fr o m a co m b in a tio n ofhi g h e r t e mp e ra tu res a nd r a infall.

CIP Advises Peru on El Nino

Mu c h d e p e nd s o n th e farm e rs' s kill s, says C IPDi r ecto r G e n era l Hu b e rt Z a nd st ra . P e ru v ia npo t a to fa rm e rs w er e adv ise d ea rly b y th e Mini str yof Ag ricultur e of th e o n se t o f a no th e r Ni n o.Kn ow in g its effec ts, m a n y pr o du cers s hi fted th e irpl a ntin gs to co o le r, hi gh e r a ltitud es . In d oi ng so,the y ke pt produ ct io n a nd pri ces a t pr ev io u s yea rs'

le ve ls, a lth o u g h th e qu a li ty o f th e c rop waspoor e r .

Ce nt e r scie nt i sts wo rk ed cl ose ly w ith Pe ru v ia nag ri c ultur a l of f ic ia ls Z a nd str a a dds , b y reco mm en di n g s p ec ific m a nage ment pro g ra m s tofarm ers o n h ow to d ea l w ith in creases i n h eat a ndrain fal l. Aside fro m effec ts on yi e ld , hi g he r


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te mp e rat ur es a nd humidity produ ced s ig nifi ca ntc h a n ges. Fa rm e rs on Peru's central coast, forexa mp l e were force d to nearly tripl e pesticide useas in sect populations exploded. In sout h ern Pe ru ,o utbr eaks of a tr ad itionally mi n or ap hid-lik e pest(Russelliana solanicola), led to a n in c rease in anunu su a l st ra in of potato v irus Y , for which th ein sec t is a vecto r.

Insect Populations xpand

A lmost a ll ins ect pests of potat oes do better inhi g h e r temperatures, says CIP e ntom o log istFa usto C isn e ros. U nder normal co nditi o n s wemi g ht see th r ee ge n e ra tions of a particular in sec tdurin g th e grow in g season. When temperaturesrise, the I fe cycle is s horten e d , a nd th e re m ay be

five ge n e rat io ns of the sa m e ins ect. In so m e cases,in sects that coex isted for years with a crop cansudd e nl y become im p orta nt problems. Hi ghe rpopul ations ca n a lso in crease th e speed at w hi c hp es ts adapt and become resistant to pesticides,Cisneros adds.

Th e most im po rt an t lesso n of this yea r' s ElNi n o, Zandstra co n c lu d es is that the entir eagricultural commun it y needs to b e better p re -pared a nd h ave access to a strategic rese rve oftechnology th at w ill a llow farmers to adapt. Th atm ea ns research, n ew technological op ti o n s a ndimpr oveme nt s in o ur abi li ty to forecast c h ange. Ita lso m ea n s bette r exte ns io n , so th at far m e rs canaccess new technology a nd put it to work b e fo redisaster st ri k es .

LAREPUBLI CA

During the 1997-98 l

Nino, much of Peru shighly-productive coastaldesert farmland re-sembled flooded Asianricefields. Potato yieldsfell by half in manylocations.


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Virus Cleanup oosts

Chinese Sweetpotato Production

1 0

China, the world s largest producer ofroot and tuber crops, is also the firstdeveloping country to benefit on a large

scale from technology designed toeliminate virus diseases in sweetpotatoplanting materials. According to recentreports, Chinese sweetpotato farmersare planting an estimated 330,000hectares of virus-free sweetpotatoannually in Shandong Province alone.The value of this technology over thepast four years is estimated at 80million and growing.

C IP ec o n om ist Th o m as Walker notes th a t th ework is a n exce llent exa mp le o f ho w in t e rn at io n a lre searc h ce nters can broker technologies fromindu striali ze d co untri es and extend th e m to thed eve lop in g wo rld . Th e v iru s c lea nup te c hniquesbe in g u sed in C hi n a he says, a re b ase d on hi g htec hn o logy tissu e c ulture tec hniqu es develop e d inindustriali zed co untri es. CIP ' s ro le , h e says ,was to id e ntify a tec hnol ogy th at cou Id be ta ken

off the she lf, adapt it to de ve loping cou ntr y nee ds ,and he lp C hi n a ' s sc ie ntist s modify it to loca lco nditi o ns.

Impact Through Training

Th e o rigi n of th e p roje ct dates b ac k to 1987w he n C IP co ndu cted a small trainin g co ur se o nv iru s d e tec tion tec hniqu es. Th e n ex t year, Ce nt e rsc ie nti sts , in coo p e ration wi th co l eag u es at theAsia n Vegetable Research a nd D eve lopme ntCenter , organ ized a ti ss ue c ulture tr a inin g wo rk-sh op a t th e Xu z h ou Sweetpotato Res ea rc h Ce nt e ron Chi n a ' s eas t coas t . Acco rding to Dape ngZhang , w h o se rve d as a translator a nd n ow he adsCIP 's sweetpotato breeding pr o jec t , 30 of Ch in a'sto p swee tp otato resea rc h ers a ttend e d. Its mainfocus was o n developing sy pt free ti ssuec ultur e plantlets. H e att ribut es th e success of theco ur se to th e fact th a t most participants wereyo un g sc ie nti sts eage r to app ly hi gh t ec hn o logy toth e co un t ry's ag ric ultural problem s. We also h adexce lle nt in str u cto rs from C IP , he ad d s a mon gthem John Dodds a nd Masa lwa n aga , both nowdi r ec to r s of resea rc h at other CGIAR ce nt ers.

M IWANAGA


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Follow i ng a five-year per iod of adap tiveres ea rc h by Chinese sc ie nti sts c lose ly sup p o rte dby CIP virologists, la rg e-sca le pl a ntin g of virus-freesweetpo tato began in 19 94, mostl y in Shandong

Pro v in ce. Pr ese ntly , about 40 perce nt ofShandong 's 700,000-hectare sweetpotato gro winga rea is planted to virus-fr ee materi a ls. If exte nsi o ntargets are met, that figure w ill ris e to 80 per ce nt ,cove rin g mor e th a n h a lf a million hec ta res by th ee nd of 1998.

Th e produ ct ion of v iru s- free cutt in gs beginswith me ristem ti ss ue cultur es that a re use d toprodu ce virus-free pl a ntl e ts in h ea ted g re e nh o usesdurin g t he winter. Th e plants a re replanted tone thou ses in the sprin g. Fro m there, v irus-fr eesee d roots are pro du ce d in the a utumn to ge ne ratev in cuttings , which then se rve as a so ur ce ofplanting mat e ria l for the summer c ro p . Becausetwo fie ld-multipli ca tions per ye ar are po ss ible500 v irus -fre e plantlets are suffici e nt t o pr od u ceplanting mat er ia l for 13 ,000 hec tares within twoyears , a highly impr ess iv e fie ld mu l t ipli ca tion ratefor a root crop.

Impressive Yield Advantages

Yie ld advantages a re e qu a lly impr ess ive. Intest s co nduct ed at nine sites with fiv va riet ies

average produ ct ivity ga in s were abo ut 40 percent,but range d as high 160 percent. But productivityga ins disappear afte r th r ee o r four yea rs. Forexample, an older Chinese variety, c ultivarXindazi , showed a yield adva nta ge of 350 percentin th e first year , 130 pe rce nt in th e seco nd a ndthird yea rs but o nl y 14 percent in th e fourth yea r.At that point, far me rs ne e d to be r es upplied withfres h pl antin g mate ria ls.

W a lke r not es that th e program has beenimpl e me nted without in ves tment in spec ia li z edfacilities. You wo uld be ha rd pr esse d to co me upwith better conditions for economic im p ac t thanthose e mbodi ed in the Shandong virus-freepropagation pr og ram , he says. Th at in c lud es alimited ges tati on time for resea rch (the res ults h enot es were achieved la rg e ly throu gh tr a inin g),swift tr ansfer of tec hnol ogy; huge potential for areacoverage; and re lati ve ly hi gh unit benefits. Addedto th at a re hi gh yie ld s emerging expo rt d ema nd ,

and the fact th a t fa rm e rs do not have to c ha ngea ny of their exist in g practices.

A back-of-the-envelope ca lc ul a tion giv s th eproject a net present va lue of abo ut $250 milli onat a 10 percent dis co unt rate. Th e es ti m ate dinternal r ate of return i s 120 percent , w ith a nnu a lnet benefits a lrea d y excee di n g $40 milli onca lc ul ated over 30 yea rs.

Assuming the diffu s io n data re flec t rea li ty, oneco uld vary t hese assumptions by seve ra l orde rs ofm ag nitud e a nd still not affect th e res ul t s a ll thatmu c h, Walker add s. In a ll li k e lihood, this wo rkhas had mo r e eco no mi c im p ac t th a n any ot he rproject , perhaps v n more than the aggr ega te ofa ll other C IP projects co mbin ed, he says. Walkerno t es th at a forma l imp act case study wi ll beco ndu cted in 199 8 by the C IP econo mi cs an dv irolo gy g roups , in assoc iat io n wi t h biol og ists atthe sweetpotato pro gram of the Shandon g CropsResearch In stitut e and eco no mi sts a t th e Ce nt e r forChinese Agricultural Po licy.

CIP has wo rked in Ch ina s in ce the es tabl ishme nt of it s scie ntifi c liaiso n of f ice in th e 1980s.Co lla bor at iv e resea rc h is co ndu cte d und e r afo rm al ag re e me nt w ith the C hi n ese Acad e my ofAgricultural Sciences of the Ministry of Agriculture.

Cl l' -BE ljlN

single CIP trainingprogram in 1988 led tomajor increases inChina s sweetpotatoproduction.


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Getting the Numbers Right

Revised projections for major food commodities , including roots and t ube rs show ahighly promising future for potatoes and sweetpotatoes in developing cou n tr ie s . Thenew estimates indicate that the two ci:.ops taken together will account for at le as t 6. 5

percent, and potentially as much as9 9

percent,of

the value of a ll major fo od c om-modities produced in the year 2020

Th e new numbers, says C IP economistGrego ry Scott, demo n stra te that potatoes andswee tpot a toes will maintain their relative impor-ta nce a nd wi ll in c rease i n im p or tance relative toce rea ls. Th e projections were p roduced by theInt e rnati o n a l Food Po l cy Resea rc h In st itut e a ndC IP , in co llabo rati on with th e Ce nt ro Intern acio n a lde Agricu ltur a Tr op ica l.

Growthrates

forpota

toa re

particularly robust

(abo ut 4 % a nnua l ly) and show no sig n of s lowingdown, espec ial ly in As ia , says Scott. W h at isre m a rk ab le is that as potato production in devel-op i n g count ri es in c rease d fr o m 75 million tonsann u a lly in 1988 to over 10 0 million tons today ,the ave rage a nnu a l grow th rate increased from2.5% to more than 4 % . Growth in a rea and y ie ldcon tribu ted to th e increased production. Thisco ntrast s w ith earlier p ro jecti o n s founded o n a3.9% average a nnu a l rate of decline in areaplanted. Th e d is crepancy betwee n past projec-tions a nd ac t u a l tr ends h as become in creas in gly

appa rent in r ece nt yea rs, h e a dd s.

Calculating for Poverty

Recent FAQ d ata a lso show a turnaround fo rswee tp otato. Average a nnual growth rates inproduction a re now c lose to 1 pe rce nt per a nnuma nd risin g ( f igu re ri g ht . Th e turnaround is large lybecause of the in creas in g us e of sweetpotato inC hi n a for processing a nd for a ni m al feed. Becauseswee tpot ato is grown mostly in Ch in a ' s poorerinland reg io n s, th ese uses are he lpin g to increase

rural in come a nd r ed u ce poverty. G ive n this fac t,Scott believes the ca lc ul a tion s previously u sed byt he CGIAR to es tabli sh research priorities un d e res-t im a ted the impor tance of sweetpotato to the poor.Mo reove r, the mas siv e use of swee tp o tato fo ra ni m a l feed red u ces g ra in im p o rts a nd , in theprocess , rel ieves the pressure on in t ernatio n alg ra in pric e s fo r other developing co untri es ,Scott says .

Grow rate ( )~

5.0

4.0

3.0

2.0

1.0o - ~ - - - - . - - - - - - , - - - - , - - - - r - - - , - -

4 8 12 16 23

10-year intervals

Annual average growth rates for potato productionand area source: FAO) .

Mi llio n tons

115

105

9

8

7

6

0 - ~ - - - - - - - - - . . . . . _ . -

1984 -86 1987 1989 1991 1993 11995 2010

Actual and projected growth in potato productionin developing countries source: FAO/CIP)_

Grow rate ( )6.0 ~ ~ ~

Production4.0 A r e a

2.0

-2.0

4 8 12 16

10-year int erva ls

Annual average growth rates for sweetpotatoproduction and area source: FAO).

) 1=1961-63 to1 971-73; 23=1984-86 to 1994-96.

23


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Milestone Reached n Bacterial W i It Re sear c h

CIP pathologists have reached amilestone in bacterial wilt research thatvastly increases their ability to detectthe bacterium

responsible forthe

disease Ralstonia solanacearum). Theprocedure which multiplies thebacteria in samples to be tested in thestandard NCM-ELISA techniquenitrocellulose membrane enzyme-

linked immunosorbent assay) wasrefined by CIP bacteriologist SylviePriou. It s one million times moresensitive than previously available

serological methods used to detectlatent infection in potato tubers.

Pri o u 's resea rc h i s p a rt o f a co ntinuin g e ffo rt a tC IP to deve lo p m o re e ffec ti ve a nd l ess ex p e n s ivedi sease de tec ti o n kits fo r d eve lo pin g co untri es .Th e new ki t s a re c urr e ntl y be in g di s tribut e d in 1 5deve o pin g co untri es on th r ee co ntin e nt s. Beca u seth e y a re so s impl e to u se, th ey s ho uld p lay a nim po rta nt ro le in stimul at in g in fo rm a l see d syste m s a nd in eva lua ti n g ge rmpl as m fo r res ista nce.

Acc o rdin g to hi g hl y co nse rva tive es ti m a tes, th e

n ew k it , w hi c h cos ts 2 0 0, ca n b e u se d t o eva lu -a te th e e qu i va le nt of 2, 000 to n s of see d tub e rs,e n o u g h t o pl a nt 1 000 h ec ta res of bac te ria l w i Itfree p o ta toes.

Bac te ria l w ilt is c on side re d t o b e th e num be rtwo co nstra int to p ot a to pr o du c tio n in deve lo pin gco un tries. Yie ld lo ss es ti m a tes va ry co n s id era bl y,but ca n r eac h 95 pe rce nt w he n th e di sease istu be r-bo rn e. Bacte ri a l w ilt is m os t effect ive lyco nt ro lled by e limin a tin g in f ec te d tu be r see db efo re it reac hes fa rm e rs' fie ld s, says Pri o u.

See d t ake n fr o m in fec te d fie ld s o fte n ca rri es la te ntin f ec tio n, eve n if it co m es fro m h ea lth y-l oo kin gpl a nt s .

Bac te ria l w ilt is diffi c ul t to co ntro l, Pri o uno tes, beca u se it is tr a n smitt e d n o t o nl y by seed,b ut is a lso fo und in th e so il . Beca use th e re are nokn ow n c he mi ca ls th at co ntrol b ac te ria l w il t ,

fa rm e rs mu st re ly o n c lea n see d as we ll as int e-gra ted m a n age me nt pr ac ti ces to e n sur e a h ea lth yc ro p , she says. Su c h m a n age m e nt pr ac ti cesin c lud e crop ro tat io n , minimum till age, th e

pl a ntin g of to le ra nt var ie ties, a nd ge ne ra l cropsan it a tion. Pr ec ise m eth o d s for co nt ro llin g th edi sease a n d for pro du ci ng c lean see d vary co n side ra bl y.

For exa m p le in Eas t Africa, n a t io na l p rog ra m swo rkin g in co llabo ra tio n w ith th e PR APAC Eresea rc h a nd d eve lo pm e nt ne two rk pr o du cedis ease- free pl a ntin g mat e ria ls with c uttin gs fro min v it ro s toc k. A not he r wa y t o re du ce t he effects o fb ac te ria l w ilt is by p la ntin g tru e p ota to seed, a na pp roac h th a t h as bee n u se d success full y in As ia ,m os t n o tab ly in th e Re d Rive r D e lta of Vie tn a m .

Bac te ria l w ilt is a lso a n im p or tan t dr awback topot a to production in La tin Am er ica. Acco rd ing torece nt r e po rts, th e di sease is se rio u s ly limitin gprodu ct io n in so u the rn Bra zi l , north e rn Arge ntin a,Ve nez ue la, Pe ru , a nd th e Domini ca nRep u b lic. Th e m ove me nt of la rgequ a ntiti es o f see d fro m in f ec te da reas is be lieved to b e res pon-sibl e . In r es p o n se , C IP haso rga ni ze d wo rks ho p s a ndtra inin g co u rses to a le rt

resea rch in stituti o n s a ndgove rnm e nt pl a nt h ea lthse rv ices to th e p rob le m . Th ew ork sh o p s reco mm e nd e dac tio n s to re du ce di sea seoutbr ea ks t h r o ugh int eg ra te dm a n ageme nt , qua ra ntin e, a ndth e pr o du c tio n of h ea lth y see d.

Thi s last reco mm e nd a tio n , says Lui sSa lazar , a CI P v ir o log ist a nd h ea d of C IP ' s newCro p P ro tect ion De p a rtm e nt , wo u d have been

diffi c ul t to e n sur e w ith o ut th e new d e tec tio nm eth ods . Sa laza r, w ho was a m e mb e r of theo rig in a l tea m th a t d eve lop e d th e ELISA p rocess inth e 1970s, notes th at th e re fin e d t ec hni q u es a reex tre m e ly p ractica l fo r d eve lo pin g co untri es. Noto nl y a re th ey far m o re se n s it ive , but t hey are m o reacc ur ate and less ex p e n sive to u se th a n the bestpr evio u sly ava ilab le tec hniqu es .

A colon y of Ralstoniasolanacearum , thepathogen re spon s ible for

bacterial wilt. A CIPdeveloped process hasvastly increa sed theaccuracy of serologi caltests.

1 3


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Integrated Control of Bacterial Wilt Paying Off inEast Africa

Pot a to es are a foodsecurit y crop in a stAfrica; production isincreasing at an a nnualra te exceeding 4 .

In Uganda's Kabale District nestled in

the East African Highlands, rapidpopulation growth has led to smaller,more fragmented farming plots,continuous cropping, and depleted soils.Potato is Kabale's most important cashcrop. In the good years, growers plant25 000 hectares and harvest between150 000 and 200 000 tons, or a third ofUganda's total output. The most seriousproduction constraints are bacterial wilt,late blight, and the degeneration of seedstocks. The problems are intertwined.

To co ntrol th e hi g hl a nd t yp e of the dis ease,Berga Le m aga , a CIP pat h o log ist , works o n contro lstrategies w ith the CGIAR and ASAR ECA Africa nH ig hl a nds Ini t iat ive a nd Uga nda ' s Na ti o n a lAgr icu ltu ra l Researc h O rganiza tion (NA RO ). Bu tprogress h as b ee n s low. Eve n i f th e d isease co ul d

S.PRIOU

b e e rad icate d aboveg rou nd , the bacte ria cansur v ive in th e gro und fo r lo ng p e riods. Consequ e n t ly fig htin g b acte ria l w ilt req ui r es a n in te

g rated approac h; no s ing le measu re is s u ff icie ntby it self.

Affordable and User-Friendly

Work in g w ith fa rm ers , Le m aga and h is NA ROco unt erpa rts have des ig ned a n affo rdab le u se r-fr ie n dly package of c ul tu ra l p ract ices . Fo r h ea lth ypl a n ts, fa rm ers s ho ul d u se w il t -to le ra nt va r iet ie sa nd c lea n see d , he says . Th ey are ta ug ht t o hillu p aro u nd th e ir see d tu be rs im m ed iate ly af te rpl a n t in g , a nd up root a nd des tr oy w ilte d pl a nt simm ediately. M in im a l c ul t iva ti o n is the r u le , apr act ice th at avo ids wo un ds w hi c h in tu rn pro-mo t e in fec tio n . On 4 6 fa rm s w he re h newp ackage was a p p lie d , yie ld in c reases ave rage da lmost 50 pe rce nt ove r four seasons. The o n se tof bacte ria l w ilt was de laye d , Le m aga said , a ndthe num be r of di sease -free pl a n ts was mu c hhi ghe r.


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To e ntir e ly rid th e so il o f th e d isease, Le m aga' stea m is eva lu a tin g rot at ion se qu e n ces th a t re du ceth e a m o unt o f b ac te ria in th e so il a nd a lso improve fe rtilit y. Th e bes t c ro ppin g pa tte rn s so fa r

co mbin e m a ize, w h ea t, a nd bea n s. Sta rtin g w ithfie lds th a t h a d a 90 to 100 pe rce nt in fec tio n ra te,Le m aga po in ted o ut th a t ju st o n e m a ize o r w hea tc rop re du ce d th e rate to 79 p e rce n t, a nd th a tbea n s fo llow e d b y m a ize in t wo su ccess iveseaso n s b ro ug ht i t d ow n below 25 pe rce nt. Afte rsu c h treat m e nt s, y ie ld s o n t es t pl o ts at N ARO'sKa le ngye re Sta ti o n we nt up dr a m ati ca lly, fro m 3 .2to 11 to n s pe r h ec ta re. With low-f e rtility so il s,a ddi t io na l m eas ur es a re re quir e d . A leg umin o u sgreen m a nur e crop a dd s nitr oge n a nd o rga ni cm atte r t o t he so il. Th e imp ac t o f su c h effo rts w illb e s ho rt-I ive d , h oweve r, if fa rm e rs re in fec t th e so i Ib y pl a ntin g in fec te d see d p o ta toes.

Breaking the Infection ycle

In coope ra tio n w ith th e Africa n Hi g hl a nd sIniti a tive, NAR O, N GOs s u c h as Afri ca re, a nd lo ca lsee d g row e rs, C IP is a tt e mptin g to b rea k th e cyc leo f in fec te d see d a nd lo w y ie ld s. Th e st rategy is topr o du ce c lea n see d in qu a ntit y fo r thr ee o r fo urp o pul a r va rie ti es in w h a t is desc ri be d as a fa rm erbased, flu sh- o ut sys te m . Th at m ea n s a reg ul a rinflu x of v iru s-free see d stoc ks eac h year, mul t ipli

ca ti o n by s m a iI-sca le see d grow e rs, a nd t he nd ir ec t sa le to fa rm ers. See d stoc ks a re co ntinuo u s ly re pl ace d or flu she d o ut , w hi c h red ucesd isease buildup .

CIP initi a te d th e fa rm e r-base d see d pro jec t in1996. Ta rge t co untri es includ e Ethi op ia , Ke n ya ,a nd U ga nd a; a ll are p a rti c ip a nt s in th e Af r ica nHi g hl a nd Initi a tive. Toget h e r, th ey p ro du ce 1 .3milli o n t o n s o f p o ta toes a yea r o n a pp r ox im a te ly2 15,00 0 h ec ta res . Th e pr o jec t 's in i tia l v iru s-freesee d stoc k, a b o ut 25 0 ,00 0 see dl in g tub e rs a yea r,

is p ro du ce d a t th e Ke n ya Agric ultur a l Resea rc hln st itut e's qu a ra ntin e s tati o n a t M ag u ga . Th esestoc ks go to na tio na l pro gra m s in Ethi op ia, Ke ny a ,a nd U ga nd a fo r fa rm e r-b a se d pr o du c ti o n . InUga nd a, the s toc k goes to NARO's Ka le ngye reresea rc h stat io n.

Dr . J.J. Ha kiza , h ea d of NA RO's p o ta to pr og ram ,ex pl a in s th a t th e Ka le n gye re s ta ti o n multi p lies th e

stoc k fr o m M ag uga b y ta kin g cuttin gs fro m v iru sfree m o th e r pl a nt s ( 100 m other pl a n ts ca n produ ce 5 0 ,0 00 seed tub e rle ts . Th e s ta tio n d oes n ot,however , co n ve rt a ll th e v irus-fr ee see d tub e rs

fro m M ag uga to m ot he r pl a nts. M os t go di r ec tly tothe fie ld fo r t rad itio n a l multipli ca tio n , w hi c h yie ld sa bo ut 10 tub e r e ts fo r eac h se e d tub e r pl a nt ed . Inthi s way the s ta ti on h as th e flex ibilit y to co ntro lcos ts by shi ft ing to m ot her pl a nt s a nd rap idmultipli ca ti o n , H akiza says. NG O s like A frica re go tso m e of the see d , but m ost is b o u gh t b y m e m be rsof Uga nd a's see d pr o du ce rs asso c iat io n .

Wh e n fa rm e rs bu y see d di r ec tly fro m a nes t a bl i she d seed growe r, they kn ow it is of hi ghqu a li ty, says Steve n Tindim o b o n a , c ha irm a n ofUga nd a ' s Na tio n a l Seed Po ta to Pro du ce rs Assoc iat io n . Wh e n th ey bu y in th e op e n m a rke t, like lyas no t, it is a lr e ady in fec te d w ith b ac te ria l w ilt a ndv iru ses. Sta rtin g o u t w ith c lea n see d is a greatad va ntage.

Fa rm e rs w ho in ves ted in b e tt e r see d show e d ad ef init e y ie ld adva ntage. In Uga nd a's Ka ba leDi stri c t, multi p licat io n rates incr ease d fro m 3 to 6,a nd in Ke n ya fa rm e rs repo rte d a multi p lica t io nra te as hi gh as 7, up fro m 4 o r 5 in pr ev io u s yea rs.In Ethi opia , y ie ld s we nt fr o m 8 to 25 to n s pe rhec tare.

Production of cleanpotato seed in the EastAfrica highland s is a ke yto controlling bacterialwilt.

S l RIOU


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Late Blight Project Initiated a Year Early; DamageReports Increasing

16

Altho_ Jgh research results are still coming in, CIP may look back on 199A' as pivotal inthe fight to control late blight disease, says Wanda Collins, CIP deputy d rectorgeneral for research. Because late blight was selected as the Center's number oneresearch priority for the mid-term planning period beginning in 1998, it was decidedto initiate work a year early. As part of this effort new staff were recruited, fundsredirected, and new facilities constructed. Late blight research currently receivesabout 10% of the Center's resources.

One of key the decisions made during the yearwas the appointment of Rebecca Nelson as lateblight project leader. Nelson, a research pathologist, leads a team of 20 national and internationalscientists working in 11 subprojects in Lima and atsites in Africa, Asia, and other parts of LatinAmerica. We now have a team in place made upof specialists from pathology, breeding, molecularbiology, geographic information systems , and thesocial sciences , says Collins.

Late Blight Bad and Getting Worse

Indications ;are that the late blight problem is

bad and getting worse, says Nelson. Throughoutthe Andean region , late blight was exacerbated in1997 by a particularly severe El Nino event thatbrought with it above-average temperatures andrainfall , conditions perfect for late blight . ' 'CIPcooperators throughout the world pretty much

agree that we are dealing with a new, far moredestructive disease than ever before. Chemicals

Late Blight Damage Estimates 1997

50

40

30

20

10

0

that have proven effective in the past are notgoing to do the job in the future , she adds.

Three developments over the past year wereparticularly troubling. The first was a series ofreports confirming a breakdown in the effectiveness of the systemic fungicide metalaxyl. Untilno w , metalaxyl has been the potato farmers' mosteffective tool for combating older forms of thedisease.

The second was the continued spread of ane w , more aggressive form of the late blightfungus Phytophthora infestans . Although thefungus in the Peruvian populations still showedthe Al mating type, molecular marker work at CIPdemonstrated that it belongs to one of two newmigrant populations that have devastated potatocrops worldwide . The new populaitions showbroad-spectrum virulence believe


19/64

Third, and p e rh a p s mo st di s turbing , wasco nfirmation from C IP staff a nd n a tional programco o perator s in Bo liv ia th a t th e two late bl i ghtm at in g typ es - th e A 1 and A2 - h ave be e n id e nti

fied in th e same location n ea r th e ce nter of o rig inof the crop. It is feared th a t th e y w ill combin esex ually a nd p oss ibly form eve n more v irul entforms of th e di sease .

I ha ve n eve r see n a di sease as de vas ta tin g asla te blight , N e lso n says. It is s ho c ki n g to see it inth e fie ld. Th e up s id e is th a t C IP a ppears t o b e ina n ex c el l e nt po s ition to do so m e thing ab o ut th eprob lem. To that e nd, th e Ce nt e r's la t e bl i g htteam has d eve lope d a s tr at eg y th at wi attack th eprob lem on four fronts : farm e r train in g br ee di n gfo r res ist anc e ge ne tic studies , a nd patho ge nc haracteri za tio n.

Farmer Field Schools

With 20 yea rs of late bl ig ht - res istan ce breedin g under our be lt s N e lso n says, CIP h as areservo ir of res ista nt c lon es th a t ca n be put int ofarme rs fie ld s a lm ost im m e di a te ly. Cent e r e pid emiologists h ave a lso be e n s tud y in g how th edisease works in th e hi ghl a nd tropics. Both a reprereq ui sites for la unchin g a n in t eg rated dis easem a nagem e nt effo rt. Our s tr ategy is to link up w ithex te nsion serv ices, both gove rnm e nt and n o ngove rnment a l, th a t ca n d e live r techno logies tofarme rs ov e r the nex t two o r th r ee yea rs , she says .

In 1 997, C IP a nd CA RE-an in t e rn a tion a ln o ngov e rnmenta I o rga ni za tion (NGO) - be ga n api l o t fie ld school pro g ra m in ce nt r a l Pe ru in vo lvin g abo ut 100 fa rm e rs a t four hi g hl a nd locat ions .Th e fa rm e rs wo rk e d di r ec tl y w ith project p e rso nne l co nductin g expe rim e nts to tes t n ew va riet iesa nd m a n age m e nt tec hniques. Th e farmers b e ne fitby rece iv ing in t e n s ive tr a ining o n dis eas e m a n agem e nt a nd access to sta te -of-th e-a rt potatoes. C IPresea rc h e rs be nef it fro m quick fee dback on Ce nt e rte c hn o logy at g rea tl y re duc ed cost. Th e fieldsc h oo ls a lso se t in m o tion th e f ir st steps for im p ac tin th e fie ld.

A.G ONZ A

At a field day in Huasa -Huasi, Junin , Peru ,farmers observe theresu Its of a trial onintegrated managementof late blight wherevarieties and chemicalsprays are compared

oss in value of productionUS 2.5 billion

Fungicides costs US 750 million Total economic cost of late blightUS 3.25 billion

SSA . LAC . SE Asia . China SW Asia India


20/64

8

Under norm a l ci rcumstan ces, says Nelson, ittakes 10 yea rs to ge t n ew potato cu lti va rs out tofa rmers. We want to ge t them out in less than h a lfthat time. Nelson foresees that the la te blight fieldsc hool s w ill spread to other Lat in Americancoun tries and to As ia and Africa. Given th edramatic nature of the disease , we ' re go in g toneed thous a nd s of fie ld schools based on th e FAOrice model.

Af te r just a year, she a dd s we ' ve succeededin estab lishin g hi g hl y effec ti ve co llabo rati o n w itha n in t e rn a ti o n a l NGO capab le of spread in g n ewtechnology w herever th e problem ex ists . Theunique thin g is that CIP w ill be ab le to fulfill it sresea rc h objectives through partnership w ith anextens ion agency , a nd co ntinu e feeding th e latest

tec hnol ogy in to the pipelin e.

To ensure long-ter m success, Ne lson says, CIPa lso needs to un d e rstand th e disease in di verseagroecosys te m s. Thi s in c lu d es the host , th epathogen , th e e n v ironm e nt , a nd the hu m a n factor.For exa mple , C IP soc ial scientists a re wo rkin g toes tab lish w h at farmers kno w abo ut late bl i g ht andho w the y mak e decisions to cont ro l it. Thisresea rc h is being co nduct ed in three Andeanco untri es , as we ll as in Ba ng ladesh a nd U ga nd a .

Th e in fo rm ation collected, a lo n g w ith data o nweat h e r, wate r, a nd soil, is being u se d to d es ig ndisease m a nagemen t strategies tailored to differentagroeco lo g ies. In December 199 7 , CIP's late blighttea m d e mo n str a ted to in t e rn at iona l expe rt s the firstuse of this co mput er- bas e d technology, w hi c hcomb ines th e use of geographic inform a ti o nsyste m s, crop modeling, and late blight simulation.

reeding

After seven yea rs of crop impr oveme nt work,C IP scientists h a rveste d th e first agro nomi ca llysui t ab le clones derived from th e Ce nter 's secondge n era tion of late blight-resistant potatoes. Despiteex tr eme ly hi g h l ate blight pressure brought abou tby El Nino , 60 c lo nes w ith hi g h resistance andgoo d agronomic qualities were se lec te d . The n ewc lo nes we re developed usin g a breeding str ategythat should provide stable res istance a nd e limin a te th e boom-and-bust cycles that have bedev-

iled sc ie ntist s a nd farmers for h a lf a cen tu r y. Inadd it i on , wo rk was stepped up to sc ree n for ne wsources of resistance in the collections he ld intrust in C IP ge neb a nk s.

Genetics

To speed up th e transfer of lat e b lig ht re s istan cege nes from w ild a nd primitive rel atives of potato,scientists need to estab li sh a better und ersta ndin gof the ge nes in vo lved t h e process. In 1997, CIPsc ie nti sts id en tifi e d a nd loca ted seve ra l chro m osoma l reg io n s associated w ith resistance from apromi sing so ur ce. The finding of res istancem a rk e rs s hould incr ease the efficiency of Cl P'sbreeding program by sav in g time and spacedurin g the se lec tion process. Th e m arkers s hould

a lso he lp iso la te res istance ge nes and speed th e irtr a n sfer in t o se lec ted var ie ti es .

This wo rk is expected to produ ce ear ly res ul t sbecause of a n effort w ithin the p ro ject to bridgegaps between mo l ecu lar ge neti cs , biochemistry ,a nd physiology. U sin g ge n es kn own or thought tobe in vo lved in plant defense in th ei r ge ne ti cm apping effo rts m a rk er specia lists h ave identifieda va ri a n t of a def e n se ge n e that appears to beassoc iated w ith re sista n ce. By c lo n ing t he bestd efe n se gene alleles, sc ien ti sts w ill be ab le to

di r ec tl y t ra n sfe r re s istance from w ild species tocommercial va rieti es w ith o ut th e difficultiesinh erent in co nve nti onal potato breeding.

Understanding the Pathogen

To cond uct an effect ive, lon g- term breedingand in t egra ted disease management program th e reis a lso a need to und erstand th e pathogen. Tobr eed fo r res istan ce, scie nt i sts need stra in s wit hkno w n d isease-i ndu c in g properties. To designeffective co ntrol strategies they ne ed to know th eproperties of the pathogen in the fie ld . For example , the app li c ati o n of s imul a ti o n modeling w illreq ui r e pathologists to h ave data on loca l pathoge n populations. CIP is a lso supporting thede ve lopme nt a nd c haracte rization of loca l pathogen co llec tions throu g ho ut th e de ve lop in g wo rld ,thus e limin a tin g th e need to mo ve pat hogenstrains across n at ion a l bo rder s.


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Genotype x Environment

Pooling resources and scientif ic talent researchers in seven countries recentlycompleted the first year of a comprehensive study to determine if late blight-resistantpotatoes are equally disease resistant across different environments. Whether they

are or not will help determine the strategies that researchers us to attack the diseasein the future.

So-called ge no t ype b y e nvir o nment stud iesG x E) a re not uncommon w ith ce rea l c rops.

However, they pose spe c ia l d iff icu ties for co mm o dities suc h as potato beca u se of the d a n ge rsinvo lved in moving live p la ntin g materi a l acrossinterna tio n a l borders. Ac cord in g to Wand aCo llin s, t hi s is the fi rst tim e we know of that lateb lig ht r esistanc e has be e n tes ted systemat ica lly atso man y locations. " Co llin s is th e co ordin a tor forthe G lobal Ini t iat ive o n Late Blight ( GILB ), thein t e rnation a l co nso rtium re sponsible for th e st udy .

"By th e end of 1998, th e G x E study shou ldprovide us w ith so lid d ata o n how quantit at ive latebl ig ht r es istance p e rform s from No rth ern Europeto the so uth e rn lat itudes of Argentina, a dd sMerideth Bo ni e rb a le, w h o he a ds CIP's new Cro pImpro veme nt and Genetic Resources Dep a rtm e nt .Quant it a tive o r ho rizont a l resistance do es n o tco nf er extreme ly hi gh levels of late bl i g ht protection , b ut it is co n sid e red m ore durab le th a nresista nce so ur ces used in the past .

"A comprehensive G x E st udy was somethingmany res ea rc he rs wa nt ed , b ut was diffi c ult too rga nize , says Greg Forb es, C IP 's lead scientiston the proj ect. "Thin gs rea lly ca m e together w ithth e es tablishm e nt of GILB in 1996 , h e adds ."Even so , G x E, w hi c h was g ive n a hi gh priorit yby G ILB coop e ra to rs, h asn ' t rece ive d add it io n a lsupport from donors. "

Because the re was no a ddition a l fun ding ,participants comm unicat ed pr imar ily v ia e -mai la nd thr o ug h in forma l contacts at in te rn ationa lmeeti ngs. Eventua lly an e lectro ni c mailin g list wasset up at Corne ll U ni ve rsit y w hi c h is us ed to se ndm essages to the partic ip ants. Resea rchers frome ig ht countr ies are in vol ved in the s tud y: Arg e ntina , Canada , Denmark , Ecuador , Fra nce , th e

Neth e rla nds , Unit e d Kin gdom , a nd the Unit edStat es . The proj ect a lso h as links to P ICT IPAPA ,the coope rati ve la te b light pro gra m loca ted inMe x ico's Tolu ca Va lley, w hi c h is be lieve d t o bethe ce nte r of ori g in of the late b light pat hogen seeSIFT).

"This is exactly how G ILB was des igned tooperate , Co llin s adds. "By brin g in g toge th er th ebest m in ds in t he fie ld a nd comb ining ex ist ingfinanc ia l resour ces, we are ab le to acco mpli shthin gs toge th e r th a t eve n the best-f und e d proj ectsco uld n ot do on the ir ow n. " A fina l repo rt on th estud y w ill be iss ue d by the end of 1998.

SIFT

In add ition to G x E, CIP h as ag reed to coord inate a Standard Int e rn a tional Field Tri a l S IFT) forres istance to late bl ight . Th e tri a ls, w hi c h we red e layed in 19 97 bec a u se of El Nino , w ill he lpscie nti sts test new late b light-r es istant c lon es in

seve n p rod ucti o n zo nes in Africa , As ia, a nd Lat inAm e rica. Unlik e G x E, wh ich u ses a fixe d set ofex pe rimenta l m ater ia ls, SIFT wi ll co ntinuall yeva luate the b est ava ilab le late b light-r es istantbre e d in g lines. "Th e id ea," say s Boni e rba le , " is toc rea te a more sol id lin k between th e researc hpipe line a nd farm e rs . SIFT is a modu le ofPICTIP APA, the late b light resear c h program , w ithspec ia l fu ndin g throu g h G ILB.

i ~LOB L INITI TIVE ON L TE BLIGHT

19


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Potato cultivarCan c h a n INIA.

20

Late Blight Claims Trusted Variety

The potato cu lt i var Canchan- 1NI A , co n side redone of Peru's sta rs in providing hi g h leve ls ofres istance to late b lig ht, h as broken down und e r acombi n at io n attack of hu m id ity from El Nino , theappea ra nce of a new, m o re agg ress ive form of the

late blight fungus P h yt p t r a in festa ) andfai lu r e of a previously effect ive fungicide tocontro l it.

CIP Program Report Available

Until 997 Canchan co uld appar nt ly w ithsta nd a late blight a tt ack a nd sur vive w ith aminimum of chemica l sprays. D eveloped jo intl yby Peru's national potato prog ra m and CIP ,Ca ncha n was re leased to farme rs in 990. It wasprogressively gaini ng in popu lar it y arrno ng trad itional Andean potato growe rs a nd commerc ia lproducers in coasta l areas, w he re it acco unted fo ra f ifth of th e potatoes grow n. It a lso h s w idecons um e r acce ptanc e.

Desp ite the breakdown of Canch a n , saysJu a n La nd eo, a CIP ge net ic ist g ro w rs haveava ilab le two other CIP-b red Peruviam c ulti va rsw ith la te b light res ista nce-A marilis-1 IA a ndKori-IN IA. In ad di tion, La nd eo is test in g 60 newlate bl i g ht-r es istant cl o nes un de r co n ta nt a ndheavy pressure of the fun ga l disease a t two s ites,Oxapa mp a a nd Comas , in the Peru vi n rainforestm a rg in . La nd eo believ es th at despite Ca n c h a n 'sdec linin g late blight resis tance , Peru v ian potatog rowers w ill cont in u e to prod u ce the va rie tybecause of ma rke t demand a nd hi gh r ices , w h ilelook in g fo r be tt e r performing, diseas t-r es istantc ulti vars. Fo r th e ti m e be in g, says ~ n o

fa rm ers wi ll have to sp ray more co n ct fun g icides and acce pt lowe r yi e lds to stay n business .In the e nd, t he co n sum e r w ill pay t he diff e re n ce.

CIP s 1995 96 Program Report, a 323-page publication,provides more than 50 research reports written by Centerscientists and their collaborators. Included arecomprehensive overviews of the status of regional workand extensive reporting on such subjects scryopreservation, molecular markers, and marketing. Theprogram report, issued every two years, is available for $25plus postage from CIP. It is also available free through theCenter s home page on the World Wide Web at http://ww w .cipotato.org.


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iotechnology Speeds ew Potato Development

In seeking solutions to the most pressing problems of developing country potatoproducers, CIP scientists are using some of the most powerful techniques known toscience, including DNA fingerprinting, genetic mapping, and gene technology.

IIIIIII

~

Res istant Progeny Sus ce ptibl e ProgenyT h e potato is a n ea r-p erfec t ca ndid ate fo r thistype of biot ec hn o logy, not es Ma r c G hi s la in whoh ea ds the Center' s molecular biology wo rk .

Unlike w ith m any ot he r c rop s that are inbred , inpotato, genetic tr a n sfo rm at ion is th e fas tes t wayth a t ge nes for a sing le n ew t ra it ca n b e a dded toimpro ve a va ri ety w ith o ut dam ag in g it s ge ne ti cm a keup. Attempts to make eve n sm a ll ge n e ticc h a n ges by traditional breeding is li k e ly to prod u ce c lone s th a t h ave littl e resemb la n ce to theirpa re nts. Th a t m ea n s breed in g efforts to impro vees ta blished va ri e ti es in o n e tr a it u su a ll y ha ve a

n ega tive im p act o n o th e rs su c h as ge ne ti c res ista n ce a nd the cu lti va r' s taste a nd a pp ea ra n ce. - 1 - hi s lain says th at th e ne w techniqu es s houldm a ke it possibl e to in se rt disease o r st ress resista n ce into popul a r potato va ri e ti es w ithout jeopa rd izi n g their desir ab le qu a liti es or the ir m a rketsh a re. As a res ul t , ge ne ticists will b e a bl e tores pond quickly to ne w st resses without h av in g togo t hrou g h the diffi c ult pro cess of reb uildingco n su m er accepta nce for an e ntir e ly n ew va riety.

W e' re a lso in t erested in producin g a c lea n erpotato , says Wand a Co llin s CIP d e puty d ire ctorge n e ra l for research. More c he mi ca ls a re us ed toproduce potato es th a n to produc e a ny ot he r foodc rop. In an environm e nt a lly co n sc ious world, thatis in c reas in g ly un acce ptable .

New Varieties in Five Years

With convention a l breeding too ls it wo u ld takesc ie ntists 1 0-15 yea rs s imply to brin g a potatova rie ty to m a rk e t, a nd a n eq u a l amount of t ime forit to beco m e popul a r wit h co n sume rs. Biot ec hnology makes it pos s ib l e to maintain a ll of the desir

ab le c h aracter isti cs of a cu lti va r, e limin ate ne wproblems as th ey ap pea r, a nd do so in less thanfive years. Equ a lly a ppe a ling is th e poss ibility tobring back to th e m a rk e t traditional far m e r va ri e ties that a re no longe r g row n becau se of th e irsuscept ibilit y to new, more v irul e nt d iseases a ndaggress ive p est pr ob le m s.

C ur r e ntly, about 1 5 p e rce nt of the Center'sin t e rnational staff wo rk in biotechnolo gy p ro jec ts.In 1 997, C IP v irtu a lly doubled it s in ves tm e nt inbiot ec hn o lo g ica l resea rc h. Althou g h thi s re prese nt s a dramati c s hi ft in Ce nt e r reso ur ces, C IPco ntinues to re ly on coope rative agreeme nt s w ithadva nced labor ator ies to ca rry out mu c h of it shi gh t h res ea rc h . In ad dition to p roduc in g lar gesav in gs this appro ac h c rea tes in t e llect u a l br id gesbetween state -of-the-art in st itution s in in d u str ial

ized co untries a nd C IP 's pr in c ip a l partne rsna tional rese a rch in st ituti o ns in dev e lop in gco untries. In the futu re Ce nter sc ient ists a nticipateth a t con tr ac t research w ill incr eas in g ly in vo lvea d va n ce d nati ona l ce nt e rs in South Asia a nd theSouthe rn Con e of La tin Amer ica .

Impact in Four Areas

Advances in biot ec hnology a re ex p ecte d tohave s ig nifi cant im p ac t in a t le ast fou r proj ec ta reas during the Ce n ter's medium-t e rm r esea rch

p la n , w hi c h run s throu gh the yea r 2001. Th esein c lud e the searc h fo r sta ble late blight res is tance ,app licat io n of tran sfo rm a tion te c hn o logies fo rvirus resistance in potato, breeding of d es ira blequa li ty traits for sw ee tpot a to, and in t eg ra tedm a na ge ment of sweetpo ta to p ests. Th e fo llow in gare exa mples of rece nt s uccesse s in b iotechno logy a t C IP a nd of w here the sc ience is hea d e d.

Using DNA molecularmarkers, Cl P scientistscan identify genesconferring resistance tolate blight. UltimatelyCl P s aim is to selectpositive alleles for lateblight resistance andmove them quickly intopotato clones suitable fordeveloping countries .The high resolution

photograph abov e showsmolecular markers link edwith late blight resistance in a diploid potatopopulation. The arrowspoint to DNA markersas so c iated with lateblight resistance derivingfrom a olanum phurejaparent (lane A and aS tuberosum parentlane B .

2


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A CIP scientist checksfingerprinting of potatoDNA on a computermonitor The face screenprotects scientists fromultraviolet light used toilluminate DNA gels.

22

Sweetpotato Gains FromPotato iotechnology

CIP scientists are using biotechnology todevelop protease inhibitors that inhibit the

metabolism of sweetpotato weevi Is Recentprogress in developing a transformation systemand identifying effective protease inhibitors hasestablished a base for creating host plantresistance , a long-time goal of nationalsweetpotato improvement programs.

Other objectives for sweetpotato include themapping of alleles for virus and nematoderesistance and for starch content. The development of v arieties with high dry matter is a majorCIP priority.

Molecular techniques are also being used toreduce the number of duplicates in thesweetpotato germplasm collections held at CIP,and to assess the genetic diversity of the crop.This work is considered important for advancing in-situ conservation and to determine theneed for new collecting expeditions.

CF

Collection Fingerprinted

In 1997 CIP reported the first use of molecularmarkers to fingerprint an entire cultivated potato

collection. The objecti ve of this w ork was toassess the coll e ction s genetic di ve nsity and selecta core sample comprising the widest possiblegenetic variation . The native cultivated species,

olanum phureja , is important to plant breedersbecause many of its accessions car y resistance tobiotic and abiotic stresses , including late blightand bacterial w ilt.

Within the collection are 25 accessions labeledas 5. phureja , but whose characteristics scientistssuspected were closer to those of another species .Because of the small size of the 5 phurejacollection the species w as selected to test theeffecti veness of molecular markers for moreextensive germplasm management. The resultsdemonstrated that the use of DNA ljllolecularmarkers is superior to methods in w hich randomselection is used for identifying a core collectionwith maximum genetic diversit y . Tmis work clearsthe wa y for the application of marker technologyin each of the nearly 100 potato species incollections held by CIP .

Late Blight Control

Because late blight caused b y Phytophthorainfestans poses urgent problems in developingcountries CIP gives high priority to biotechnological approaches that pro v ide practical solutionsand diminish farmer reliance on fungicides. Highlevels of resistance identified in native cultivatedpotatoes (5 . phureja and 5 . andigena are beingmapped and characterized using molecularmarkers. This w ork is being conducted in collaboration with the Scottish Crops Research Instituteand the Centro de lnvestigaciones o e CienciasVeterinarias in Argentina.

In addition , CIP is working with scientists atKansas State Universit y in the United States andthe International Rice Research Inst itute in thePhi Ii ppi nes to develop a large set of genes knownor suspected to play a role in plant defense. Thesecandidate genes wi II be used as probes for


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mapping pot a to a nd other root a nd tub e r c rop s.Those found effective again st late blight w ill beisolated and u sed for di r ect transfe r into su sce ptible va riet ies . These efforts w ill be a ug m e nt ed by

th e de ve lopment of a compos it e po tat o m a p th a tshows w her e disease res istanc e occ ur s o n th epota to genom e. This inform ation wi ll be m adeava ila bl e v ia the In t e rn et to h e lp sc ientist s exp lo reexo tic germplasm fo r n ew so urces of res ist ance .

Virus Resistance Sought

A lon g-te rm C IP goa l is to produce pot a tova rie ties w ith stable res istance to the thre e m a jorpotato v iru ses: Potato leafro ll v iru s ( PLR V , a ndpotato v ir uses Y a nd X (PVY and PVX . Th esediseases ca u se seve re crop losses and a re themain cause of rap id seed d e te rioration. Using aco mbination of molecular a nd co nvention a ltec hniques , C IP sc ien ti sts have id ent if ied ge nesthat confe r h i g h l eve ls of res ista nce to P VY a ndPVX. They a re incorporatin g them into commerc ia l varieties-something th at in t e rnation a l seedco m pa ni es who se ll to de ve lo pi n g -countryfa rmers h ave tradi tio nall y sh unn e d.

Intellectual Property ights

Tr a n sfo rm a ti on w ith nat ur a l res ista n ce genespromises to be th e fastest, m ost p rec ise way todev e lop v irus r es ista nce in po t atoes, withoutreso rtin g to th e co nt rove rsia l proc ess of v ir a l ge ne

in sert io n . CIP and its co llab orators a t theSa in sbury Lab o rato ry in the U ni t e d Kingdom a reth e refo re focusin g the ir efforts on p la nt d er ived

transgenic res ista n ce. The success of this efforts hould sign ificant ly red u ce d eve loping countryre li a n ce on imp orts of no na d apted see d va riet iesgrown in temp e ra te re g io ns.

ontrolling Insects

Altho ugh ins ec t res istance pr ese nt s part icul a rl ydiffi c ult c hall e nges, C IP is movin g fo rwa rd insevera l a reas th at sho uld co nf e r in sect resistanceaga in st potato pests. Th e f irst i s the transfer of age n e from ac i llu s thuring ie ns is a bacte rium th atproduces a prot e in th a t acts as a n a tural in sec tic ide. H owever, th is proven tec hn o logy ma y a lsospeeds up the deve lopmen t of in sect resistan ce .Th e Ce nter is th e refo re taking a cau tious approa c hin bui ldin g in sect res istance. Prominent a m o ng t h ealternat ive s is t he use of g landu la r tr icho m es, th est icky ha ir s found on th e so -ca lle d ha ir y p o tato.

At it m os t rece nt meeting , the CIP Bo a rd of Tru stees asked man age me nt to exp lo re w ith stakeholders ways to protect C IP-developed tec hnolo g ies from exp loit at ion by co mm e rcia l compan ies, a nd assu re th at revenues generated from suc h technolog ies b e used to support the Ce nter's ge n et ic reso ur ces programs.

Th e reso luti o n und er li es the Board 's be lief that C IP wi ll have to protect its te ch n o logies through vario us forms of in t e llec tualprop erty rig ht s to safeguard the in t e rests of it s principal c lie nt s: poor peo ple in d eve lopi ng co untri es. A lth o ugh C IP sc ie nti stswork from th e premise that the poor shou ld be nefit sig ni fica ntl y more from Center researc h than do o th ers, th e dema nd for CIPbreedin g li n es a nd r e lated technologies by com m e rc ia l co mp a ni es is increasing. Ou r fea r, say s CIP Director General HubertZandstra, is that as indu stry app lies th ese adva nces to their own e nd s, that w ill limit access to th e m in developing countr ies.

With that point in mind , the Board enco ur aged C IP to develop a poli cy framework for the possib le patenting of in t e llect ual

prop e rty d eve lope d in Ce nt e r la bo r ato ries. Th e prim ary ob jec ti ve wo u ld be to ensure that developing co untr y farme rs con tinu eto ha ve free acce ss to a ll CIP technologi es . Any in co m e derived in return for the Cent e r's intell ect ua l property would be co mmitted to the Ce nt e r's genetic resources progr a ms. Su c h a policy is co ns iste nt with th e provisions of FAO's Global Pl a n of Action forPl a nt Genetic Resources fo r Food and Agriculture.

It m ay ju st turn out, Zandstra adds, th at if the new policy is approved it m ay actua lly encourage co mmer cia l in t e rests toe nter in t o direct join t ve nt ur es w ith developing countries, making impro ved technologi es ava ilabl e to o ur clients more rap idlya nd more c h eap ly than would otherwise be possible.


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Brazil Achieves eed Self-Sufficiency

Brazil has achieved selfufficiency in potato seedroduction eliminating

he dangers frommported seed-borneests and diseases.

4

R.ZAC HM ANN

n 1983, Brazil began to build its own national potato seed program to reduce itsdependency on the international seed trade. Using virus detection technologiesdeveloped at CIP Brazil now stands as one of the worl d s most advanced seed

producers with annual production exceeding 72,000 tons per year.

Brazil recognized in the 1970s that seedimports represented a serious stumbling block topotato production, says Fernando Ezeta, CIP'sregional representative for Latin America and theCaribbean. Not only do many shipments carrypests, imported seed is expensive, and frequentlyth e re is not enough to go around.

While a small producer compared with themajor European and North American seed exporting co untries, Brazil has achieved a level of selfsufficiency unknown in most developing nations .Disease- and pest-free seed is one of the farmers'most important inputs and also one of the mostcostly.

Potato seed prices vary considerably fromco untry to country, but can easily reach $1,200

per hectare for the best imports. But imports arenot always what they purport to be.

Seed-Borne Pests

Noel Pallais, the head of Cl P's eed Unit, notesthat pests and disease are routinely spread byimported seed. Even the best producers cannotguarantee that their product meets internationalstandards, he says. Our concern, however, isnot with the reputable producers. The ones weworry about are those who ship poor-quality seedbecause they fail to conduct sufficiently rigorousinspections . Once infected seed is in the field, it isdifficult to control the spread of imported pestsand diseases.


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EMBR P nd CIP

Cooperative ac tivities between Brazil and CIPbegan in 1978 , a nd were expanded in 1982 w iththe s igning of a formal agreement with th e Ce ntroNac ional de Pesquisa de H o rta lic; as (CNPH), thenational vegetable research program of Empr esaBrasileira d e Pesquisa Agrop ec u a ria (EMBRAPA).

In the in t e rven in g yea rs C IP has help ed trainmo r e than 150 Brazilian sc ie nti sts in subjects suc has tiss ue culture, v irology , a nd breeding a ndge net ics, th e basic buildin g blocks of a seedindu st ry. Collaboration with C NPH-EMBRAPAhas been excep tio nal on man y fronts, but ourbiggest success, says Eze ta has bee n in seedproduction. Today, Brazil is a lm os t entirely se lfsufficient in seed potatoes by havi ng adopt edrap id multipli cat io n sc he m es developed by C IP.C IP eco nomi sts est imate th at the program saves$5 million in fore ig n exc ha nge a nnually.

Brazil Facts and Figures

Since th e ea rly 1960s, Brazilian po t atoproduction h as more than doubled from 1 1million to 2.3 million ton s. And today' sproduction is achieved on 30, 000 fewerhectar es th an a ge ner a tion ago. Equall yimpr ess iv e yields ros e from a meag er 6 tonsper hectar e to a nation a l ave rage of 14 tonsper he cta re.

While C IP see d produ ct ion t ec hnol og ieshave contributed to th e in c rease, CNPH.EMBRAPA r ec ognizes th at sustainin g product ion growth will requir e co ntinued in v est m e ntin research a nd developm ent. To that e nd ,CNPH rece ntl y re que sted CIP co ll a bo r a tion in

1 0 new a reas. Among them a re res ea rc h o nlate blight , tru e potato seed, bacterial wilt,and genetic co nservation of swe etpot ato. Inaddition, C IP has b ee n asked to assist CN PHin method s for d e tectin g v irus es onarracacha, an Andean root c rop similar to

Since the mi d -1980s, CNPH-EMBRAPA sc ie ntists have a lso worked to keep ab reast of the lates td eve lopments in the Ce nter's vi r o log y laboratories. As a resu It , Brazi I now produ ces a nti se ra a nd

se ro log ica lki t

s that ca n be us ed in thefield by

lo ca l see d produ ce rs. One of C l P's ro les was toe nsur e that Bra z il's a nti se ra were capab le ofdetect in g a ll virus variants.

Thi s is hi gh tech work, says C IP v irolo g istMaddalena Querci. To a dapt su c h a so phi sticate d technology to loca l conditions is a m a jorachievement. To then go the n ext step and extendit in a co untry as la rge a nd as di ve rse as Brazil ,speaks fo r itself.

Brazil a lso exports the se rolo gica l kits tone ighb o ring countries in the South e rn Cone.Chile's na tion a l seed program reporte dly us eso nl y Brazilian-made kits for d e tecti ng v iru ses in it sseed potatoes.

carrot. Brazil is th e world's leadin g producer ofa rracac ha which is us ed mainly in co mm e rc ialbaby foo d s. Brazil is a lso one of C l P's newes tdon o rs ha v in g join ed the CGIAR sys te m in 1 997.

Braz il is o ne of

C IP 's n e wes t d o

n ors, h av in g jo in e

th e CGIAR syste m in 1997 .


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Producing Pesticide Free Sweetpotatoes

Farm e rs and scientistsregularly in spectpheromone traps used toattract weevils. The areasurrounding th e traps isreated with the fungusBeauveria bassiana which infects the weevilsdrawn to the traps .

6

j.ALCAU\R

n 1991, Cuban farmers were suddenlycut off from agricultural pesticidessupplied by the Soviet Union. The resultwas major damage to the count ry ssweetpotato crop and the collapse ofsome of its largest sweetpotato

plantations.

W ith th e e limin atio n of Soviet-subsidiz e dpesticid es, Cuba fo und itself in a sit u a tion th atfar m e rs in other co untrie s could we ll face in thefutur e, says Fa u s to Cis neros, leader of C lP 'sin t eg ra ted pest m a nagement proj ec t (IP M) forsweetpotato. Any number of thin gs co uld happe nthat wo u Id d e n y farmers access to p es ti c id es, h esays. For exa mp l e the effect ive ness of a c h e mi ca lco u ld co llapse b eca use of a new in sect biotype, ora government m ay s impl y ban certain p es ti c idesfo

renvironmenta

l o r health reasons .

The Cuban Experience

In Cuba, the loss of p es ti c ides left no a lt ernatives but to turn to IPM. Wi th chem ica ls Cuba nfarmers co ntrol led t he sweetpotato weev i I, Cy / s

formicarius), th e crop's principal pr eda tor, with an

average of 12 sp rays p e r seaso n. Eve n then ,dam age leve ls were abo ut 8 percent, high byman y sta nd a rds but accepta bl e to thie Cubans. I n1997 , damag e fe ll dramat ica lly witH the u se of a nin t

eg ratedco ntrol

approach.

Some fie ld s reg istered ju st 2 percent in festat io n ; production tr ip ledon many farms.

Efforts t o co n tro l weev ils w it h IP M be ga n in1992. C IP sc ien t ists first v is ited t h e is land inres pon se to a ca ll for he lp by co lleag ues at INIVIT,th e Cuban na tion a l ag ricultural research in st itutein charge of root c rops a nd b a n a n as .

IN I V IT scientists' first task was to fill in gaps inthe knowl edge of the b io logy and seasona lbeh avior of th e pest. Th e seco nd was to id en tifyIP M component tec hnologi es that wou ld contro lweev ils . Be cause of th e eme rgency natu re of thes itu at io n , C IP e ntomolog ists su ggested forgoi ngth e standard p e st eva lu atio n and c h a ra cte ri za t io nphase of a norm a l IPM program.

Effective Controls Identified

On-farm resea rc h in V il l a Clara a ndCienfuegos , pr o v in ces in the cen tr al part of theisland , conf ir m e d th e effect ive n ess of four IPMcontrol components: predato ry ants, th e fu ngus

Beauv e ria bassiana the mass capt u re of ad ultm ale weev ils usin g sex pheromone traps , and th eplanting of short -seaso n cult ivars. Added to thi swere cu ltur a l practices co mmon to most other IPM

Sweetpotato weevil infected witbassiana fungu s.


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pr o gra m s s u c h as th e u se of hea lth y p la ntin gm ate ri a ls c rop rotation, a nd d est ru c ti o n of c ropres idu es.

A packag e of a lt e rnati ves was offered toag rar ia n assoc ia tion fa rm e rs a nd t ec hni c ia n s,rem e mb ers Dr . A lfredo Mo ra les subdir ecto r ofIN I VIT a nd lea d e r of Cub a's swee tp o ta to IPMpr og ra m . D e monstration s fi r st h e ld a t IN IVITexper im e nt a l fie ld s qui c kl y s pr ea d t o gove rnm e ntfa rm s co o pe rat ives, a nd pri vate produce rs .

Accord in g to o ne wo m a n fa rm e r wo rkin g o nPaso Bon ito Sta te Fa rm in Santa C la ra it wasim p oss ib le to co ntinu e to pl a nt swee tp ota tobeca u se of hi g h leve ls of weev il infestat io n. In th edry seaso n, damage was a lm ost to ta l. Fo llo w in g

th e in troduc ti on of th e IN I VIT-C IP a ppro ac h, shesays, in festat ion fe ll to ju st 2 p e rce nt a nd co uldeve ntu a lly reac h ze ro.

How the System Works

Th e m ost important compo n e nt of the p ac ka geis th e u se of pheromone tr a p s fo r th e m ass ca ptur eof m a le weev il s. In 1996 12 8 000 traps were u sedthroughout the is la nd , up fro m 6 5 00 th r ee yea rsea rli e r. N orma lly farme rs u se 16 traps per h ecta re,but so m e s u ccessf ul fa rm e rs we re a b le to red u ce

that numb e r to ju st five o r six.

But pheromones a lso re pr ese nt a wea k p o int inth e progr a m b eca u se th e y a re im p o rte d from th e

N e th e rlan d s. CIP is cur re ntly tryin g to brok e r a na rr a nge m e nt that wi ll a llow C ub an tec hni c ia n s toprodu ce th e ph ero mon e un d e r loca l lice n se.

Two o th e r co mp o nen ts of th e program , how -eve r, a re tot a lly ho m e -grow n . Pr e d ato ry ants thatattack weev il larvae a re m ass produ ced in a rti fi c ia lnes ts m ade of ro lle d b a n a na leaves, th e n at ur a lh ab it at of the pr e d ato r. Thi s s impl e sys te m ,d ev ise d by IN I VIT, has prove n hi g hly effect ive.Fie ld t ri a ls h ave show n th at as few as 60 n es ts pe rhecta re ca n r ed u ce weev il in f es t at ion 3-5 p e rce nt.

Th e other co mp o ne nt is th e u se of th e fungus8 b ass ia n a a b io log ica l p es ticid e. Th e fung u s isa ppli ed aro und p hero m o n e trap s to ki esca pi n gweev ils . 8 b ass ia n a is pr o du ce d in both liqui d

a nd so lid fo rm in mo r e th a n 2 00 Cub a n l abo ra to-r ies and pro cess in g in clud in g bre we ri es w ith id l ecapacity.

Th e C ub a n s a re ex tr ao rdin a ry coope ra to rsa nd exce lle nt resear c h e rs, says Cisne ros. CIP h aslea rn e d a lot from it s work in C ub a that ca n b ea ppli e d in o th e r parts of th e Ca rib bean a nd inareas w ith s imil a r eco log ies. B ut p e rhaps themos t im p ortant lesso n of the C ub a n pro g ra m , hesays, is th a t fa rm e rs ca n produ ce ab undant c ropswithout the c he mi ca ls th at th ey once re lie d upon.

Th e IPM pro gra m w ill cove r 3 0 000 hectares ofsweetpota to in 1 998 abo ut 50 p erce nt of C ub a'se ntir e c ro p , acco rdin g to C isneros.

The Search for Weev il esistance

The development of sweetpotatoes resistant to weevils is an additional goal of CIP scollaborative research program with INIVIT Cuba has developed six weevil-resistantclones but the process has not achieved all of the results that researchers would like.

One key objective is to develop sweetpotatoes that produce roots 15 cm below the soilsurface, too deep for most weevils to attack the crop. The Cubans are also paying closeattention to CIP s resistance breeding program, which emphasizes the introduction ofprotease inhibitor genes, and the Center s work with wild relatives, efforts that one daymay provide farmers with weevil-resistant sweetpotatoes.

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T S Hybrid May Eliminate Need for Seed Tubers

8

Sometimes, a production breakthroughcan be achieved by taking an oldtechnology and making it better. In1997 two CIP scientists demonstratedthis axiom to potato farmers in Vietnamby upgrading the seed quality of twoestablished hybrid true potato seed TPS)varieties.

The new technology allows farmers to producea mature commercial crop of potatoes averaging25 tons per hectare in just 90 days directly frompotato seedlings . After a year of testing, Vietnamese farmers have already dubbed it Super Seed.

The new seed technology eliminates the needfor 17 000 farm families in the Red River Delta ofThai Binh Province , south of Hanoi , to storepotato seed tubers during the hottest part of year.Without refrigeration, the heat takes a high tol I onthe quality of seed potatoes during the ninemonths that they must be stored on-farm. Potatoesin Vietnam are gr o w n during the three-monthperiod between the countr y' s two yearly ricecrops.

CIP plant breeder Mahesh Upadhya andphysiologist Noel Pallais were alerted to the

storage bottleneck at a seed workshop held inHanoi in 1996. One possible solution, they

believed , would be to gr o w potatoes directl y fromTPS seedling transplants (see box) . TPS is normallyused to produce small tubers for planting . Whatemerged from their research was a method fordramatically improving seed quality of existinghybrids. The new technique resulted in larger ,heavier botanical seeds that are more vigorousthan those produced by conventional methods.Because of their additional vigor, the impro vedseeds produce potato seedlings that can be

transplanted directly into the soil to grow asuccessful commercial crop.

The new seed is clearl y superior to all competitors , including Vietnam ' s two most popular(IP-developed varieties, says Peter Schmiediche,the Center ' s former regional representative for ast

and Southeast Asia and the Pacific. Vietnamese

agricultural officials believe that if the results of1996-97 are reconfirmed , potato production inthe Red River Delta wi be revolutionize byeliminating the need for farmers to store seedtubers . Before the development of Super Seed,Vietn a mese researchers had concluded TPS

transplants cou Id be used only to produce smal Iseed tubers for planting. And it w as thought thetubers cou Id not be used for more than t w ocropping seasons because of seed degeneration.

The initial performance and popularity of Sup e rSeed in Vietnam has already reached other

national potato programs. Pallais , whois

alsoresponsible for the Center ' s seed distribution unit,has had requests for information and seed fromCuba , l Salvador, Germany, Honduras, andNicaragua. In Mexico , Upadhya says, Super Seedperformance matched the two most popular

potato v arieties , Atlantic and Frito-L a y, in uniformity and yield .


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N. l All .A S

TPS Popularity Predated Super Seed

Eve n before t he in trod uct ion of Supe r Seed,TPS tec hn o logy had bee n e n thus ias tica ll y adoptedby a gro w in g num be r of Viet na m fa rm fa mili es inthe rice- b ased cro p p in g system of th e De lta. Th enu mbe r of pa rti c ip at ing fa rm e rs rose fro m 275 in1994 to 1 7,000 in 1997.

Potato y ie lds obta in ed from TPS m ate ria l a reab o ut d o ub l e the Vi e tn a m ese ave rage of 12 .5 to nsper hectare. In 1996, po tatoes prod uced fromTPS- d e rive d tu bers ave raged nea rly 24 to ns pe r

hecta re across 13 s it es in Th a i Binh pr ov in ce,co m pa re d w ith 11 to n s pe r h ecta re of Ac ke rsege n,the co untr y's m ost co mm on Iy grow n p o ta tova riety.

Th e sp read of TPS tec hn o logy has bee nno t hi n g sho rt of o u tsta n di ng in the De lt a w here26,000 hec ta res a re sui tab le fo r po ta to produc-

tio n . By th e yea r 2000, Th a i Bin h ag ric ultur eof f ic ials a nti c ip a te sow ing 150 kilog ra m s o f see d ,hav ing 1,5 00 hecta res in TP S tra nspl a nt s a ndharvest ing 15,500 hecta res o f TP S.

TPS is a hi ghl y va lu ab le o o t y Farm e rsw ho no rm a lly pay u p to t he e qui va le nt of US 800pe r kilog ra m for o rd in ary hybri d see d , a re pay in gu p to 1,3 00 p e r kilog ram fo r Su pe r See d . Th egove rn me nt has recove red n ea rly a ll of th e

24,000 it spe n t on im po rtin g TP S fro m Indi a andhas set u p a revo lvi ng fund to p ur c hase new TP Sfo r the 1997-98 c rop. Beca use TPS is no t free,Viet nam ese fa rme rs have bee n m ot iva te d t o ref inethe ir n ur se ry a nd seed ling m a nage m e nt. As ares ul t, t hey have red uced th e a m ou n t of TP Sneeded to pl ant a hecta re fro m 2 70 g ra m s to 100

g rams in just th r ee yea rs. Tr a n sp la nt sur v iva l ratesa re betwee n 89 a nd 97 pe rce nt. Th at is a ttri b u tab le to th e so ph ist icated tra n sp la nt ma nage m e ntof h ighly-ex pe rie nced rice fa rme rs.

Resea rc he rs fa rmers, a nd Vie tn a m ese po lit ica lleade rs have ur ged C IP to co n t inu e deve lo pm entof new ge neti c co m b in at io ns for u se in th e RedRi ve r De lt a in c lu d in g s ho rte r mat urin g hybr i ds tofit exact ly be twee n the two a nnu a rice cro p s.

Th e th r ee -yea r T PS hybr id p ro jec t in

Vie tn a m was s u ccessfu l beca u se it me t aspec ific nee d by offe rin g a n a lte rn at ive seedsyste m fa r su perior to t he o ld p la n, wh ic hre lied o n dege nerated seeds of q ues tio na bl eo rig in , Up a dh ya says .

The tiny botanical seeds produced bythe flower of the potato plant areknown as true potato seed. Farmerswho normally plant a hectare ofpotatoes using 2 tons of seed tubers can

now achievethe

same result more cheaplyby planting as little as 50 grams of TPShybrids. Traditionally, TPS is not sown directlyinto the field like maize or wheat seed, but planted into seedbed s, liketomatoes and then transplanted into the field as seedlings. The smalltubers produced from TPS seedlings are used as seed for planting thenext potato crop right).

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CIP 1997 riefs

Chacasina Proves Acceptablein Andean Highlands

A Cl P true potato seed hybrid known as

Chacasina has proven itself in the Peruvianhighlands where consumer acceptance of new

potatoes is hard to earn. Chacasina is a crossbetween the most popular local variety produced

in the central Andes, Yungay, and a CIP lateblight-resistant breeding line . In a study on theimpact and production potential of Chacasina, theTPS hybrid outperformed Yungay in almost allcategories. In extensive trials covering six production zones in an impoverished region wherepotatoes are a subsistence food, Chacasinaproduced average yields double that of Yungay,

and had a 1 7 percent lower incidence of virusinfection. What appealed most to farmers was thatChacasina could be harvested 45 days earlier thanYungay and was popular among consumers.

Virus Carrying WhitefliesThreaten Sweetpotatoes

In the Andes, the warm winter of 1997 accelerated the spread of potato yellow vein, a virusdisease carried by a whitefly Trialeurodesvaporariorum). Until recently, the disease waspresent only in Colombia and Ecuador. In 1997 itwas identified in the central Peruvian highlandsand in Venezuela. CIP plant pathologists expect itto eventually spread to the Southern Cone countries. Whiteflies Bemisia sp are also known tocarry one of the two vi ruses that causesweetpotato virus disease. If whitefly populationsincrease significantly, so does the threat tosweetpotato. That could be especially problematicin sub-Saharan Africa, where sweetpotatoes arevital to food security, and where a whitefly-bornevirus has already devastated cassava crops.

True Potato Seed Gains adein Egypt

Despite competition from overseas seedcompanies, Egyptian potato producers madeimportant gains in developing domestic seedsupplies that use true potato seed (TPS). A study

released in 1998 by CIP and the Egyptian Ministryof Agriculture shows that investments in TPS couldprovide 51 million in net benefits to Egyptianpotato producers by the year 201 5. Egypt s TPS

project, begun in 1977, has produced annual netbenefits to farmers of 28 percent, and has a netpresent value of nearly 3 million. The figures donot take into account health and environmentalbenefits associated with growing locally produced,adapted seed that carries disease resistance andcan be grown with fewer chemical sprays.

Collins New Deputy DirectorGeneral for Research

Dr. Wanda W. Collins, a plant breeder andgeneticist, is Cl P s new Deputy Director Generalfor Research. She is a leading expert on root andtuber crops. Col Iins was professor of horticulturalscience at North Carolina State University atRaleigh in the United States before joining CIP inNovember 1997. Her new responsibi I ties includeover al I leadership of the Center s 1 7 majorresearch projects and coordination of the GlobalInitiative on Late Blight.

PROINPA AwardedBolivian Prize

PROINPA, Bolivia s collaborative potatoresearch program supported by CIP and theGovernment of Switzerland, has received Bolivia sAward for Scientific Merit. The citation waspresented by the President of the country sNational Academy of Sciences. A World Bankreport has termed PROINPA one of the country soutstanding agricultural research programs. It wasestablished in 1989 to revive Bolivia s nationalpotato research program. PROINPA technolo

gies-including cultivars with resistance to lateblight and insect pests, and frost tolerance-areexpected to reach subsistence farmers in the nextthree years. CIP and PROINPA ~ v ea closeworking relationship. CIP relies on PROINPA fordrought, frost, and nematode research, while Cl Pprovides PROINPA with technology in virology,marketing, biotechnology, and resource management.

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oard o Trustees

A.SO W.IANO

Mrs. Martha ter KuileChairperson

As hton Ontario Ca n a d a

Dr. Adrian Fajardo-ChristenActing Chairperson

Ministerio d e la Pr es id e n c iaLim a Per u

Dr. Alicia BarcenaUnited Nations Environment Programme

Mexico D .F.Mexico

Dr. Durward Bateman Coll eg e of Agricultural a nd Life SciencesNorth Ca rolin a State University

Ra le ig h , N o rth Caro li n a USA

Dr. K L Chadha Vice Cha irp ersonDi recto rate of H o rti c ultur eIndi a n Co un c il of Ag ricultural Resea rc hN ew De lh i , Indi a

Dr. M. Sujayet Ullah ChowdhuryBangladesh Rice Resea rc h In st itut eJoydebp ur , Ban g lades h

Dr. Chukichi KanedaAssociation for In t e rnationalCoopera tion of Ag r ic ul ture ForestryTokyo Japa n

Dr. David R MacKenzieChairperson as of M a rc h, 1998Executive Director

North easte rn R eg ional Association ofState Ag ri c ultur a l Exp e rim e nt Station Dir ec torsUniversity of Maryland

Beltsv il l e MD USA

Dr. Moise MensahCoto n ou , Benin

Dr. Klaus RavenFac ul t ad de AgronomiaUniversidad Nacional Agraria

Li m a Peru

Dr. Setijati Sastrapradja

Indon es ia n In stitut e of SciencesNational Ce nt r e for Researc h in Biote c hn o logyBogor, In donesia

Dr. Lieselotte SchildeUn i ve rsity of Hibin genHibin gen, Germany

Dr. Theresa SengoobaNa m ul onge Agricultural a nd Animal ProductionResearch In stituteKampala , U ga nda

Dr. Koenraad Verhoeff

Wageninge n, The Neth e rlands

Dr. Ren WangC hin ese Academy of Ag r ic ultur a l Sci e ncesMinistry of Ag ric ultur eBeijing , Ch in a

Dr. Vo Tong XuanUniversity of Cantho

Ca n th o , Vi e tn a m

Dr. Hubert ZandstraDirector Ge ne ra lIn t e rn ationa l Po tato Cente rLima , Peru

Te rm co mpleted in 1997

Front row le ft to right: Ther esa Se ngoo ba, Liese lotte Sc hild e,Vo -Ton g Xuan , Al icia Barc e na , M. Sujayet Ullah Ch owdhuryChuk ic hi Kan e d a Ren W an g.Second row : Koe nraad Verhoeff , Hu b e rt Zands tra Kla u s Rav en ,Adria n Faja rd o -Chris ten , Da v id R. MacKenzie.

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CIP Annual Report 1997

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