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Kenya -Fighting maize lethal necrosis from all fronts

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Publish time: 26th May, 2015      Source: Kenya
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Kenya -Fighting maize lethal necrosis from all frontsKenya -Fighting maize lethal necrosis from all fronts" title="Share this link on Facebook">KenyaMay 26, 2015Five years since it was first reported in Bomet County, scientists researching on the Maize Lethal Necrosis (MLN) are upbeat on the initial achievements made in the fight against the disease, and are about to announce a major breakthrough.And for the first time since work started MLN interventions in 2012 - the scientists operating from two confined field trials of Kiboko in Makueni County and Naivasha – have expressed optimism, soon there would be short to medium term answers to the disease. MLN is responsible for a sharp drop in maize yields. And up to 100 per cent crop loss has been reported where it has been identified.The scientists are hopeful, some 20 materials achieved over the last 3 years since they embarked on the journey to solve the MLN puzzle, would be submitted for National Performance Trials (NPT) at Kenya Plant and Health Inspectorate Service (Kephis) in order to be declared fit for release to farmers.“In the short term, we have concluded that, some hybrids showing certain levels of resistance at about 40-50 per cent will be out by the end of the year. We feel that farmers should start interacting with these materials,” maize breeders with the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Centre (CIMMYT) he said recently during a visit to MLN screening facility in Naivasha.The materials screened at the two sites were hybrids obtained from all the local seed production companies. According to CIMMYT regional representative for Africa, Dr. Stephen Mugo, contain a combination of resistant varieties that have good characteristics to ensure food security in the country. Mugo said, they are better than what farmers are currently planting.“MLN has to be fought from all fronts. We have seen progress using various strategies. We have successfully done it at Kiboko research station and in adjacent farms, where we have encouraged farmers to observe a maize free period, and noticed that, maize planted 5 kilometres apart have no MLN,” said Mugo.Water Efficient Maize for Africa’s (WEMA) national coordinator for Kenya, Murenga Mwimali, said work started with 1700 parent lines selected from hybrids already available in the maize seed market, and subjected to artificial screening at the MLN facility in Naivasha for two seasons.“About 1 per cent of the 1, 700 hybrids, we got 170 lines that showed tolerance. We repeated screening, and established 20 new lines, which presented good sources of MLN tolerance that gave us a further 800 others with promising traits. We saw that they have good yield; early maturing; tolerant to stem borers, and tolerant to other diseases,” Mwimali says.Some of the material hybrids to be submitted for further artificial screening include the SC 403 series. Mwimali said; “it’s a very early white Maize Streak and Mottle Viruses tolerant hybrid. It has a relatively short, and excellent yield stability over a range of environments.”“CIMMYT has developed five hybrids with good MLN tolerance under artificial inoculation, which have either been released or recommended for release in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania. Thirteen hybrids are currently under national performance trials in the three countries,” noted Mwimali.The CIMMYT-derived, MLN tolerant maize hybrids (UH5354 in Uganda; H12ML and H13ML in Kenya, and HB607 in Tanzania), which are in the process of scale-up and commercialization, would be released soon, he added.The incidence of MLN in Kenya in 2011, followed by reports from several countries in eastern Africa in the last 3-4 years, caused serious concern to diverse stakeholders, including maize growers, farmers, governments, scientists, seed companies, and other actors along the maize value chains.Although it is not a new disease to the maize scientific community in the USA and some other countries outside Africa, it is indeed a serious regional problem now in Africa.Scientists said recently at a forum hosted by the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) and CIMMYT, that within a short period, the disease had hugely impacted several countries, including Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, and Rwanda, besides recent reports of MLN in D.R. Congo, Ethiopia and South Sudan. The meeting that brought together maize value chain players, and policy makers was supported by KALRO and Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.The rapid multiplication of the disease coupled with uncertainties over its spread is the biggest hurdle that scientists and other stakeholders are grappling with. In Kenya alone, the disease has been reported in several maize-growing areas, causing a loss of up to 10 per cent of the national maize production in 2014 – equivalent to USD 50 million (Sh4.7 billion).Since 2011, intensive efforts are being made by CIMMYT, Kenya Agriculture, and Livestock Research Organisation (KALRO) and various national and international institutions in tackling the disease scientists have described as complex. It is caused by a combination of two viruses, Maize Chlorotic Mottle Virus (MCMV) and Sugarcane Mosaic Virus (SCMV).KALRO Chief Researcher, Dr. Anne Wangai, who played a key role in discovering the disease in Kenya in 2011 observes; “the uncertainties over the transmission of MLN is a worrying phenomenon that requires stakeholders to urgently find a control point to manage and ensure seeds being given to farmers are MLN-free.”Breeding, the scientists say; remains a key component in the search for long-term solution for MLN, and several milestones have been covered to develop MLN-resistant varieties in East Africa.More news from: AGRA (Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa)Website: http://www.cnchemicals.com/: May 26, 2015The news item on this page is copyright by the organization where it originatedFair use notice