Originally published on cgiar.org by:International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) on Jun 26, 2009
Soybean growers in Nigeria could look forward to better times ahead with the release of a new variety that is resistant to the deadly Asian soybean rust - a fungal disease that could wipe out as much as 80% of infested crops. The rust-resistant soybean is the first of its kind to be made available for cultivation not only in the country but also in West and Central Africa and has the potential of increasing soybean production in rust-prone areas of the region.
Tagged TGx 1835-10E, the variety was bred by scientists at the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) and further developed in collaboration with the National Cereal Research Institute (NCRI). Its release for general cultivation was approved in December 2008 and notified in June 2009 by the Nigerian National Variety Release Committee.
Aside from being resistant to the Asian rust, the variety is also high-yielding, averaging 1655 kg/ha grain and 2210 kg/ha fodder in field trials in Nigeria, according to Olumide Shokalu, NCRI pathologist, who oversaw the trials. It is also early-maturing, has good promiscuous nodulation character, and resists pod shattering and other prevalent diseases.
"The variety can be used for direct cultivation in tropical Africa or as a source of resistance genes in soybean breeding programs. It was previously released in Uganda, and has already shown excellent performance in trials carried out in Southern Africa suggesting that it is a well-adapted variety", says IITA soybean breeder Hailu Tefera.
"It has resistance genes that are effective against all currently known types of the rust fungus in Nigeria. IITA has bred several other varieties with rust resistance genes from various sources which can be deployed quickly if this variety succumbs to newer forms of the rust fungus", adds Ranajit Bandyopadhyay, IITA pathologist.
It was in 1996 that the Asian soybean rust first arrived in Africa, rapidly spreading through Uganda, Malawi, Mozambique, Rwanda, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe, causing up to 80% loss in yields. In 1999, farmers of Oniyo village near Ogbomosho in Nigeria found the leaves of their immature soybean crop rapidly turning brown and falling off, leaving only straggly stems. Scientists from the University at Ile-Ife confirmed the cause to be Phakopsora pachyrhizi, the causal fungus of the Asian soybean rust.
By 2001, the fungus entered South America through Paraguay and quickly spread into Brazil and Argentina with devastating effect. In 2003 alone, Brazil lost an estimated US$2 billion in yields despite spending US$400 million on fungicides to control the disease. It then entered the United States in 2004, but by then the country had already put in place effective measures to counter the disease.
The fungus is very aggressive and can produce billions of spores capable of turning lush green crops with healthy foliage into brown fields with bare stalks in 2-3 weeks. For most African farmers, using resistant varieties is the most viable method to control the disease as using fungicides proves too costly.
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For further information, please contact:
Dr Hailu Tefera, h.tefera@cgiar.org
Soybean Breeder
IITA-Malawi
Dr Ranajit Bandyopadhyay, r.bandyopadhyay@cgiar.org
Pathologist
IITA-Nigeria
Jeffrey T Oliver, o.jeffrey@cgiar.org
Corporate Communications Officer (International)
Godwin Atser, g.atser@cgiar.org
Corporate Communications Officer (West Africa)
Communication Office
IITA Headquarters
Ibadan, Nigeria
www.iita.org
About IITA
Africa has complex problems that plague agriculture and people's lives. We develop agricultural solutions with our partners to tackle hunger and poverty. Our award winning research for development (R4D) is based on focused, authoritative thinking anchored on the development needs of sub-Saharan Africa. We work with partners in Africa and beyond to reduce producer and consumer risks, enhance crop quality and productivity, and generate wealth from agriculture. IITA is an international non-profit R4D organization since 1967, governed by a Board of Trustees, and supported primarily by the CGIAR.