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Tackling abiotic production constraints in
pearl millet and sorghum-based agricultural
systems of the West African Sahel
International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT)
The challenge
Low soil phosphorus (P) levels and erratic rainfall at the
start of the season in Sahelian agro-ecologies of West Africa often cause crop establishment failure, which necessitates re-sowing, and increases costs while reducing potential crop grain and biomass production. Low soil P often
delays onset of crop reproductive development, increasing
crop vulnerability to drought stress during grain filling.
Pearl millet and sorghum are the major cereals grown under rainfed conditions in these environments, as they have
better tolerance to these harsh conditions than any other
cereals. Small-holder producers here usually have limited
access to mineral fertilizer (and then only at costs approaching 3-times the world market price), and adopt riskminimizing management practices. Can more productive,
sustainable crop variety x management combinations be
developed for this harsh environment?
Our approach
Using a dynamic multi-disciplinary, multi-cultural approach,
the project sought to characterize West African landraces
of sorghum and pearl millet for their tolerance to low soil P
conditions in the field, characterize mechanisms of such
tolerance, identify molecular-genetic markers for favorable
alleles in genomic regions controlling such tolerance, identify low-cost crop management options with potential to
improve stand establishment and overall crop productivity
on low-P soils in Sahelian West Africa, and evaluate the
most promising crop variety x management combinations
with farmers in a participatory manner. In the course of
these activities we provided advanced degree training for
young scientists, trained national program partners in integrated genetic and natural resource management methods,
and improved the capacity of farmer organization partners
to evaluate new crop varieties and crop management practices on farm.
Project name
Utilization of wild relatives of wheat in developing
salinity tolerant winter wheat with improved quality for Central Asia
Commissioned Bundesministerium für wirtschaftliche Zusammenby
arbeit und Entwicklung (BMZ)
Project region
West Africa
Lead executing agency
International Crops Research Institute for the
Semi-Arid Tropics
Contact person: Charles Tom Hash
[email protected]
German
cooperation
University of Kassel-Witzenhausen, University of
Hohenheim
Duration
04.2010 – 03.2014
L. to r.: Laying out an on-farm trial to assess low-P
tolerance in Niger, Pearl millet in new lysimeter
facility at ICRISAT Sahelian Center, Pot study of
biomass accumulation by millet inbreds under low-P
and high-P conditions
Photos: © ICRISAT
Contact person
Marlis Lindecke
[email protected]
The benefits
Expected impact
a) Quantitative genetics parameters of low-P tolerance for
sorghum and pearl millet landraces from Sahelian West
Africa to guide plant breeding.
Expected outputs include well-characterized sorghum and
pearl millet sources of tolerance to low-P conditions, more
effective and efficient procedures for evaluating low-P tolerance, molecular markers that can be used for efficient
breeding of low-P tolerant sorghum and pearl millet varieties, and ultimately improved crop variety x management
options for smallholder pearl millet and sorghum producers
in the Sahelian region of West African.
b) Better understanding of the interaction of low soil fertility and drought stress in Sahelian West Africa, including the
dynamics of crop water use under low-P conditions.
c) Molecular markers for allelic variants contributing to lowP tolerance that can be used by breeders to incorporate
this trait into farmer- and market-preferred dryland cereal
cultivars adapted to the Sahel.
These outputs will all contribute to improving the productivity and sustainability of pearl millet- and sorghum-based
crop-livestock production systems in the Sahel.
Expected long-term impact is that rainfed production of
sorghum and pearl millet grain and stover in the Sahel will
become more sustainable, resulting in more efficient use of
both water and soil nutrients.
d) Partners trained in assessment of tolerance to low soil
fertility.
e) Information on the potential for adoption of low-cost
crop and soil management practices, if any, that can enhance crop performance on low-P soil.
The Advisory Service on Agricultural Research for Development (BEAF) manages Germany’s contribution to international agricultural research. Instruments for implementation are project funding, small grants and liaising
between German and international researchers. BEAF is
part of GIZ and acts on behalf of the Federal Ministry for
Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ).
Published by
Deutsche Gesellschaft für
Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH
Registered offices
Bonn and Eschborn, Germany
Advisory Service on Agricultural Research for
Development
Dag-Hammarskjöld-Weg 1-5
65760 Eschborn, Germany
T +49 61 96 79-2149
F +49 61 96 79-11 15
[email protected]
www.giz.de
Author(s)
Charles Tom Hash
Layout
Nizar Omrani
As at
July 2014
GIZ is responsible for the content of this publication.
In cooperation with
INRAN, Niger; INERA, Burkina Faso;
IER, Mali; ISRA, Senegal
On behalf of
Federal Ministry for Economic
Cooperation and Development (BMZ)
Division
Special Unit “One World - No Hunger”
Addresses of
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