Source: CIMMYT E-News, vol 3 no. 2, February 2006

Farmers Say: “Kill Striga!”

Kenyan farmers’ verdict is out: “Ua Kayongo is the best Striga control practice and we will adopt it.”

Farmers in western Kenya overwhelmingly favor imidazolinone-resistant (IR) maize seed coated with a low dose of this herbicide to kill Striga, a highly-invasive parasitic weed that infests 200,000 hectares of Kenya’s farmland and causes crop losses worth an estimated US$ 50 million each year.

This was a key finding of a recent, independent study commissioned by the African Agricultural Technology Foundation (AATF) to the Western Regional Alliance for Technology Evaluation (WeRATE; includes non-governmental organizations, farmer associations, and extension workers).

Nearly 5,300 farmers in 17 districts of western Kenya evaluated eight recommended Striga management practices.

Farmers have dubbed the winning maize “Ua Kayongo”—literally, “kill Striga” in a mixed vernacular. In July 2005, the Kenya Agricultural Research Institute (KARI) and private seed suppliers started to commercialize four hybrid varieties of Ua Kayongo in Kenya.

Maize and bean intercrop yields resulting from different Striga management options in the fields of 34 farmers in West Kenya, where Striga infestation exceeds 100 million seeds per hectare.

The maize’s herbicide resistance is based on a natural mutation in the crop. Its development into Ua Kayongo was through global cooperation involving CIMMYT; KARI; the Weizmann Institute of Science, Israel; and BASF-The Chemical Company, funded by the Rockefeller Foundation and BASF. In the new practice, Ua Kayongo seed is coated with BASF’s Strigaway® herbicide, which kills Striga

seedlings below ground. This prevents them from fastening to the roots of maize seedlings, from which they suck away water and nutrients.

Farmers in the WeRATE evaluations were able to plant the new maize using their normal husbandry methods, including intercropping with legumes and root crops.

“I’ve been pulling and burying Striga on my 5-acre farm for the past 17 years and the problem has only grown worse,” said Rose Katete, a farmer from Teso; “Ua Kayongo has provided the best crop of maize that I’ve ever grown!”

Katete’s observations bear out CIMMYT and partners’ findings from several years of field trials: “Under Striga-infested conditions, the new maize hybrids out-yield the checks by more than 50%, and provide near-total Striga control,” says Marianne Bänziger, Director of the CIMMYT Maize Program.

Over the next five years, the new Striga control package will be made available to farmers in Tanzania, Uganda, and Malawi, and eventually, other countries of sub-Saharan Africa with a Striga weed problem.

For more information contact Fred Kanampiu (f.kanampiu@cgiar.org)

February 24, 2006

Source: CropBiotech Update

The International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), in collaboration with public and private partners, has developed and tested 26 Imidazolinone-resistant (IR) 3-Way maize hybrids, across 18 sites in several sub-Saharan African countries. These hybrids are available to National Agricultural Research Systems (NARS) and seed companies in eastern and southern Africa companies for inclusion into trials to decide on variety registration, release, and eventual commercialization in various sub-Saharan African countries.

Imidazolinone-resistance (IR) is a natural form of herbicide resistance originally discovered in mutation-derived populations. Imidazolinone herbicides possess high biological potency at low application rates, and thus are an attractive alternative for weed control. The seed of IR-hybrids coated with Imidazolinone offers an effective protection against Striga, a flowering parasitic plant with devastating effects on crop production in sub-Saharan Africa. In trials, IR-hybrids show a 50% increase in yield and provide close to 100% Striga control. Without Imidazolinone seed treatment, the same hybrids can be commercialized in non-Striga affected areas.

For more information write to Ms. Ebby Irungu (e.irungu@cgiar.org) or visit: http://www.africancrops.net/
striga/CIMMYT-IR-Maize-Hybrids.pdf

Source: Africancrops.net

Deployment of IR-maize through the StrigAway technology - Consideration for potential seed producers

Imidazolinone-resistant (IR) maize contains a natural form of herbicide resistance which was originally found in a mutant. The seed of IR maize can be treated (seed-coated) with Imidazolinone to provide an effective protection against Striga, a parasitic weed which attaches to maize roots and results in severe yield reduction. IR maize restores maize production under Striga-infested conditions to normal levels and also depletes the Striga seed bank in the soil. IR maize can also be grown in non-Striga affected areas, like any other maize cultivar.

Deployment of the Imidazolinone resistance trait and seed dressing needs to be done in a responsible manner to assure the effectiveness and durability of the technology, to the benefit of seed producers, farmers and the environment. Unless such measures are taken, seed may be improperly treated and the crop fail, Striga may develop resistance against the herbicide, the seed company may contaminate other seed stocks with the herbicide, or farmers’ may improperly use the technology and incur crop losses.

To ensure responsible deployment, CIMMYT entered into an agreement with the African Agricultural Technology Foundation (AATF) and BASF for deployment of IR maize hybrids and varieties under the trade name “StrigAway®”. This partnership will provide the necessary know-how and rights to deploy the technology in an appropriate manner. The partnership will also continue to raise awareness about the technology in Sub-Saharan Africa, so that seed labeled as StrigAway® will be recognized as seed that provides effective control against Striga.

To the extent as the partnership between CIMMYT, AATF and BASF provides support for the responsible deployment of StrigAway® technology, interested seed producers need to meet certain requirements to qualify as a seed producer/ disseminator for StrigAway® cultivars. The seed producer needs to:

1. Be registered as a seed producer.
    
2. Using own or contracted facilities (e.g. from other StrigAway® seed producers), be able to separately treat and store StrigAway® maize seed so that the risk of contamination of non-StrigAway (“normal”) maize seed and seed of other crops with the herbicide is minimized.
    
3. Test and confirm the herbicide tolerance (Trait Purity) and proper seed treatment rate of seed lots prior to commercial sale so that over-treatment and treatment of non-herbicide tolerant seed is prevented – These are tests similar to a germination test and need to be conducted for each seed lot (e.g. the truck load of seed delivered by a seed producer).
    
4. Implement a program devised by BASF to ensure appropriate stewardship of the technology to prevent the build-up of resistance and ensure a farmers’ long-term ability to control Striga. - This program involves information and training of seed retailers involved in deploying seed of StrigAway® cultivars.
    
5. Use BASF Trade Intellectual Property for seed treatment, and applicable patent numbers, trademarks and seed package labels, to ensure appropriate seed treatment. – Note, the herbicide cannot be simply mixed into commercially available seed treatment but needs to employ an appropriate coating technology otherwise the herbicide may prove to be ineffective or reduce the germination rate. Information on the costs of the herbicide (incl. coating technique) can be obtained from BASF.
    
6. Annually report on:
   • Adverse effects of herbicides
   • Observations relating to enhancements or changes associated with herbicide tolerance
   • Results of herbicide tolerance tests that have been conducted
   • Market results and future goals for seed production and marketing

Provided these conditions can be met, AATF and BASF will sign with the seed producer an appropriate trait technology license and herbicide supply agreement.

If you have any question or suggestion, pls send them to:

• AATF – Mpoko Bokanga - m.bokanga@cgiar.org
• BASF – Volker Sthamer - basf.tro@ethionet.et
• CIMMYT – Fred Kanampiu – f.kanampiu@cgiar.org

Please note that an information workshop is planned for April 2006, for discussing the details of these agreements with seed producers in Kenya where several StrigAway® maize cultivars have been and are in the course of being released.

StrigAway® technology combines a non-GMO herbicide tolerant CLEARFIELD® maize seed and an innovative herbicide seed treatment.

Letter from CIMMYT
International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center

14 February, 2006

To: NARS and seed companies in eastern and southern Africa

CIMMYT THREE-WAY IR-MAIZE HYBRIDS ANNOUNCEMENT, 2006

In collaboration with a wide range of partners from the public and private sector, CIMMYT has developed and tested 26 Imidazolinone-resistant ( IR) 3-Way maize hybrids across 18 sites in several sub-Saharan African countries. These hybrids are available for interested NARS and seed companies to enter them into trials which decide on variety registration, release and eventual commercialization in various sub-Saharan Africa countries.

Imidazolinone-resistance (IR) is a natural form of herbicide resistance and was originally found in a mutant. The seed of IR-hybrids and IR-OPVs can be treated (seed-coated) with Imidazolinone to provide an effective protection against Striga. Without Imidazolinone seed treatment, the same hybrids and OPVs can potentially be commercialized in non-Striga affected areas.

Attached is the summary of the agronomic and performance data. Under non-Striga infested conditions, some of the IR-hybrids yielded as good as or better than the local hybrids checks under optimum conditions. Under Striga-infested conditions the IRhybrids outyielded the checks by more than 50% and provided close to 100% Striga control.

In case you are interested to enter one or several of these hybrids into trials that may lead to variety release in one or several countries over the next 2-3 years, please advise CIMMYT by February 28, 2006, so that we can ensure that the same variety does not get entered by more than one organization. Information needed is

1. What hybrid(s) is your institution interested in?
2. In which countries does your company plan to further test and potent ially release the hybrids?
Please be guided that once the requests are made, CIMMYT will decide on how to allocate the hybrids, using the following criteria for variety allocation:

a. Likelihood that seed will become widely available to smallholder farmers.
b. Likelihood that seed will become widely available as soon as possible.
c. Investment in variety testing, seed treatment facilities and seed production by the applicant.
d. Diversity among suppliers.
e. Track record as a collaborator (i.e. investment by applicant in collaboration).
f. Relative importance of a variety for the variety portfolio or success of an applicant.
g. Signature of a sub-licensing agreement as described in the enclosed information sheet “Deployment of IR-maize through the StrigAway® Technology - Consideration for Potential Seed Producers”.

Please direct your interest to Ms. Ebby Irungu (e.irungu@cgiar.org), no later than 28 February, 2006.
Sincerely yours,

DR. MARIANNE BANZIGER
Director - Global Maize Program, CIMMYT

Original letter in PDF format: http://www.africancrops.net/striga/CIMMYT-IR-Maize-Hybrids.pdf