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Image by CIMMYT
Seed wash filter test in the Seed Health Laboratory at CIMMYT. To detect smuts and bunts, conidia of imperfect fungi, and oospores, wheat seed samples are washed in water with detergent. The water is filtered and the filter checked for disease spores.

Photo credit: CIMMYT.

For more about the Seed Health Laboratory, see CIMMYT’s August 2008 e-news story "The journey of a seed," available online at: www.cimmyt.org/newsletter/37/147-the-journey-of-a-seed.

Image by CIMMYT
A workshop participant assesses a range of fodder and cereal crops that can be used as “refugia”, fostering stem borers susceptible to the Bt toxin. In a longstanding partnership under the Insect Resistant Maize for Africa (IRMA) project , CIMMYT works with the Kenya Agricultural Research Institute (KARI) to offer farmers maize varieties that resist borers, which otherwise cause heavy losses (approximately 12% of Kenya’s annual maize crop). In addition to conventional breeding, one source of resistance in developing these varieties has been the soil bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis. A gene from this bacterium inserted into “Bt maize” causes it to produce a protein that is selectively toxic to certain borer species. However, mutant resistant borers unaffected by the toxin will flourish and eventually predominate, unless farmers use refugia to maintain a susceptible population. At this workshop in December 2005, sponsored by IRMA at KARI’s Kitale center, 50 participants—including researchers, extension workers, and farmers—learned about progress in the development of insect-resistant maize and the importance of refugia, evaluating numerous crops in the field for their potential as refugia.

For more information, see CIMMYT’s December 2005 e-news story "Bug Havens Keep Maize Pest-Proof," available online at: www.cimmyt.org/newsletter/86-2005/344-bug-havens-keep-mai….

For the latest information on the IRMA project, see: www.cimmyt.org/en/projects/insect-resistant-maize-for-africa.

Photo credit: CIMMYT.