This document summarizes the objectives, components, outcomes, and challenges of the Tropical Legumes - II Project which aims to enhance groundnut productivity and production in drought-prone areas of sub-Saharan Africa and Asia. The key components are fast-tracking varieties for release, developing new varieties resistant to diseases, improving partner skills, and building seed production capacity. Outcomes include varieties recommended for release in Tanzania, Mozambique, and Malawi. Challenges include the slow variety release process and lack of durable resistance, which the project is working to address through capacity building and marker-assisted breeding.

1. Tropical Legumes – II Project
Objective 2:
“ENHACING GROUNDNUT PRODUCTIVITY AND PRODUCTION IN
DROUGHT‐PRONE AREAS OF SUB‐SAHARAN AFRICA AND ASIA ”
By
By

2. Enhancing Groundnuts Productivity and
Production - ESA

3. Project Components
• Fast tracking on shelf varieties through
Farmer PVS and identify 2 – 3 that can be
released in the short term
• Development of new varieties for ESA
taking cognizance of the region’s biotic
and abiotic constraints
• Improve the skills of partners as we work
together - foster learning by doing

4. Needs and Opportunities being
harnessed for R&D
• Breeding thrust is
on GRD, ELS and
Rust – ICRISAT GRD HDP
Malawi presents an
excellent natural
screening
environment
ELS HDP

5. Fast tracking on shelf varie2es to iden2fy 2 – 3 for
release in the short term
Country No of No of PVS No of PVS
Varie/es MB yr1 MB yr2
Malawi 10 & 7 36/120 60/171
Mozambique 7 & 5 18/72 36/108
Tanzania 10 & 7 50 64

6. Outcome from PVS
Varieties Recommended for Release: Tanzania (5):
ICGV-SM 01711, # 01721, # 99555,and # 99557.
Mozambique (3) ICGV-SM 99541, # 99568, and JL 24 ;
Malawi (1); ICGV-SM 96714

7. Seed Produc2on in Support of Seed Systems and
PVS Fast Track Release
• 29.8 t breeder seed of 8 varieties
• uclear seed 10 vars for Tanzania (5-50kg) each
N
• uclear seed 55 vars in Malawi (5-10kg) each
N
• 1 seed banks in Malawi and 30 seed banks in
5
Tanzania each (each with capacity for4tons
annually)

8. Component II: Development of new
varieties
Rosette ELS
Rust Drought

9. New sources of resistance
identified
ICGV-SM 02536,
ICG 14705,
ICG 14118, 8517,
13099, ICGV-
ICGV-SM 06394
SM 05701,
ICGV-SM 86021, 02501 ICGV-SM 00537, 03535,
92R/70-4, ICGV 94114, ICG 14390, 14778

10. Hybridization and Devlp of
breeding populations
• 48 New crosses incorporating newly id
resistance sources into farmer /
market preferred vars initiated
• 2nd BC pops incorporating GRD and
ELS into farmer/market vars
completed
• 4500 F3 segregating pops
incorporating old sources of resistance
into farmer/market vars available for
phenotyping. Part ↔ RILS TL1

11. Capacity Building
• Germplasm Distribu/on;
– 22 Sets Regional trials (Mw(6), Tz (4), Mz(12)
– 488 breeding lines MW(131), TZ(86), MZ(271)
• Technical Capacity
– Trained 7 technicians, and 3 scien/sts in in hybridiza/on
techniques, use of infector row, and data analysis using
genstat
– Tanzania has ini/ated ac/ve breeding prog with
phenotyping facili/es for GRD

12. Capacity Building cont
• Farmer Capacity
• Seed fairs in MW
(500), and TZ (2000)
farmers
• Training in Good
Agronomic Practices-
GAP 1185 Farmers
(686 MW), (378 MZ)
and (121 TZ)
• 2000 flyers for variety
descriptors and GAP,
and 1000 booklets on
GAP distributed in MW
and TZ

13. Capacity Building cont
• Institutional Development with TL1:
– Refurbishment of 1 glasshouse,
purchase of fridges for seeds,
construction of rain-shelter, Irrigation
facility under develp for TZ
– Refurbishment of 2 glasshouses,
procurement of one portable weather
station, and irrigation pump for MW

14. Improving Partner skills cont

15. Challenges and emerging
opportunities
• Slow pace of variety release with
some partner NARS.
– Release procedures as well as capacity.
Technical capacity building will help
• Most of the durable resistance for
GRV only found in long duration –
yet short duration holds largest
cultivated area
– Possibly Marker work can bring
results faster.

16. Challenges and emerging
opportunities cont
• No absolute resistance to ELS is known
in cultivated gnut – just enhanced levels
of resistance
– This is an area where MARS can play
a useful role when sufficient no of
markers for gnuts are found

17. Challenges and emerging opportunities
cont
• Groundnuts are used as a commercial crop as
well as for food & nutrition security. Aflatoxin
is a major threat to both
– Smallholder farmers knows little of the
dangers posed by aflatoxin
– Traders give no incentives for aflatoxin free
nuts
• Need for a value chain approach to
determine critical point for intervention
and a system for rewarding producers

18. Challenges and emerging
opportunities cont
• The region is still Lacking suitable vars
matching the available LGP
– Lack of seed dormancy big problem in
short duration varieties.
• Potential solution
– Need to incorporate resistance to
fresh seed dormancy in early varieties

19. Other Collaborating Projects
• The BMGF through TL1
• The McKnight Foundation
• Treasure Legumes – IFAD Project
(Malawi and Tanzania)

20. THANK YOU