 |
ICARDA News International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas P.O. Box 5466, Aleppo, Syria Phone: (963-21) 2213433, 2213477, 2225112, 2225012 Fax: (963-21) 2213490, 2225105; E-mail: ICARDA@CGIAR.ORG Website: www.icarda.org
|
||
|
Media
contact:
icarda-media@cgiar.org
|
|||
|
Drought
and Broomrape - A threat to Faba Bean
|
|||
| Faba
bean (Vicia faba) is one of the most important pulse crops produced
throughout the world, with roughly 46 million tons of production in
82% of the area in the developing countries. The average grain yield
of faba bean is around 1.8 t/ha as compared with its potential (more
than 3t/ha) under farmers' conditions that employ improved crop management
practices. Climatic variability (cold, heat and drought) and biotic factors (parasitic weeds and diseases) affect faba bean production and productivity. The parasitic weed Broomrape (caused by Orobanche crenata and O. egyptiaca) is the most important limiting factor of faba bean production in the Mediterranean region, mainly in low rainfall and marginal lands (Syria, Egypt, Tunisia Morocco, Spain, Italy). Broomrape is also expanding in new areas like Ethiopia, as drought is becoming a day to day phenomenon in major faba bean producing countries.
There are many Orobanche management practices recommended, but developing resistant/tolerant faba bean varieties is a key priority for small holder farmers. The faba bean breeding program at BIGMP is focusing on developing broomrape resistant/tolerant IPG that can be used by NARS. The faba bean screening efforts for Orobanche crenata were started in 1997 using naturally infested soil with Orobanche crenata seeds under rainfall conditions and the materials have reached F9 breeding lines. During this cropping season, plants resistant/tolerant to Orobanche and drought will be selected. Dr Maarten van Ginkel, DDG-Research, with Drs Fouad Maalouf, Faba Bean Breeder and Seid Kemal, Pulse Pathologist, visited the screening nursery last week. Dr. Maalouf explained the purpose and methodologies followed in developing resistant/tolerant faba bean lines for parasitic weed and drought. During the visit, it was possible to locate promising lines with low number of Orobanche shoots (indicator of resistance/ tolerant) and tolerant to drought. As preliminary results indicated, the promising lines have between 6 and 12 pods per plants and 15 to 25 seeds per plant compared with the totally damaged plants with less than 2 pods and 6 seeds per plant. The outputs of the screening nursery will be used in International Nursery for drought and Orobanche as well as in crossing block. The selected lines from F9 lines will be multiplied and tested under targeted environments such as Breda station and sent to NARS for further testing. In the future, besides developing IPG for Orobanche tolerance, research will focus on genetic basis of resistance using biosciences; diversity of the parasitic weed in different regions and integrated Orobanche management using new knowledge. |
About
ICARDA: Established in 1977, ICARDA (www.icarda.org) is one of the 15
international research centers supported by the Consultative Group on
International Agricultural Research (CGIAR). ICARDA serves the entire
developing world for the improvement of barley, lentil, and faba bean;
and dry-area developing countries for the on-farm management of water,
improvement of nutrition and productivity of small ruminants (sheep and
goats), and rehabilitation and management of rangelands. In the Central
and West Asia and North Africa (CWANA) region, ICARDA is responsible for
the improvement of durum and bread wheats, chickpea, pasture and forage
legumes and farming systems; and for the protection and enhancement of
the natural resource base of water, land, and biodiversity.
The Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR)
(www.cgiar.org) is a strategic alliance of countries, international and
regional organizations, and private foundations supporting15 international
research centers that mobilizes cutting-edge science to promote sustainable
development by reducing hunger and poverty, improving human nutrition
and health, and protecting the environment.