25 May 2012 www.avrdc.org

Prospects for AVRDC 

mandate legumes in 

Kenya, Tanzania and 

Malawi 

page 6

Open Day

2012

at HQ Three campus tours — Breeding,

Production & Laboratory, and an Overview — showcased different

aspects of AVRDC’s work at

headquarters and in the regions

on 18 May 2012.

2 (...continued from page 1)

(...continued on page 3)

Open Day 2012

AVRDC's Open Day 2012 on Friday, May 18 drew

more than 60 visitors from Taiwan universities and research institutes, Council of Agriculture District

Agricultural Research Stations, area seed companies

and other agricultural businesses to campus for an

introduction to the Center's activities.

The four-hour event aimed to build new and

strengthen existing relationships with Taiwan's research community, and give Center research staff a

chance to interact with their host-country peers in an

informal and informational setting.

3

(...continued from page 2)

(Clockwise from top): AVRDC Director General Dyno Keatinge (r)

conducts a lucky draw of AVRDC merchandise for the Open Day

participants. The five winners: Johnson Lin, Moralburg

Corporation; Chia-yi Chao, Sing-Flow Seed Trading Co., Ltd.;

Paul Wang, Agronew Seed Co., Ltd.; Hsing-lu Cheng, Nungtai

Seed Co., Ltd.; Maw-chi Yang, Sun Fresh Vegetable Co., Ltd.

4 CORNUCOPIA

The Center in the news 

(...continued on page 5)

Nine research and development institutes including

AVRDC launched the Association of International Research Centers for

Agriculture (AIRCA) in March 2012. The

association was established as a platform for the

organizations to make a combined impact on the Millennium Development Goals, particularly the

eradication of extreme hunger and poverty. IFDC,

Farm Chemicals International, and the World Agroforestry Center reported the news about the

new group.

http://www.ifdc.org/Media_Info/Press_Releases/May_2012/New_Association_of_Agricultural_Research_Centers_E

The V-GIS (vegetable-GIS, or “veggies”) Project,

launched in April 2012 by Kasetsart University, Thailand and the University of Freiburg, Germany

attracted attention from IRIN (the UN Office for the

Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs) and websites

ReliefWeb and Geospatial World. AVRDC is participating in the effort to collect data on the ground

and via satellite to conduct analyses of vegetable crop

species, production, land surface and labor in the greater Bangkok area.

http://www.irinnews.org/Report/95461/THAILAND-Mapping-urban-farming

In an essay on SciDev.net, T.S. Vamsidhar

Reddy, a visiting scientist at AVRDC South Asia, and others noted how research works best when it

can respond to needs for knowledge at any stage of

the innovation process:

http://m.scidev.net/en/science-and-innovation-policy/

opinions/how-research-for-agricultural-innovation-

works-best.html

5 CORNUCOPIA

The Center in the news 

Ghana Business News

highlighted the new Biodiversity for Food and Nutrition Project;

the Center may participate in

some aspects of the global

initiative.

http://www.ghanabusinessnews.com/2012/05/02/ensuring-food-security-traditional-foods-key-to-addressing-poor-nutrition-and-negative-health-effects/

AVRDC’s recent genebank

renovation was noted on

the Global Crop Diversity

Trust website:

http://www.croptrust.org/main/content/upgrading

Huei-mei Chen, Associate

Specialist in Biotechnology and Molecular Genetics, gave a

presentation entitled

“Molecular markers developed

for bruchid and Mungbean yellow mosaic India virus (MYMIV) resistance of

mungbean at AVRDC” to colleagues at headquarters on

10 May 2012. Mungbean, one of AVRDC’s mandate crops, is a nutritious, high protein legume grown

throughout Asia. Bruchids (small beetles) may infest a

mungbean crop the field, but infestations often are too

low to detect at harvest. The pests breed rapidly in storage and by the time they are detected, the infested

grain is usually unmarketable. Two markers for bruchid

resistance in mungbean line TC1966 have been identified. MYMIV poses a major threat to mungbean

production in South Asia; markers for MYMIV tolerance

were identified in lines NM92 and TC1966.

The Deccan Chronicle reported on

the Center’s work with mungbean and amaranth:

http://www.deccanchronicle.com/channels/cities/hyderabad/u-turn-penalty-‘free-left’-violators-690

Seminars 

Entomology Assistant Specialist Mei-ying Lin offered a look at AVRDC’s work in “Biological control of diamondback moth in Asia and Africa” on 17 May 2012 to Center staff. She noted that

diamondback moth (DBM; Plutella xylostella), a serious pest of crucifers, is an ideal insect for biological control as it has more than 90 natural enemies, including parasitoids, predators, viruses, bacteria, and fungi. Using Diadegma semiclausum, a parasitoid wasp, as part of an integrated pest management strategy has helped farmers gain some control over DBM in the lowlands of Asia and Africa. However, applying pesticides to control other pests such as cabbage head caterpillar, cabbage web worm, or common armyworm also kills the natural enemies of DBM, which can result in a resurgence of the DBM population.

Tomato training to scale up production in Bangladesh 

6 CORNUCOPIA

Growing tomatoes in summer in

Bangladesh can provide a steadier supply of the fresh, nutritious

vegetable for market and generate

good income for farm households.

To prompt farmers to take up

summer tomato production, staff

from AVRDC – The World Vegetable Center, the

Bangladesh Agricultural

Research Institute, and local

Regional Agricultural Research Stations held day-long

training courses on 5-6 May in

Jessore and 8-9 May in Barishal to provide 100 farmers with

instruction in improved seedling

production, grafting, rain shelter

construction, and other management practices. Advanced

farmers who had received prior

training in AVRDC’s ToT (Training

of Trainers; see Fresh, 4 May 2012) programs also participated, and

helped guide their fellow farmers

in hands-on sessions.

Shahabuddin Ahmad, AVRDC

Vegetable Sector Leader, attended

all four courses, and reported that farmers preferred the rubber tube

method of grafting rather than cleft

grafting, the practice currently in use.

“It is really encouraging,” said

Shahabuddin. “If the eggplant rootstock EG 203 works well

against bacterial wilt in

Bangladesh, then the current cleft

grafting method we are following with very spiny Solanum

sisymbriifolium rootstock can

easily be replaced by the non-spiny EG 203.”

Sharp spines on rootstock S. sisymbriifolium (left), also known as sticky nightshade, make grafting tomato a tricky task in Bangladesh. Good results can be achieved with eggplant rootstock EG 203 (right). AVRDC is introducing this rootstock through training courses.

Farmers in Bangladesh

participate in training

courses on grafting

technologies (l) and rain

shelter construction (r).

Prospects for AVRDC mandate legumes in Kenya, Tanzania and 

Malawi 

AVRDC Legume Breeder Ram

Nair traveled to Kenya, Tanzania and Malawi from 9-20 April 2012

to investigate the potential for

legume production and expansion,

particularly mungbean and vegetable soybean.

In sub-Saharan Africa mungbean is commonly known as green gram.

The region’s climatic conditions are

conducive for producing mungbean, which already is being

grown in East Africa. “The time is

right for a green gram revolution in

sub-Saharan Africa,” said Ram.

Mungbean varieties currently

grown by farmers in sub-Saharan Africa are of longer crop duration,

maturing in 90 days. The

introduction of early maturing varieties (about 60 days duration)

will be the first step—and a vital

one in regions where the frequency

of rainfall is low, according to Phillemon Mushi of the Selian

Agricultural Research

Institute (SARI) in Tanzania.

7 NEWS FROM THE REGIONS

(l): Ram Nair (second from left) and Hassan Mndiga (third from left) meet mungbean growers John Thomas (l) and Paul Baranda (r) in Mbuyu Wamjerumani village, Babati district.

(r): Ram Nair (l) inspects mungbean plots with Phillemon Mushi of the Selian Agricultural Research Institute.

(l): Mungbean seed production unit at Kenya’s Agricultural Research Institute (KARI), Katumani, Kenya.

(r): Karimi Rael from KARI checks the mungbean sold at a local shop in Katumani, Kenya.

(...continued on page 8)

AVRDC will develop mungbean

production capacity in national agricultural and extension services,

such as SARI and Kenya’s

Agricultural Research Institute

(KARI), and will assist in the further expansion of the crop.

Mungbean is consumed by local

people and needs no introduction on the consumption front; the

preference is for larger seeds with a

dull, not shiny, seed coat.

Closer links with the

International Institute for

Tropical Agriculture (IITA), which runs a grain soybean

breeding program based in Malawi,

would help promote the value of

vegetable soybean and its

cultivation in southern Africa.

Vegetable soybean provides an option for smallholder farmers who

have limited incentive to produce

grain soybean without access to

crushing facilities for soybean oil production.

The IITA staff at Malawi was enthusiastic about vegetable

soybean; they felt it would be a

welcome option for farmers in the

region who already are familiar with grain soybean. The institute

had some impressive grain soybean

breeding trials in the field, particularly the screening for rust

resistance. Small farmer

associations like the National

Smallholder Farmers Association of

Malawi (NASFAM) and private

companies have expressed interest in promoting vegetable soybean.

Increased consumption of both

mungbean and vegetable soybean will help alleviate malnutrition in

the region. Both crops offer good

potential for income generation from domestic consumption, and

export opportunities for vegetable

soybean make it an attractive

option for farmers.

(Clockwise from left): Lumbani Mwafulirwa of the International Institute for Tropical Agriculture introduces IITA’s rust screening activities in grain soybean.

Phillemon Mushi from Selian Agricultural Research Institute (SARI) checks the source of mungbean at a local market in Tanzania.

Ram Nair (third from left) with staff at AVRDC-The World Vegetable Center, Regional Center for Africa, Tanzania: (l to r) Hassan Mndiga, Yvonne Guga, Loth Lasier Upendu, Victor Afari-Sefa, Chris Ojiewo.

8 NEWS FROM THE REGIONS

West African agriculture on display in Mali  

Mali’s International

Agricultural Fair on 17-20 March 2012 in Bamako showcased

producers and their products, fresh

and processed, from around the region. At more than 300 stands,

farmers, societies, companies,

research programs and support

services to rural areas presented their activities and offered visitors a

range of quality products, including

shallots, fruit juice, baobab sweets and milk.

Participants from Benin, Burkina

Faso, Ivory Coast, Niger, Senegal, and Italy were welcomed to the

venue, the Palais de la Culture

Amadou Hampathé BA, by President Amadou Toumani Toure,

Prime Minister Madame Cisse

Mariam Kaidama Sidibe, Minister

of Environment Pr. Tiemoko Sangare, and President of the

National Assembly of Agriculture,

Bakary Togolo.

AVRDC shared a stand with donor

Deutsche Gesellschaft für

Internationale Zusammenarbeit

(GIZ). President Toure visited the stand, where AVRDC Mali staff

briefed him on the Center’s

activities. African cable television crews filmed his visit, and he gave

an interview regarding the role and

the place of research in Mali to BBC

Radio.

Over the course of four days, more

than 600 visitors saw the AVRDC stand, and many stopped to ask

questions about seed quality and

specific vegetables, look at recipe

books, and learn the steps for processing and conserving

vegetables. AVRDC’s “mobile

garden” attracted much positive attention; the innovative idea was

one of several presented during the

fair. For many small producers,

processors and students, it was the first time they had seen new

methods of growing vegetables, or

learned different ways of using indigenous West African varieties.

Jen Wen Luoh, Assistant

Specialist, Nutrition from headquarters, also attended the fair

with her colleagues from West

Africa. “Although vegetables were

not commonly seen in the show, AVRDC raised awareness of the

importance of vegetables, new

varieties and technologies for small producers,” she said. “The

nutritious and hygienic vegetable

processing methods and

information on healthy, diverse diets will help educate consumers.”

9 NEWS FROM THE REGIONS

CONFERENCE UPDATE 

VI ICLGG: Sixth International Conference on Legume

Genetics and Genomics

2-7 October 2012 Hyderabad, India

Topics:

Mungbean genetic resources

Mungbean breeding – A global

perspective and breeding programs

in participating countries

Food and nutrition aspects

Marker assisted selection in

mungbean

Mungbean genomics

Interactive session: Improving

mungbean productivity – future directions

For more details please visit:

http://www.icrisat.org/gt-bt/VI-ICLGG/Homepage.htm

Early registration closes May 31st.

10 CORNUCOPIA

Fresh, 25 May 2012 Fresh is published bi-weekly by

AVRDC – The World Vegetable Center P.O. Box 42, Shanhua, Tainan 74199 Taiwan

Editor: Maureen Mecozzi Graphic design: Kathy Chen Photographic guidance: Ming-Che Chen

Contributors: Shahabuddin Ahmad, Theresa Endres, Ram Nair

Comments, ask a question, add a name to our mailing list: info@worldveg.org

www.avrdc.org

Visitors 

The National Training Institute for

Farmers Organization (NTIFO) in Taiwan arranged a visit to AVRDC

headquarters for 10 officials of the

Gwangyang City Government,

Korea, led by Moon Young Hoon, Chief of the Agricultural Technology

Center on 30 April 2012. Myeong-

Cheoul Cho, a Pepper Breeding seconded to AVRDC from Korea’s

Rural Development Administration,

briefed the visitors and showed the

group the Demonstration Garden and Genebank.

Eight representatives of the

Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Huzhou, Zhejiang

Province, People’s Republic of

China, toured the Center on 11 May

2012. Led by Director General Gong-ping Fang, the group

received a briefing from Visitor

Coordinator Shiu-luan Lu and Virologist Wen-Shi Tsai, then

enjoyed a tour of the Genebank with

Yung-kuang Huang of Genetic

Resources and Seed.

Moon Young Hoon (r), Chief of the Agricultural Technology Center, Gwangyang City, Korea

presents a gift to Yin-Fu Chang, AVRDC Deputy Director General for Administration and

Services.