Improvement of finger millet productivity
through genetic enhancement and promotion
of end-user product utilization options for
market demand
By
Dr. Nelson Wanyera
Plant Breeder
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Assets/Infrastructure
Asset
Number
Remarks
Office space
4
Walls cracked, roof falling off
Lab
1
Being used by Dr. Olupot
Vehicles
2
One project vehicle, old nissan
recently imobilzed
Motor cycle
1
Working, needs minor repairs
Stores
1
Security needed, broken into twice
Laptop
1
Working
Camera
1
Project
2
Background and problem
• Most of the finger millet in Uganda is produced by
subsistence-oriented families.
• Typically, they do not use external inputs and labor is
limited for effective weed control.
• Yields are constrained by frequent drought and low soil
fertility, and deficiencies of N and P.
• Population pressure has forced finger millet farmers to
reduce fallow periods or expand cultivation to marginal
lands.
• Consequently, this has increased erosion, depleted
nutrient stocks, provoked the build-up of weeds and
other pest and denuded large areas natural vegetation.
3
Background cont.
• Major finger millet stresses are blast disease, drought,
stem borers and Striga spp.
• To redress the declining productivity, stabilize
production and, in the long term, improve profitability
in finger millet production systems, a complementary
package of easily adopted technologies must be
developed for resource-poor farmers.
• The major focus of this project is productivity
enhancement through integrated genetic and natural
resource management.
• New multiple stress-resistant cultivars with improved
yield potential will continue to be developed.
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Research Team
Scientist
Responsibility
Institution
Wanyera Nelson
Leader/Breeder
NaSARRI
Obuo John Peter
Agronomist
NaSARRI
Elobu Pius
Soil fertility
NaSARRI
Nabeta Naomi
Socioeconomist
NabZARDI
Lubadde Geofrey
Pathologist
NaSARRI
Akol Richard
Technician
NaSARRI
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Overall Objective
• To increase finger millet productivity and
farmers’ income through genetic
improvement, enhanced access to quality
seed, better use of agronomic practices,
production of value-added products, farmer
empowerment in knowledge and access to
inputs
6
Specific Objectives
• High yield and stability of finger millet varieties, with good
tillering ability, medium plant height with strong straw.
• To develop early and medium maturing varieties resistant to
lodging, diseases (blast), Striga weed, drought and for specific
end -use
• To evaluate local and introduced finger millet varieties for
grain quality, malting potential and yield for local and
industrial use.
• To improve yields through the use of integrated agronomic
management technologies.
• To promote millet-based products and value addition
technologies in finger millet.
• To establish strong partnership with clients and other endusers
Research Report
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Collection and characterization of germplasm
Crosses and segregating populations
Variety Trials
Popularization / demonstration and scaling up
Develop farmer-based seed production and
delivery systems
• Fertilizer use and application
• Value addition (millet-based flour)
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Achievements
Characterization
• 700 accessions evaluated for morphological,
agronomic and nutritional traits
• Evaluated in multiple environments (5 each)
for yield and other agronomic traits
• Location-wise promising genotypes identified
for on-station and on-farm testing
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Activity: Collection and characterization of
germplasm
Characterization for nutritional
traits
Biochemical analysis
Crop
Average Betacarotene content
Finger millet
0.85 ug/100g
Foxtail millet
0.79 ug/100g
Ca (mg kg- 1700-5100 2700-3100
1)
(IE 4476)
Pearl millet
25.00 ug/100g
Protein (%) 5.4-12.7
(IE 6537,
PESE 1)
maize
171 ug/100g
Trait
Range
Collection
Controls
Fe (mg Kg- 16.8-88.4
1)
(IE 4708)
24.7-40.3
Zn (mg kg- 3.0-31.0
1)
(IE 3120)
17.8-22.0
6.7-8.2
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Activity 1.2: Evaluation for biotic and
abiotic stresses
• Sources of resistance to blast disease in finger
millet
• Greenhouse screening – 22 highly resistant, 43 resistant
to leaf blast
• The best selections at 5 hotspots, based on
yield and blast reaction: ‘Kabale’, ‘IE 2522’, ‘Uganda
coll. 1 sel 2’, ‘Atutnuru’, ‘Acc 58 FMB /01’, ‘KNE 67’, ‘P 226’, ‘P
6-4-(3)’, ‘KNE # 392’, and ‘IEL 41’.
• 5 accessions (IE 2911, 2957, 4497, 6337 and 7018) resistant to
blast at all 5locations
• IE 4491, SEC 915 and IE 6165 resistant to striga
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Activity 1.3: Evaluation for drought
• 50% reduction in shoot biomass production
under drought stress
• IE 2440, 3693, 4115, 5165, 2042, 2312, 3475,
4028, 4121, 4491, 5106 7079 and Seremi 2 –
most drought tolerant accessions
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Activity 1.4: Identification of traits-specific
parents
• Trait specific accessions identified for different agronomic
traits
• Early flowering 51-55 days (range: 51-96 days): 10 accn.
• More fingers: 9-9.4 (range: 6.1 to 9.4): 3 accn.
• More basal tillers: 6-8.1 (range 3.33 to 8.1): 8 accn.
• Long earheads, 150-166 mm (range: 51 to 166 mm): 2
accn.
• High grain yield, 2.5-2.711 t ha-1 (range 0.46 to 2.71 t ha1): 5 accn.
• High in all grain nutrients: 8 accn. – IE 588, 2921, 4443,
4476, 4817, 4708, 4709, and 6546
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Activity : Agronomic evaluation/Identifying
parents
• High nutrient accessions
– IE 4708 (highest Fe – 88.4 mg kg-1)
– IE 4476 (highest Ca – 5100 mg kg-1)
– IE 4709 (good for all nutrients with multiple disease
resistance)
– All three are wild types, very low yield (<0.601 t ha-1)
• IE 6546 – high nutrient values, resistantance to diseses
fairly high yields
• IE 6537 – high protein and Ca, moderate disease
resistnce, low yield
• IE 2957 – high yield, under drought stress
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Crosses and segregating populations
• 20 new crosses involving 10 elite lines were made
and used bulk method to advance generations
• 150 F4 progenies studied for disease epiphytoties
• Backcross populations is on-going to incorporate
specific resistance to blast
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Variety Trials
• Elite and advanced lines conducted at Serere,
Kumi, Kuju and Aduku field stations.
• Harvesting is in progress but trial performance
was good at all locations
• 15 Multilocation trial sites were Serere, Kumi,
Kujju, Aduku, Ngora and Kaberamaido
• More on-farm trials comprising 10 finger millet
genotypes selected from previous multilocation
yield trials were conducted in the districts of
Kaberamaido, Lira, Apac and Gulu.
• 10 candidate varieties have been described.
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Popularization/demonstrations and scaling
up
• Multiplication of foundation seed and breeders’ seed
on-station and on-farm
• Multiplication of seed was done on-station- varieties
PESE 1, SEREMI 2, SX 6, SEC 915 and SEREMI 3 (3000 Kg
of each var)
• for multiplication under the farmer – to – farmer seed
loan scheme
• The loan scheme was aimed at creating awareness
• We work in collaboration with an NGO (CLEAR
UGANDA) based in Mbale district concerned about
food security and land rights for women
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Popularization cont.
• Demonstrations
– set up in Kumi, Kaberamaido, Lira, Apac, Gulu and
Soroti districts during April 2012 for varieties and
fertilizer use
– Released and pre-release varieties were included
in the demonstration fields
– Five field days were held at the demonstration
sites at least in Lira, Gulu and Mbale.
– farmers prefer early maturing varieties with big
heads with strong straw
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Sustainable Seed systems development
• Access to good quality seed is an issue for
smallholder farmers
• Supply or sell Small seed packets of improved
varieties to interested farmers
• Farmer-based seed loan schemes
• Links with private seed companies – Pearl
Seeds Ltd, Victoria Seeds and NASECO
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Value addition (millet-based flour)
• Studies on processing and value addition (malting,
Weaning foods, milk-based beverages and infant foods)
are in progress in collaboration with MUK.
• Malting qualities of all released varieties and prerelease varieties being done in collaboration with MUK,
Brewing industry.
• Creating public awareness - FM radio (4 radio talks
were made on Open Gate Radio Mbale), participated in
Food and Agriculture show in Abi, National Agriculture
show in Jinja, food fair in Kampala and print material
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Processing
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Team report
• Public Private Partnership is working well
especially in product development.
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Partners/Collaborators
• Universities – Warwick, UK; University of Georgia,
USA; Makerere University, Kampala
• Government extension services (NAADS)
• Private sector companies – e.g. Family Diet, Maganjo
grain Millers for product development
• Religious organizations – promotion and mobilization
• Farmer groups and associations-primary clients
• NGOs – CLEAR Uganda, SAVE the CHILD, AT-UG,
• IARCs – ICRISAT for backstopping (germplasm)
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Planned Annual outputs 2012/2013
Outputs
Activities
Budget
High yielding, stable
varieties developed
Characterization,
evaluation, breeding,
selection, Trials, etc
78,000,000
Sustainable integrated crop Row planting, fertilizer use, 64,000,000
and soil management
legume integration, etc
options generated
Value addition and
competiveness of FM
enhanced
Product development,
Recipes, Malt, food and
non-food products
51,000,000
Farmer based seed
production and delivery
developed
Training, seed packets,
seed loans, linkages with
seed companies
52,000,000
Dissemination to uptake
pathways and end users
Training, foundation seed,
Linkages with
NAADS/ZARDIs
59,000,000
Total
304,000,000
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Challenges
• Climatic changes – the weather is very
unpredictable
• Resistant varieties lodging heavily
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Publications summary
• Manuscripts are under review
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Acknowledgements
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Government of Uganda
NARO
The McKnight Foundation CCRP
Bill and Melinga Gates Foundation (BMGF)
ICRISAT
Farmers, Farmer groups and associations
CLEAR Uganda – Mbale
SAVE the CHILD
Thank you for listening!