Groundnuts, not tobacco
A high-yielding groundnut variety (ICGV-SM 90704) with good resistance against groundnut rosette has come within reach. Rosette is a devastating disease and is always present in the ground-nut crop. A low inci-dence is usually acceptable but in cases of epidemic outbreaks, which occur regularly in sub-Saharan Africa, it destroys the entire crop, causing average losses of US$ 156 million yearly. This discourages many farmers from growing groundnuts. Now ICRISAT scientists based in Malawi have developed several high-yielding breeding lines with resistance to rosette; in combination with early sowing, and at an optimal plant density, they give promising results. They have been released in Malawi and Uganda and are on their way in Zambia and Mozambique. The breeder seed production takes place at the ICRISAT station in Malawi, and foundation and basic seed production is done at commercial farms for sale to NGOs and farmers. The crop is regarded as a viable alternative to tobacco a hot topic in the region. It thrives in the same poor soils and agro-climatic conditions and fixes nitrogen in the soil. Dr Pala Subrahmanyam ICRISAT Chitedze Research Station PO Box 1096 Lilongwe Malawi Fax: + 265 707 298 Email: p.subrahmanyam@cgiar.org
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| Format: | News Item biblioteca |
| Language: | English |
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Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation
2001
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| Online Access: | https://hdl.handle.net/10568/46064 https://hdl.handle.net/10568/99594 |
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