Tentative Agenda: Sweetpotato Breeders' Annual Meeting · Skype:some.koussao1 14 Kwabena Acheremu...

Tentative Agenda: Sweetpotato Breeders' Annual Meeting Mukono, Uganda, June 22-25, 2010

Speed Breeders' Workshop 2010: Building an Efficient and Innovative Sweetpotato Breeder Community of Practice

June Activity Responsible21 Mon Arrival Martha Ameru/

Silver Tumwegamire22 Tues8:30 am Registration Martha Ameru9:00 am Welcome remarks

Opening of meeting Berga Lemaga

Chair: Gorrettie Ssemakula9:30-10:15 am From HarvestPlus to SASHA and SPHI Jan Low

10:15-11:00 am Sweetpotato breeding, Lessons from HarvestPlus Wolfgang Grüneberg

11:00-12:00 Application of molecular methods in sweetpotato Wolfgang Grüneberg and Silver Tumwegamire

12:00-‐12:30 Diallel analysis of sweetpotato for beta-carotene content Martin Chiona& yield components

12:30-1:00 pm Sweetpotato field note book & anlaysis of sweetpotato Jens Riis Jacobsentrials Robert Mwanga

Wolfgang Grüneberg1:00-2:00 pm Lunch Silver Tumwegamire

Chair: Ted Carey2:00-3:30 pm Sweetpotato field note book & anlaysis of sweetpotato trials JRJ, RM, WG, ST3:30-3:50 pm Sweetpotato breeding for food & healthy nutrition in Malawi Felistus P.Chipungu3:50-4:10 pm Development of sweetpotato varieties for high altitude Jane Laura4:10-4:30 pm Development of sweetpotato varieties for dual purpose use Jean Ndirigwe

through participatory breeding in Rwanda

4:30-5:00 General Disscussion

23 Wed Chair: Felistus Chipungu

8:30-10:30 am Sweetpotato field note book & anlaysis of sweetpotato trials JRJ, RM, WG, ST10:30-11:00 am Sweetpotato breeding for Southern Africa Maria Andrade11:30-12:30 am Sweetpotato response to drought stress Sammy Agili12:30-1:00 pm Development of fast screening methods for drought Ms Mmapaseka Malebana

tolerant sweetpotato1:00 - 2:00 pm Lunch June Activity Responsible23 Wed Chair: Philip Ndolo2:00-2:30 pm Sweetpotato breeding for Western Africa Ted Carey3:00-3:30 pm Sweetpotato breeding for East and Central Africa Robert Mwanga

3:30-4:00 pm Genotype x environment interaction effects for nutritional Silver Tumwegamirequality traits among East African sweetpotato genotypes

4:00-4:30 pm Breeding for enhanced beta-carotene content of Some Koussaosweetpotato in Burkina Faso

4:30-5:00 pm Greenhouse and field screening for drought tolerance in Jose Ricardosweetpotato (Mozambique experience)

5:00-‐5:30 pm General Discussion

24 Thur Visit to the National Crops Resources Research Institute Gorrettie SsemakulaNamulonge ST, RM

25 Fri Chair: Martin Chiona8:30-10:30 Sweetpotato field note book and anlaysis of sweetpotato trials JRJ, RM, WG, ST

11:00-1:00 Sweetpotato field note book and anlaysis of sweetpotato trials JRJ, RM, WG, ST1:00-2:00 pm Lunch

Chair: Joice Malinga 2:00-2:30 pm Sweetpotato characterization in Nigeria Ijeoma Nwakaku Egeonu

2:30-4:00 pm Participatory breeding and official variety release Robert MwangaGroup discussion

4:00-5:00 pm General discussion and conclusions/ Way Forward Robert Mwanga Jan LowTed CareyMaria AndradeSilver TumwegamireSammy Agili

Program: Sweetpotato Breeders MeetingVisit to NaCRRI, June 24, 2010

Building an Efficient and Innovative Sweetpotato Breeder Community of Practice

Time Activity Responsible

9:00 am Courtesy call, Director of NaCRRI Gorrettie Ssemakula/Ted Babirye

9:15 am Tissue culture lab G. Ssemakula/Rose Makumbi

9:30 am Entomology lab/ Demonstration weevil damage Moses Ekobu

9:45 am NIRS Equipment / Livestock Rose Omaria/ Silver Tumwegamire

10:00 am Bioscience lab Yona Baguma/Gorrettie Ssemakula

10:20 am Screenhouse/ Sweetpotato, yam bean Gorrettie Ssemakula/Silver Tumwegamire

10:30 am Virus and Athernaria blight scoring Robert MwangaG. Ssemakula, Agnes Alajo

11:30 am Planting/harvesting standard sweetpotato AYT plot R. Mwanga, A. Alajo

12:00 Field trials, crossing blocks R. Mwanga, S. Tumwegamire

1:00 -‐ 2:00 pm Lunch break Martha AmeruSilver Tumwegamire

2:00 - 3:00 pm Colour Chart / scoring root flesh color Silver Tumwegamire

3:00 - 5:00 pm Breeding photoes Silver Tumwegamire

No Names Title Institution Address City Country Telephone Fax Mobile Email1 Christina Owen Associate Program Officer BMGF-USA USA +1 206 7701893 +1 206 4947072 +1 206 3947687 [email protected]

2 Engida TsegayeCoordinator, National Root Crops (breeder)

Southern Agri Research Institute

P.O. Box 6 Hawassa Ethiopia +251 46 2209980 +251 462204521 +251 916 828014 [email protected]

3Felistus Chipungu

SP BreederBvumbwe Agric. Research Station

P.O. Box 5748 Limbe Malawi +265 1471323 +265 147 1527 +265 9 933411 [email protected]

4Gorrettie N. Ssemakula

Head, Sweetpotato ResearchNational Crops Resources Research Institute (NaCRRI)

P.O. Box 7084 Kampala Uganda +256 782 884709 +256 414 573016 +256 782 [email protected] [email protected]

5Ijeoma Egeonu N.

Research Assistant University of IbadanPMB 2001, UI Post Office

Ibadan, Oyo State Nigeria +234 803 8277325 +234 8038277325 [email protected]

6 Jan Low SPHI Leader CIP-SSA P.O. Box 25171 Nairobi Kenya +254-20-4223602 +254 733 411010 [email protected]

7 Jean Ndirigwe SP Breeder ISAR P.O. Box 7231 Kigali Rwanda +250 578768 +250 578768 +250 [email protected] [email protected] Skype:ndirigwe

8 Jean Marc R. Head, Research Department FIFAMANOR BP198 Antsirabe 110 Madagascar +261 330835790 +261 330835790 [email protected]

9Jens-Riis Jacobsen

Informatics Specialist P.O. Box 25171 Nairobi Kenya +254-20-4223602 [email protected]

10 José Ricardo SP Breeder IIAM- National ResearchP.O. Box 2100, Av. FPLM 2699

Maputo Mozambique +258 21461610 +258 214 61610 +258 823229880 [email protected]

11 Joyce Mailnga Principal Research Officer KARI- Njoro P.O Njoro- 20107 Njoro Kenya +254 710266737 +254 [email protected] or [email protected]

12 Kizigiro Ernest Biotechnology Lab ISABU BP 795 Bujumbura Burundi+257 79 439473 or +257 75 439473

+257 79 [email protected] [email protected]

13 Koussao Some SP Breeder INERA - Ouagadougou 01 BP 476 Ouagadougou Burkina Faso226 50 319202 or 226 71 747167

+225 50 347101 +226 76 61 58 [email protected] Skype:some.koussao1

14Kwabena Acheremu

Plant BreederCSIR-Savanna Agricultural Research Institute

P.O Box 52 Tamale Ghana +233 37291205 +233 243 960803 [email protected] Skype:kacheremu

15 Laura Karanja Senior Research Officer KARI-Njoro P.O Njoro- 20107 Njoro Kenya +254 722 685544 [email protected]

16Maria J. Andrade

CIP Regional Breeder CIP-Southern AfricaP.O. Box 2100, IIAM, Av. FPLM 2698

Maputo Mozambique +258 214 61610 +258 823065460 [email protected]

17 Martin Chiona Plant BreederZambia Agriculture Research Institute, Mansa

P.O. Box 710129 Mansa Zambia +260 212 821617 +260 977 125692 [email protected]

18Mmapaseka Malebana

Junior ResearcherAgricultural Research Council

Private Bag X293 Pretoria, 0001 South Africa +27 12 841 9611 +27 12 808 0348 +27 982 2073 [email protected]

19 Philip J. Ndolo Team Leader, SP Programme KARI KakamegaP.O. Box 169 50100

Kakamega Kenya +254 5630039 254 5630039 +254 722227456 [email protected]

20Rahila Amour M.

Agricultural Researh Officer ARI-Ukiriguru P.O. Box 1433 Mwanza Tanzania +255 755 037471 +255 755 037471 [email protected]

21 Robert Mwanga Regional SP Breeder CIP-Uganda Box 22274 Kampala Uganda +256-312266250/1/2/3/4

+256-414-287947 [email protected] [email protected]

22 Sammy AgiliAssistant Sweetpotato Breeder

CIP-Kenya P.O. Box 25171 Nairobi Kenya +254 20 4223602 +254 722 365784 [email protected]

23Silver Tumwegamire

Assistant SP Breeder CIP-Uganda P.O.Box 22274 Kampala Uganda +256 0414 287571 +256 414 287538 +256 772 911652 [email protected]

24 Ted CareyRegional Sweetpotato Breeder

CIP-West Africa P.O. Box 3785 Kumasi Ghana +233 546 938599 [email protected]

25Wolfgang Gruneberg

SP Breeder CIP-HQ Lima Peru [email protected]

LIST OF PARTICIPANTS FOR SP BREEDING MEETING HELD AT COLLINE HOTEL, MUKONO UGANDA ON 22-25 JUNE 2010

Sweetpotato breeders’ annual meeting June 22 – 25, 2010 Page 1

EIGHTH SWEETPOTATO BREEDERS’ ANNUAL MEETING PROCEEDINGS

COLLINE HOTEL, MUKONO – UGANDA June 22 – 25, 2010.

Compiled by Silver Tumwegamire and Robert O.M. Mwanga


List of contents

Background………………………………………………. …………………………………………………………………………………. 3

Meeting objectives……………………….. …………………………………………………………………………………………….. 3

From HarvestPlus (HP) to SASHA and SPHI: Breeding as the foundation of Success………................ 3

The major lessons from HP sweetpotato breeding. .…………………………………………………………………….. 5

Applications of Molecular tools in Sweetpotato breeding………………………………... …………………………. 7

Diallel Analysis of SP for β-‐carotene in Zambia………………………………………………………………………………. 7

Sweetpotato Breeding for Food and Healthy Nutrition in Malawi…………………………………………………. 8

Development of sweetpotato varieties in Central Rift of Kenya …..……………………………………………….. 9

Development of Sweetpotato varieties for Dual Purpose Use through Participatory Breeding in Rwanda.............................................................................................................................................. 10

Sweetpotato Breeding for Southern Africa…………………………………………………………………………………… 11

Breeding for enhanced β-‐carotene content of sweetpotato in Burkina Faso……………………………….. 12

Development of fast screening methods to identify drought tolerant sweetpotatoes in SA............ 14

Sweetpotato breeding for west Africa............................................................................................... 15

Sweetpotato Breeding for East and Central Africa………………………………………………….……………………… 17

Genotype x Environment Interactions for Yields and Nutritional Quality Traits ……………………………. 18

Sweet Potato response to drought…………………………………………………………………………….…………………. 19

Sweetpotato Screening for Drought tolerance and high β-‐carotene content in Mozambique........ 20

Field visits at NaCRRI……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 22

TRAINING SESSIONS…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 23

Sweetpotato Characterization in Nigeria......................................................................................... 26

Participatory Breeding and Official Variety Release……………………………………………………………………… 29

Way forward with the clone selector……………………………………………………………………………………………. 30

Annex 1………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 31

Annex 2………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 33

Annex 3…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 35


Background

The annual breeder meetings have for the last 8 years been useful in bringing together all sweetpotato breeders in the major sweetpotato producing countries in Sub-‐Saharan Africa (SSA) to share research results and plans. Important, is that the breeders have used the meetings to harmonize the methods for breeding experimentation, data collection and analysis. The list of participants and agenda are shown in annexes 1 and 2, respectively.

Opening: The meeting opened with introductions of participants. Each participant was asked to find a new friend and interact for 3 minutes before introductions in the plenary. In pairs, participants introduced each other and mentioned the best form each participant liked to eat sweetpotato. It was interesting to find diversity of preferences.

Meeting objectives and program: Dr. Robert Mwanga briefed participants on the agenda which was mainly in two parts. One part was training on data collection and management using the new tool. The second part was presentations from: i) completed research activities mainly by students, ii) updates from Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) funded projects in selected partner countries, and iii) update presentations from HarvestPlus and the Sweetpotato for Profit and Health Initiative (SPHI) programs.

From HarvestPlus (HP) to SASHA and SPHI: Breeding as the foundation of success -‐ Dr. Jan Low.

Development of the SPHI (Sweetpotato for Profit and Health Initiative) involved 10 months (2008/2009) of participatory investigations into the challenges faced and the way forward for the sweetpotato research and development. The investigations involved seeking input from stakeholders through field visits, multi-‐disciplinary theme papers, internet survey, and a series of five workshops. The process resulted into a working paper published on 6 major themes, breeding, seed systems, integrated crop management, orange-‐fleshed sweetpotato, value chains, and partnerships.

The process also identified major constraints as i) untimely availability of adequate quantities of disease-‐free planting material; ii) varieties with limited yield potential in specific agro-‐ecologies & quality characteristics that do not meet demands of specific target groups; iii) damage due to the sweetpotato weevils in drier zones; iv) limited demand and inadequate market; v) poor agronomic practices; vi) limited awareness of decision makers about potential contribution of the crop to poverty and malnutrition reduction due to inadequate evidence base; and vii) need for a critical mass of informed stakeholders with good information exchange to maximize investment returns.

The vision for a 10 year Initiative was agreed on as ‘Repositioning sweetpotatoes in African food economies, particularly in expanding urban markets, to reduce child malnutrition and improve smallholder incomes’.

SPHI is a multi-‐partner, multi-‐donor initiative that seeks to reduce child malnutrition and improve smallholder incomes in 10 million African families by 2020 through the effective production and


expanded use of sweetpotato. SPHI is made of two phases. The first 5 year phase is aimed at proving the potential and greater emphasis is on breeding and seed systems research as the foundation for success. The first phase comprises of the ‘Sweetpotato Action for Security and Health in Africa (SASHA) Project’ led by the International Potato Center and will develop the essential capacities, products and methods to reposition sweetpotato in the food economies of SSA. It serves as the foundation for the broader initiative. The second 5 year phase is aimed at achieving the potential and emphasis will be on market and nutrition, seed systems and integrated crop management (ICM) as well as strengthening national breeding programs.

Focus areas of SASHA project

i. Support platforms -‐ there are 3 support platforms for breeding located in different countries: Uganda for East and Central Africa region, Ghana for West Africa, and Mozambique for Southern Africa. The main purpose of platforms is to provide a structure that strikes a balance between the specific needs of each region and scale economies in the research process by organizing the work around research for development platforms that integrate and support the work of institutional partners in each sub-‐region. Other roles include: a) providing technical backstopping with special emphasis on supporting AGRA supported PhD programs in breeding and AGRA support to national breeding programs, b) ensuring gender-‐sensitive design and implementation and c) ensuring comparable data collection between countries engaged in the breeding and germplasm exchange, as well as consistent and coordinated monitoring and evaluation components.

ii. Breeding and varietal development -‐ which seeks to generate a radically expanded range of sweetpotato varieties that combine different quality characteristics with significant improvements in yielding ability. The components are: a) Generating populations to meet dominant needs of users, e.g. high β-‐carotene and dual purpose for animal feeds for East and Central Africa, drought tolerance and high β-‐carotene for Southern Africa, and non-‐sweet sweetpotato, orange and white-‐fleshed for West Africa. DM content cuts across the sub-‐regions b) re-‐design sweetpotato breeding systems in Africa to produce varieties in fewer years (3-‐4) than currently (7-‐8 years): “accelerated breeding”; and c) additional new breeding methods used e.g. heterosis exhibited in sweetpotato breeding, and molecular markers for breeding for virus resistance.

iii. Weevil resistance breeding -‐ the focus is to develop weevil-‐resistant sweetpotato varieties for SSA within 5 years through transgenic approaches using Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) sources for weevil resistance. After 20 years of conventional breeding, efforts have failed to identify suitable weevil resistance sources. Emphasis has been put on training African biotechnologists (2 PhDs, 4 technicians) for Kenya and Uganda utilizing new BeCA platform facilities in Nairobi, Kenya.

iv. Seed systems research: The aim is to establish demand-‐led cost-‐effective seed systems for the dissemination of new varieties and high quality planting material. The activities include: a) developing and testing strategies for the multiplication and dissemination of sweetpotato varieties (enhanced farmer-‐based capacities to maintain quality planting material, cost-‐effective public sector distribution programs and potential for profit nurseries ); b) Study the marginal costs in adding sweetpotato to an existing clonal crop (cassava) seed dissemination program in Tanzania; c) Assure sweetpotato varieties can be maintained in a disease-‐free state over time at the sub-‐


regional level and that safe and efficient germplasm exchange occurs between countries -‐ develop field level diagnostic kits for virus detection.

v. Proof-‐of-‐Concept Projects (PoCP) -‐ the aims are: a) to understand the entry points in the value chain to improve market efficiency or diversify use especially for women, and design and test scalable approaches for improving food-‐based nutrition programs based on OFSP to combat vitamin A deficiency; b) to evaluate options that influence the capacity to go-‐to-‐scale and achieve the outcomes on poverty and nutrition that are planned for the second phase.

• PoCP Kenya -‐-‐-‐ the main research questions are: a) can linking OFSP intervention to health service delivery increase impact on vitamin A status?; b) can linking an agricultural intervention and nutritional training to existing health services provide an incentive to pregnant women to increase health service utilization?; c) does integration of an OFSP agricultural-‐nutritional intervention into health service delivery for pregnant women and their children <2 years old lead to higher increases in consumption of OFSP and other vitamin A rich foods than existing agricultural extension and primary health services alone?

• PoCP Rwanda Value chain development: The challenge: processing of sweetpotato products offers opportunity to increase demand for the crop, enhances value addition, and thereby expanding the incomes of smallholder producers. Research questions: a) compare the farmer welfare outcomes from the introduction of two models for producing sweetpotato flour: -‐-‐-‐-‐one where intermediate chips are produced by farmer groups and the other where the flour producer (and bakery) does all the processing; b) test different models for inclusion of the poor and women in the development of new market chains for high value sweetpotato products.

PoCP Rwanda -‐-‐-‐ aims at re-‐positioning of white and orange fleshed sweetpotato and their products in the urban consumer market. Men and women farmers will have increased income through accessing high value sweetpotato markets and benefit through access to high quality planting material. Partners: ISAR, Catholic Relief Services, SINA Enterprises.

• Pre-‐PoCP1: Feasibility study of Animal feed. The Hypothesis: The efficient integration of dual purpose sweetpotato into dairy systems of the highlands and contract farmers in pig production in Kenya results in significantly improved profits for farmers and improved end product quality. It brings enormous experience CIP has gained in China and Vietnam on silage production and use of dual purpose (food and feed varieties) into East Africa (Kenya and Rwanda). Other partners include KARI & ISAR (national research programs), East Africa Dairy Development (EADD) Project, Farmer's Choice (private company producing bacon and sausages).

• Pre-‐POCP2: Feasibility to study markets in Nigeria. Nigeria is 2nd largest sweetpotato producer in SSA. The study will investigate whether sweetpotato is an economically viable substitute for yam or cassava in popular processed products when varieties with appropriate quality characteristics are used.

The major lessons from HP sweetpotato breeding -‐ Dr. Wolfgang Gruneberg.

The main lessons highlighted are:


i. For the first time the idea of Agriculture and Health was clear in practical reality.

Micronutrient deficiencies are of public health significance. Vitamin A deficiency: Up to 250 million children <5 years are affected; and 20 million pregnant women have sub-‐clinical deficiency. Anaemia (iron deficiency) is estimated at about 1.6 billion people (mostly young children and women of child bearing age) have iron deficiency (half with and half without anaemia). Zinc deficiency: There is limited data on magnitude of deficiency, but is estimated to be similar to iron.

OFSP can provide about 1.5 to 15 mg/100g pro-‐vitamin A on fresh matter basis. A child of 5 – 10 years age needs 5 mg pro-‐ vitamin A per day.

OFSP can provide 0.5 to 1.5 mg/100g iron on fresh matter basis. A child of 5 – 10 years age needs 10 mg Iron A per day.

ii. The emphasis was placed on the NARS -‐ No CIP breeding program. The CIP HQ breeding activities were supported by funding from other sources e.g. AGROSALUDI.

iii. Quality of carotenoids in sweetpotato was known. More than 80% of the carotenoids in sweetpotato are β-‐carotene. This is in contrast to other crops like cassava where there are other carotenes hence the yellow colour.

iv. Understanding of correlations of dry matter and OFSP; Fe and Zn and OFSP: OFSP has always been bred for low dry matter (DM) in the US while the white-‐fleshed sweetpotato (WFSP) have been bred for high DM in Africa and Latin America. Hence it is possible those white and orange populations have been bred separately for a long time.

v. Africa has its own OFSP farmer varieties -‐-‐-‐ may be few but are present. These have strong links with any breeding initiatives for SPVD resistance and adaptability. They are sources for breeding.

vi. NIRS technology for quality screening/ breeding has been shown to work and will benefit SASHA. Beyond SASHA, CIP is conducting the NIRS calibration development for HarvestPlus (HP) across all HP crops. For sweetpotato NIRS is able to analyze for protein, starch, sucrose, fructose, glucose, total carotenoids, β-‐carotene, Fe, Zn, Mg, Ca, and Mg in both flesh and dried roots.

vii. Separation of different breeding priorities targeted for the problems in different regions i.e. drought prone areas versus humid environments – genotype x environment interaction (GEI) are strong.

viii. Accelerated breeding scheme concept developed and tested to work.

o Rules: 1) early breeding stages: 1 m row plots (8000 – 1200 genotypes) everything what can be made simultaneously is made simultaneously – 4 locations no replications; 2) later breeding stages: 4-‐5 row plots (1st selection step: 300 clones, 3 locations, two replications; 2nd selection step: 40 clones, 6-‐12 locations, two replications)

ix. Variety Releases


The amount of sweetpotato consumed per day has direct bearing on the potential impacts on the daily requirements. Light OFSP landraces from Africa may have impact in countries like Uganda where the per capita consumption is about 240 g/per day. This is in contrast to areas in Latin America e.g. Lima where per capita consumption is far low. The same is true for minerals Fe and Zn.

Efficiency and efficacy of β-‐carotene: During processing, β-‐carotene is lost and the implication is the need to select for darker orange-‐flesh clones so that there is some β-‐carotene retained after processing.

Applications of molecular tools in sweetpotato breeding -‐ Wolfgang Gruneberg

The breeders have used a) restriction fragment length polymorphisms (RFLPs), random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPDs), amplified fragment length polymorphisms ( AFLPs); b) 100 simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers for sweetpotato have been developed at CIP and have been used to characterize germplasm and c) DARTs -‐ Diversity Array Technology is being developed at CIP.

Applications:

1. Application1: Germplasm: identification of duplicates, verifying distinct accessions, identifying structures in germplasm.

2. Application2: Building heterosis genepools for root yield improvement. There are pseudo tests for significant different clusters.

3. Application3: Marker assisted selection -‐ more relevant for sweetpotato virus disease (SPVD) resistance breeding. There is a need for Sweetpotato Chlorotic stunt (SPCSV) resistance in sweetpotato. SPCSV breaks resistance for sweetpotato and thus opens doors for all other viruses. Thus the need for breeding for SPCSV resistance in sweetpotato. More SSR markers are needed. Resistance populations from PJ (population Jewel) and PZ (population Zapallo).

4. Application 4: Mapping for sweepotato. This has been done by two groups, North Carolina State University and CIP.

Plenary Questions

1. African OFSP landraces -‐ implications for heterosis: Landraces can be useful for breeding e.g. SPVD resistance.

2. Where in accelerated breeding scheme (ABS) is farmer participation?

Diallel analysis of sweetpotato for β-‐carotene in Zambia -‐ Martin Chiona

The study was conducted in Zambia with the overall objective of examining the basic nature of the quantitative inheritance of selected traits in sweetpotato using diallel analysis. However, the specific


objectives were i) to estimate the components of genetic variance (GCA and SCA), and ii) to determine the type of gene action controlling β-‐carotene, root dry mass (RDM), harvest index (HI) and root fresh yield (RFY) in F1 progenies.

A full diallel cross involving 5 parents was generated and evaluated in a trial at Mansa. Each cross was represented by 20 progenies that were selected on basis of adequate planting material availability at the time of planting. The parents were i) Excel – introduction from CIP and orange-‐fleshed; ii) L4-‐138/3 white fleshed; iii) W-‐119 – introduction from CIP and orange fleshed; iv) Unkown2/1 local material and white-‐fleshed; v) L3-‐1990 84/1 local material orange-‐fleshed.

The main findings of the study include the following

• Non-‐additive type of gene action was dominant over additive effect for β-‐carotene, harvest index (HI) and root fresh yield (RFY) because specific combining ability (SCA) variance was greater than general combining ability (GCA) variance. In case of root dry matter (RDM), additive gene action was more dominant; though, both additive and non-‐additive gene actions were involved in the expression of the trait.

• The ratios of GCA to SCA variances were small (0.1-‐0.35:1) except for RDM (7.56:1). • The two β-‐carotene rich parents used in this study exhibited high GCA, indicating that additive gene

effects were predominant in the inheritance of β-‐carotene. However, β-‐carotene rich parents with high GCA did not result in progeny with the highest SCA for most of the crosses.

• The high β-‐carotene progenies were obtained from a cross of a parent with high GCA plus a parent with low GCA (1 x 2 and 3 x 4) and 2 parents with low GCA (2 x 5).

• The reason for this is unclear, however, sweetpotato is a highly heterozygous hexaploid, and it is possible that on crossing parents selected for β-‐carotene content more favourable combinations of genes are broken down than reassembled in the progeny.

• Therefore, parents must be selected on the basis of their SCA. Conversely, high RDM parents that exhibited high GCA produced only one cross with significant high RDM progenies. Reciprocals were not significant for RDM but they were significant for β-‐carotene content. These results suggest that improvement for β-‐carotene content and RDM may not be achieved simultaneously.

• From the above results, GCA alone was not sufficient for selecting parents for a hybrid programme. • Parents with low GCA may produce progeny with high SCA effects for β-‐carotene, HI, and RFY. • Hence, β-‐carotene can be transferred into improved progeny using parents with either high or low

levels of β-‐carotene. • Conversely, high RDM can be transferred into improved progeny using parents with high RDM.

Sweetpotato Breeding for food and healthy nutrition in Malawi -‐ Felistus Chipungu Sweetpotato is grown countrywide in Malawi and most important in periods of maize shortage. There has been increasing trends in both area and tonnage over the past decade and were estimated at 164255 ha and 2.3 MT, respectively. The main constraints of sweetpotato production in Malawi include: a) In adequate planting materials of improved varieties at the onset of planting rains; b) Limited


improved varieties-‐ mainly orange-‐fleshed; c) Lack of storage technologies for fresh roots; d) Limited modes of processing and utilization; e) Erratic market systems; f) Insufficient extension support for backstopping; and g) Pests and diseases

The objectives of the sweetpotato improvement program in Malawi include: a) High root yields per unit area and time; b) Resistance/tolerance to sweetpotato virus complex disease (SPVD) and sweetpotato weevil (SPW), c) Give desired root quality (colour [nutrition], root size and shape, high dry matter, good taste, aroma), d) Wide or specific adaptability to environmental conditions and cropping systems.

There are two donor funded projects that currently complement efforts of the Department of Agricultural Research Services in the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security. These are:

i) Rooting out Hunger in Malawi with Nutritious Orange-‐fleshed Sweetpotato and Building Market Links. It is a 4½ year project funded by Irish Aid and started in October 2009. The activities include a) multiplicational evaluation and b) multiplication of Zondeni clean vines starting with cleaning of Zondeni at KEPHIS, then maintenance in glass house conditions and certifying the seed.

ii) Sweetpotato breeding in Malawi for food and healthy nutrition a 3 year project funded by AGRA; started from January 2010: Activities include -‐-‐-‐-‐-‐ a) Population development aimed at generating seeds from controlled and poly crosses, b) To conduct observation trials (seedling and clonal nurseries) to generate evaluation stocks for variety development, c) Implementation of a series of on-‐station and on-‐farm trials which includes fast tracking the evaluation of local and current advanced experimental accessions through multi-‐location evaluation

Promotion opportunities for sweetpotato in Malawi include: a) sweetpotato has the advantage of having a short growth cycle of 4-‐5 months after planting to supplement/relay food availability; b) sweetpotato is grown as a “low risk crop” that does not require a lot of external inputs; c) the crop is less affected by mid season dry spells; d) in dry season sweetpotato is grown under residual moisture in Chikwawa, Nsanje, NkhataBay and Karonga and the off season has good prices; e) there are many NGOs promoting production of sweetpotato through the provision of planting material.

Development of sweetpotato varieties in Central Rift of Kenya through farmer participatory approach -‐ Laura Karanja

The project’s main goal is to develop high yielding varieties, resistant to sweetpotato viruses and weevils, improved food quality, storability, and earliness. The specific outputs are: i) development and release of at least 5 varieties with farmer attributes ii) development of value addition technologies for increased market opportunities, and iii) establishment of linkages for seed dissemination.

The project is working in Central Kenya districts of Nakuru, Kericho, Bumet and Marigat.

The main constraints in the target areas include: a) sweetpotato is prone to insect pests (weevils) in the upper midland agroecologies, b) all zones prone to diseases (viruses), c) suitable varieties are susceptible


to SPVD and weevils and are low in β-‐carotene, d) most landraces are late maturing and low yielding and e) there are no market structures

The main activities include: a) farmer variety selection -‐ where about 20 different materials have been assessed for DM, virus resistance, root yields, biomass and orange-‐flesh colour; b) population development -‐ that involves a polycross nursery with 36 parents. Up to 62000 seeds have been generated. Some of them have been germinated and evaluated for clonal selection. Another 20 clones have been identified for advanced yield evaluation.

Development of sweetpotato varieties for dual purpose use through participatory breeding in Rwanda -‐ Jean Ndirigue

Overall goal: To develop and release through farmers participatory breeding and variety selection, SP varieties with high yields for alternative uses (with emphasis on dual purpose varieties that can be used as animal feed), resistance to SPVD and Alternaria, rich in nutrition quality, early maturity, and good storability.

The main components of the project include: a) Breeding, selection and release of new varieties with the aid of farmer participation, b) Training of farmers on production, utilisation and maintenance of clean and disease free cuttings, and c) Training of technicians in controlled crosses and accelerated breeding methods.

The project targets low, mid and high altitude Provinces of Bugesera, Muhanga, and Huye districts of Rwanda.

The expected outputs are: a) at least 30 advanced OFSP clones and 30 advanced white or yellow clones within 3 years, and b) release at least 2 new OFSP and 2 WFSP varieties.

For population development, a polycross with 60 parents is being used. The aim is to combine the 60 parents in a factorial controlled cross design [6 male parents (top clones with – 3 WFSP and 3 OFSP) x 54 female parents (about 40 WFSP clones and 15 OFSP clones)]. The target is to develop more than 12,000 polycross seed and at least 4,000 controlled cross seed. ABS will be adopted for quick variety development. At seedling stage, each genotype will be multiplied to obtain 12 cuttings. These cuttings will allow observation trial (OT) to be conducted in 3-‐4 environments (using 3 plants per genotype in 1 m row plots / environment). Currently, 8000 clones are to enter observation trial evaluation [3 plants per genotype per location] in 4 environments. The following attributes will be assessed: a) no or low pest and disease observations, b) storage root yield per ha, c) upper biomass production per ha, c) storage root dry matter content, d) β-‐carotenoid estimations on basis of color charts, and f) storage root size, shape and form for market purposes. Also, a) 800 to 1200 genotypes were selected in the 1st selection step carried out by farmers, b) At least 60 clones to enter advanced breeding clone trials together at 6 environments (45 plants per plot x 2 replications = 90 per genotype), and c) At least 48 on-‐farm trials established each with 8 clones -‐ 2 WFSP or cream clones and 2 OFSP clones selected for variety release.


Variety release: Up to 20 genotypes are currently being tested under the national performance trials. The target is to release 5 – 20 varieties by end of 2011.

Sweetpotato breeding for Southern Africa -‐ Maria Andrade

The presentation reviews the status and plans of activities of the Southern Africa platform and the sub-‐regional partner countries (Mozambique, South Africa, Malawi, and Zambia).

I. OFSP breeding for drought prone regions of Southern Africa -‐ Platform.

The main objective is to breed sweetpotato tolerant to drought with high levels of β-‐carotene and good culinary qualities.

The main activities include: a) Population development -‐ two populations are already available but will be further developed. Up to 90000 polycross and 5000 specific cross seeds have been generated. Within 4 years, 2 recurrent selection cycles will be carried out in both gene pools by ABS. b) The 2 populations will also be used to test the concept of exploiting heterosis. NARS breeding programs will be supplied and encouraged to use the resulting hybrid population for variety development. c) Research activities on physiological drought mechanisms will be undertaken in cooperation with Agricultural Research Council of South Africa. d) Capacity strengthening activities have been undertaken: i) Training on virus indexing and cleaning, ii) built the virology laboratory and equipped it with thermotherapy equipment, iii) built and equipped the kitchen to help post harvest work, iv) masters degree training on drought research -‐ Jose Ricardo. e) Molecular characterization of parent materials used in the crossing block is being undertaken. This is being done by a student, Ivonne Muocha in collaboration with Biotech Lab of Eduardo Mondlane University.

II. Sweetpotato research and development status in Malawi. The staff include: 2 breeders, 2 agronomists, 1 pathologist, 2 for technology transfer, 1 post harvest, 2 technicians and 1 seed system. The breeding objectives are high root yields (>20 t/ha), resistance/tolerance to SPVD and weevils, desired root quality and shape. Breeding trials are implemented in 7 on-‐station sites in distinct environments. On-‐farm demos and trials are implemented in 8 agricultural development divisions in collaboration with extension officers.

III. Sweetpotato research and development status in South Africa. The staff includes 3 breeders, 2 drought physiologists and gene bank, 3 virologists, 2 pathologists, 4 technicians and 2 students. Currently, the objective focuses on the development of orange-‐fleshed cultivars suited to the needs of resource-‐poor farmers. The priority traits include: sweet taste, acceptable dry matter content, increased β-‐carotene content, and good yield. Additional traits: tolerance to drought; Alternaria and virus resistance.

IV. Sweetpotato research and development status in Zambia. The staff includes 2 breeders, 1 agronomist, 1 pathologist, 1 virologist, 1 post harvest technologists and 5 technicians. The breeding activities include: polycross seed production with 30 parents, preliminary yield trial (PYT)


to on farm trials, on-‐station and on farm vine multiplication. Additional activities include agronomic experiments and awareness promotion for OFSP varieties among the public.

V. Sweetpotato Research and development status in Madagascar: Have introduced 14 OFSP clones and 10000 botanical seeds from CIP for the last five years.

Have conducted advanced yield, multi-‐location and on-‐farm evaluation and selection trials. Have also done agronomic trials on soil fertility, post harvest and conservation (storage).

Multiplication of planting materials: January-‐May, 2010 farmers’ groups and FIFAMANOR sold 20 tons of vines (320,000 cuttings) in South-‐East region of Madagascar. The major challenge is the absence of specialists in the areas of pathology, virology, entomology, and post harvest.

VI. Sweetpotato research and development status in Mozambique. The research focuses on the development of OFSP cultivars high in root yields, tolerant to drought, desired root quality and shape with wide and specific adaptation. Other important traits include: acceptable DM content, high level of β-‐carotene content. Breeding trials are implemented in 4 on-‐station sites of different agro-‐ecologies. On-‐farm trials are implemented in 4 sites with different agro-‐ecologies in collaboration with extension officers.

Work plans

In Mozambique the following are planned activities: a) Crossing block – SASHA, b) On-‐station and on-‐farm –USAID/SASHA, c) Screening for drought tolerance-‐SASHA, d) Evaluation of seeds (crosses) in nurseries-‐SASHA/USAID, e) OT, PYT, AYT and Multi-‐location-‐SASHA/USAID, f) Decentralized vine multiplication (DVM) – USAID, g) Value addition on sweetpotato -‐ process (flour) 4 biscuit and buns using mashed sweetpotato – USAID, h) awareness campaigns of OFSP – USAID, i) maintenance in vivo/vitro gene bank-‐SASHA/USAID, j) develop, promote and adopt OFSP recipes-‐USAID, k) multiply OFSP for partners and farmers-‐USAID, l) multiplication of released varieties, On-‐station-‐USAID, m) training of CBOs to assist the dissemination of new varieties-‐USAID.

In Malawi, the planned activities: a) Crossing block – AGRA, b) on-‐station and on-‐farm -‐AGRA/ Irish Aid, c) Foundation vine seed-‐ Irish Aid, d) DVM-‐ Irish Aid, d) Process (flour) for biscuit (U. industries) and bread using mashed sweetpotato-‐ CIP/DARS, e) Awareness campaigns of OFSP-‐ Irish/AGRA, f) Value addition on sweetpotato-‐ Irish aid/AGRA/DARS.

In Zambia, the planned activities: a) Crossing block (among high DM OFSP in a diallel), b) Evaluate breeding lines on-‐station/-‐farm, b) Develop, promote and adopt OFSP recipes, c) Promote sweetpotato weaning foods in health centers, d) Multiply OFSP for partners and farmers. All these activities are to be funded by the Government of Zambia.

In Madagascar, the planned activities: a) AYT of genotypes from seeds, b) Observational trial of genotypes from seeds, c) Multi-‐location trials of clones introduced in 2007 from CIP, d) Planting material


multiplication with released varieties, on station, e) Training of CBOs to assist the dissemination of new varieties and to tackle other areas.

In South Africa, the planned activities are: a) Screening methods for drought tolerance, b) Gamma irradiation to improve nutritional traits and drought, c) Early selection, Multi-‐location advanced yield trials, d) Maintenance in vivo/vitro gene bank, e) Crossing with 199062.1 as female, f) Evaluation of selected progeny (hybrids) from diallel crossing in PYT.

Breeding for enhanced β-‐carotene content of sweetpotato in Burkina Faso -‐-‐-‐ Some Koussau.

Sweetpotato is becoming a supporting crop that significantly helps in food security, and with annual production estimated at 81,000 t. It is a staple in rural areas and cash crop especially for women in urban centers.

Vitamin A deficiency: Based on a small community-‐ study in the rural part of Burkina Faso, 84.5% of children under-‐five and 61.8% of their mothers were found to be VAD (Zeba et al., 2006). As an intervention strategy to address VAD, large scale supplementation with high-‐dosage Vitamin A capsule has been preferred.

Varieties grown in Burkina Faso are dominated by the white-‐flesh sweetpotato. They are poor in β-‐carotene and micronutrients content and have low yield (9 t/ha). But they are rich in DM and well-‐adapted to specific environments. Improved OFSP have been introduced. However, they are negatively affected by biotic and abiotic factors (e.g. virus, insect, drought)

The overall breeding objective is to develop high β-‐carotene content and high yielding sweetpotato in Burkina Faso. The specific objectives are: a) Identify the main production constraints and understand farmer’s and consumer’s preferences; b) Collect and characterize the local germplasm and select superior parents to be used in a basic breeding program; c) Develop new varieties rich in β-‐carotene and adapted to the local environment by crossing with the introduced β-‐carotene sources and the local material; d) Analyze the gene actions involved in β-‐carotene and yield inheritance in crosses of local cultivars with selected high β-‐carotene varieties; e) Select high yield with high DM and high β-‐carotene clones adapted to the local environment.

Implemented activities: A) Participatory Rural appraisal (PRA) to identify and understand famer’s and consumer’s preferences in the 2 main production areas has been accomplished. The data will be analyzed using SPSS package. B) Germplasm collection and characterization (morphological and molecular). A total of 144 accessions from 90% of production area have been collected. Morphological characterization done but has to be repeated to confirm the traits. C) Population development: crossing block with 30 parents (15 local accessions selected for their performance and flowering habit and 15 OFSP). In total, 1703 crosses have been made and 309 controlled seeds obtained. Seeds have been germinated in a screen house. Seedlings are in multiplication stage.


The future planned activities include: a) Progenies will be evaluated in three environments and two replications; b) Analyses of β-‐carotene with HPLC; c) Genetic analysis will be done according to North Carolina Design (NCD II); d) Molecular characterization of the collected material with SSR markers; e) Superior parents will continue to be identify and crosses to increase seed production.

Development of fast screening methods to identify drought tolerant sweetpotatoes in South Africa – Mmapaseka Malebana

Like many crops, sweetpotato production is affected by climate variability. Availability of plant material and vine survival, are key characteristics for successful varieties in drought prone areas of South Africa. Quick screening methods are therefore needed to select and develop drought tolerant lines/varieties. However, understanding the mechanisms of drought tolerance in sweetpotato is important. Progress on screening for drought tolerance has been slow due to the complex nature of drought tolerance in plants. More rapid progress can be aided by prior knowledge of the physiological basis of traits associated with Water use efficiency (WUE) and drought tolerance. ARC-‐VOPI has been screening varieties for drought tolerance at an early stage in the screen-‐house and correlated the results with drought tolerance at later stages of development in rain out shelters.

The main objectives include: a) To subject various sweetpotato cultivars/lines to water stress conditions, b) To study the mechanisms of drought tolerance in popular OFSP and cream-‐fleshed varieties, c) To evaluate varieties/lines for drought tolerance, including landraces in the sub-‐region reputed to be drought tolerant, and d) To identify effective quick screening methods for drought tolerance using a combination of physiological, morphological and biochemical methods.

Experiments:

In large rain-‐out shelters -‐ Four OFSP varieties were each planted under 3 water regimes (100%, 60% & 30%), in 3 replications. Plots were of 3 ridges each measuring 1.8 m long and 0.8 m apart. A total of 18 plants were planted at 0.3 m apart in each plot. Winprobe conductance measurements were taken to monitor soil water depletion. Irrigation took place once a 40% depletion of plant available soil water (PAW) at 300 mm depth was detected at the 100% treatment. The 60% and 30% treatments received only 60 and 30%, respectively of the amount of water supplied to the 100% treatment.

In small rainout shelter, 35 lines were established under 2 water regimes – 30% and 60% stressed treatments with 2 reps. Also, established in adjacent field and irrigated 100% as soon as 40% of PAW was depleted. Each plot had 5 plants (1.5 m x 1 m ridge). The plots were watered to allow establishment for 2 weeks, after which water stress was introduced.

Data recorded:

i) Physiological measurement


In the large rainout shelter, the following physiological measurements were taken monthly: a) photosynthetically active radiation with a comptometer where LAI is calculated; b) plant growth analysis was done on 3 plants/plot by measuring stem length and branch formation; c) Leaf samples harvested : ±30 leaves/plot harvested before sunrise for biochemical analysis. The leaves were frozen at -‐70°C. The same measurements were taken in small rainout shelter and adjacent field. Chlorophyll content and stomatal conductance were measured on the 5th leaf of a selected plant in each replicate. Leaf samples harvested: ±30 leaves/plot harvested before sunrise.

ii) Agronomical analysis

In large rainout shelters, harvesting was done at 5 months after planting. Measurements were taken on 4 plants/plot for the wet/dry mass of top growth. In small rainout shelters and adjacent field, harvesting was done after 4 months due to late planting. Wet and dry mass of the top growth were determined for all the plants. Roots were harvested from all plants and storage root yield was determined. Root wet/dry mass was also determined.

iii) Biochemical analysis:

All the leaf material was freeze-‐dried to prevent decomposition. Freeze dried materials were used to determine: a) the absence/presence of antioxidants (Malan, et al. 1990; Dalton, et al.1986; Elstner & Heupel, 1976) -‐ antioxidants are usually detected in stressed plants; b) the carbon isotope ratio (using mass spectrometry at the department of Archaelogy , University of Cape Town) -‐ stressed plants develop a preference for carbon 13 over 12; c) presence of abscisic acid -‐ drought stress increases the abscisic acid content in leaves, the stomata close – due to higher concentrations of abscisic acid.

Root samples to be homogenized and frozen at -‐70°C to determine the total carotenoid content. Total carotenoid contents were shown to increase under stress conditions (Bartoli et al., 1999). A larger sample (20 – 30 g) of both leaves and roots will be freeze dried and sent to CIP, Lima, for NIRS calibration.

Preliminary observations: The trial is still in initial stages with the following results: a) Yield decreased with increased water stress and data is being processed for analysis; b) Measurements on morphological and physiological parameters have been taken -‐-‐-‐ data is being processed; c) Freeze drying of leaf and root tissue samples for biochemical and NIRS analyses is in progress before shipping to CIP, Lima.

The Way forward: a) Complete all the data analysis, b) CIP NIRS measurements – reference data from 50 samples used for the calibration, and c) Trials to be repeated for the second year from Sept 2010 with the same layout.

Sweetpotato breeding for West Africa -‐ Dr. Ted Carey

The presentation reviewed the status and plans of activities of the Western Africa sweetpotato platform and country reports for Ghana, Burkina Faso, and Nigeria.


West Africa sweetpotato platform: The component activities include: a) Pre-‐breeding/ population development for the non-‐sweet sweetpotato; b) NIRS lab for quality analysis; c) Regional quarantine and seed system support, and d) National program backstopping/partnership (programs funded by AGRA and others).

In Ghana: The staff includes 2 breeders, 1 agronomist, 1 virologist, 1 pathologist, 1 food scientist (Post-‐harvest), 1 tissue culture specialist, 1 molecular biologist, 1 socio-‐economist, 1 weed scientist, 1 biometrician, 2 technicians. At SARI, staff include: 1 breeder, 1 entomologist and 1 technician.

In summary, the ongoing activities include: a) Crossing block -‐ with 26 parents from which up to 30,000 OP seeds have been so far collected. Specific crosses have just begun to be made; b) observation trial -‐-‐-‐ 84 clones have been selected; c) preliminary yield trial -‐ 22 clones have been selected; d) advanced yield trial -‐-‐-‐ 10 clones have been selected; e) on-‐farm -‐ 10 clones, 4 candidate clones are due for release; and f) 8 clones (6 white/cream and 2 OFSP) are now actively disseminated. At SARI, only one observation trial with 20 clones has been planted.

Planned activities at CRI Kumasi include: a) Collection, evaluation and conservation of local and exotic germplasm; b)Develop population lines suitable for different user needs; c) Hybridization of parental clones to introgress desirable genes into elite genotypes, d) Test adaptability and acceptability of elite genotypes through farmer participatory research, e) Production and distribution of high quality primary (breeder) planting materials of released varieties, f) Product development and promotion of utilization potential, g) Survey on the availability, marketing and consumption of sweetpotato in Ghana. At SARI the activities include: a) Seedling multiplication of 20 genotypes received from CRI at irrigation site, b) Establish both on-‐station and on-‐farm trials.

Sweetpotato research and development in South West Nigeria: Staff includes 15 technical staff (4 are breeders/seed systems) and 4 field technicians.

The activities are: a) Observation trials at Adenuga, and Ogunkunle; b) On-‐farm evaluation of 15 clones selected at different stages of breeding since 2006; c) dissemination of 15 superior clones (5 WFSP; 5 YFSP; 5 OFSP) to the different parts of the country.

The main challenges to sweetpotato research in Nigeria include: a) Shortage of funds for sweetpotato research and development, b) Inadequate virus-‐cleaning facilities, c) Limited facilities for in vitro germplasm conservation, d) Insufficient number of technical staff dedicated to sweetpotato work, e) Lack of scholarships for promising students interested in sweetpotato research, f) High demand for planting materials that SPG cannot satisfy, and g) Lack of government support for on-‐farm trials of already identified promising 15 clones.

The planned activities include: a) Crossing block establishment (open field) -‐-‐-‐ using 40 parents at University of Ibadan, b) Vine production for trials (35 clones) with 15 clones at the University of Ibadan, c) Vine multiplication plot (one hectare), d) In situ germplasm conservation (50 accessions), e) Seedling


nursery (> 3000), OT (~100), AT (8) and Elite (8) all to be done at National Root Crops Research Institute, Umudike.

In Burkina Faso, the staff include: 1 breeder, 1 agronomist, 1 virologist and 1 Entomologist.

In order to promote OFSP to alleviate vitamin A and antioxidant deficiency in Burkina Faso the main activities have included: a) Introduction and evaluation of OFSP, b) Pest and disease identification and management, c) Laboratory analyses and dietary tests in VAD population, and d) Promotion of OFSP with farmers and consumers.

The breeding research activities include: a) Germplasm collection and morphological characterization; b) crossing block: so far generated 30 OP seeds and 41 hand-‐cross seeds; c) Seedling nursery with 195 clones; d) Observation trial; e) Preliminary yield trial, and f) Advanced yield trial; and g) On-‐farm.

The future planned activities are: a) Progeny evaluation on 3 sites; b) Crossing block; c) Molecular characterization; d) Extension project CRS + HKI.

Sweetpotato breeding for East and Central Africa -‐ Dr. Robert Mwanga

The presentation reviewed the status and plans of activities of the Eastern and Central Africa platform and the sub-‐region partner countries (Ug, Ke, Rw, Tz and Eth).

Major problems

In Ethiopia, the problems are: a) Severe infestation of virus hinders research activities on sweetpotato; b) Prolonged time to get virus free starter planting material using tissue culture and subsequent Elisa test.

In Kenya, the problems are: a) Inadequate funding; b) Drought (North rift); c) inadequate crossing skills for technician; d) No full time breeder with M.Sc or PhD; e) inadequate funding.

In Uganda, the problems are a) Unreliable internet, faxes and phones, electricity; b) No virologist, socio-‐economist; and c) Two of the staff are on training (also a blessing).

Planned activities:

In Ethiopia the planned activities are: a) Clonal selection of sweetpotatoes from botanical seed (from SASHA), b) Adaptability and acceptability of popular introduced sweetpotato clones in major sweetpotato growing areas of Ethiopia (Most probably SASHA), c) Survey work and related work on sweetpotato virus disease in Ethiopia (CIP/USAID), d) Micro propagation and field multiplication of orange and white fleshed varieties for dissemination (CIP /DONATA and USAID), e) Establishing secondary multiplication sites (SMS) and tertiary multiplication sites (TMS) for planting material multiplication and dissemination (CIP/DONATA ), f) Generation and promotion of OFSP processing technologies (DONATA).


In Rwanda the planned activities are: a) development of high yielding varieties for different zones, b) development of sweetpotato varieties for dual purpose use through participatory breeding, c) promotion of OFSP technologies.

In Kenya the planned activities are: a) Continue with germplasm improvement activities-‐ Funded by AGRA (KARI-‐Njoro), b) National Performance trials-‐ (AGRA & KAPAP), c) Dissemination of OFSP technologies (ASARECA), d) Conservation of sweetpotato germplasm (ASARECA), e) Multiplication and distribution of planting material (KARI-‐KAPAP), f) Postharvest processing (KARI/KAPAP).

In Uganda the planned activities: a) Genomic studies, b) Development of sweetpotato weevil (SPW) resistance, c) Development of virus resistance, c) Gene tagging using molecular markers, d) Development of varieties with improved quality and nutrition (OFSP), e) Development of a seed distribution system, f) Germplasm management, g) Technology dissemination.

The planned activities for East and Central Africa Platform are: a) Work with Kenya and Ethiopia on AGRA proposal, and backstop recipients, b) Execute proposed activities, population improvement under SASHA.

Genotype x environment interactions for yields and nutritional quality traits among East African orange-‐fleshed Sseetpotato genotypes -‐ Silver Tumwegamire.

CIP and the partners are pre-‐occupied with combining high root yields (SPVD / drought resistance) with desired quality traits i.e. β-‐carotene (BC), Fe, Zn, DM, Starch, proteins, and sucrose. Stable performance relative to root yields and quality traits across growing conditions is desired. High GEI have been observed for root yields in sweetpotato (Grüneberg et al., 2005). Low or no GEI for quality traits – BC, Fe and Zn (Grüneberg et al., 2005; Manrique and Hermann, 2000). Significant GEI for BC (Ndirigue et al., 2006; Kosambo et al., 1998)

The Objectives are: a) estimate the GEI for storage root yields and selected quality traits, b) stability performance of root yield and quality traits across a wide range of growing conditions.

Methods: The experiment was established in four locations using 10 different clones during 1st rains (Apr/May 2007) and was repeated during the 2nd rains (Oct/Nov 2006). All the varieties were orange-‐fleshed but varied in orange colour intensity. A plot size of 3 ridges each with 10 plants at 0.3 m apart, was used for each clone with 2 reps. No fertilizers or pesticides were applied and plots were kept weed free. The plots were harvested at 5 months (and 7 months for the highland site) by uprooting all surviving plants of the middle ridge recording root and vine weights. Five mid size roots were sampled from a composite harvest of each plot and washed clean, quartered longitudinally and sliced using stainless steel knives before weighing off a sample of 100 g. The sample was dried at -‐31oC for 72 hrs, using a vacuum freeze drier, and later used sample dry weights to determine DM as well determining quality variables [BC, Fe, Zn, Ca, Mg, Starch, and sucrose] using NIRS at CIP HQ (Quality Lab). For data analysis, different growing seasons were considered different environments. Data was analyzed using Plabstat (for analysis of variance) and R (for AMMI analysis) computer software.


Although the conclusions are yet to be drawn from the study, preliminary observations suggest low GEI for BC and starch, an observation that is consistent with earlier studies by Gruneberg. Also observed are high GEI for root yield, Fe, Zn, Ca, and Mg.

SweetpPotato response to drought -‐ Sammy Agili

Drought susceptibility of OFSP is a major drawback when promoting OFSP in SSA. Lower yields and increased susceptibility to pests on water stressed plants decrease the farmer acceptability of this otherwise very valuable crop. Development of improved, drought tolerant SP will increase sweetpotato yields especially in Arid and Semi Arid lands (ASAL), where seasonal drought is a significant problem.

Drought Tolerance – Ability of a variety to remain relatively more productive than others under limited water conditions. It is a very complex trait associated with different attributes.

Drought tolerance is most frequently a combination of drought escape, avoidance and tolerance (Blum, 1988)

The strategies are a) Develop populations that are drought tolerant; b) Screening and selecting the breeding lines for drought tolerance; and d) Conduct on-‐farm trials for the identified promising clones for acceptability and adaptability.

Screening methods: a) Screening in plastic boxes-‐ protocol simple, non-‐destructive, easy to handle, enable screening larger numbers. Record days to severe wilting and number of severely wilted plants; Use of scale of 1-‐5; b) Glass/screen house screening-‐ more controlled environment, c) Rain house shelters, and d) Field screening-‐

Field screening has been done in two phases. Phase 1: The objectives were: a) rapid field screening for 59 sweetpotato genotypes for drought tolerance, and b) to identify 10-‐20 promising drought tolerant OFSP clones for further evaluation and testing. The genotypes were bred in Lima, Peru from parents with contrasting drought tolerance, β-‐carotene and mineral content levels. The field experiment was conducted from the month of September 2007 to beginning of January 2008 at Kiboko experimental field (Latitude 010 15’ S; Longitude 360 44’ E; Altitude 975 m above the sea level). Single row plots with 8 plants were used. Marooko and K566632 were the two checks used for drought tolerance and drought susceptibility, respectively. The plants were irrigated for 4 weeks to allow plant establishment and were thereafter left to grow for 5 months before harvesting. Agronomic data was collected at harvest and analyzed using General Linear Model (GLM) procedure of the Statistical Analysis System (SAS, 1989). Selection of genotypes was based on root flesh color (Ejumula/Resisto), dry matter (>25%), and yields (>25 t/ha).

Phase 2: 20 genotypes from phase 1 were established in trials at Kiboko and Marigat from September 2008 to January 2009. At each location, 3 blocks planted were irrigated and 3 not irrigated, thus 4 environments were considered. Each plot -‐ 5 rows with 4 plants per row. Planting distance was 0.3 m.


At harvest agronomic data and drought intensity index (DII) = (1-‐Xs/Xi) were collected. Xs = mean experiment yield of all genotypes grown under stress, Xi = mean experiment yield of all genotypes grown under non-‐stress conditions. The higher the value the greater the droughts stress. Values exceeding 0.7 would indicate severe drought. Drought susceptible index (DSI) was also measured. DSI = (1-‐Ys/Yi)/DII (Fischer and Maurer, 1978), where Ys = mean yield of the genotype under stress; Yi = yield of the genotype under non-‐stress; DII = drought intensity index. We also determined % yield reduction of control (30%) to control (100%). PLABSTAT software package was used to analyze the data.

Results: Data analysis is still ongoing, but the preliminary observations showed drastic reductions in yield-‐biomass and roots due to drought. However, there is need to: a) correlate green house experiments with field work b) standardize the screening protocol based on minimum resources that are available, c) identify hot spots for drought screening for each platform d) take stock of varieties of what the region considers as drought tolerant.

Sweetpotato screening for drought tolerance and high β-‐carotene content in Mozambique -‐ Maria Andrade

Sweetpotato is important for food and income for small-‐scale farmers in rural areas of Mozambique. However, the yield is still low for small-‐scale farmers due partly to drought stress, pests and diseases, the use of traditional varieties and low soil fertility. Compared to other crops sweetpotato is drought tolerant with ability to grow on residual soil moisture during the dry months. However, severe drought affects the crop by retarding growth, reducing root yield, DM and affects root quality (through enhanced infestation of weevils). Drought also affects the conservation of planting materials (vines).

A research agenda with the overall objective “To identify drought tolerant SP parental lines with better quantitative and qualitative attributes for use in breeding programmes in Mozambique” is ongoing. The specific objectives include: a) to identify drought tolerant varieties in Mozambique; b) to identify high yield, high DM content, high β-‐carotene content and pest and disease resistance.

Methods: The experiment was established at Umbeluzi research station (altitude 12 m.a.s.l, temp 23 – 26oC, dry season temperature 17 -‐ 23 oC, evaporation 2.8 -‐7.2 mm/day, mean annual rainfall is 679 mm, and fluvial to sandy loam soil type) from July to December 2008 using a split plot arrangement with 3 reps.

Irrigation was the main treatment at 3 levels: a) severe stress at the root initiation, water supplied up to 30 DAP, b) moderate stress at the root development, water supplied up to 60 DAP, c) non-‐stress, water supplied up to 120 DAP.

Genotypes were subplots: 48 genotypes (12 local, 23 introduced, 13 national breeding) were used. Vine cuttings of 30 cm length were planted on the ridges of about 20 cm of height. No fertilization was applied. Net plot size was 5.4 m². Individual irrigation levels were separated by 6 meters. Agronomic practices were uniformly implemented to all irrigation levels. Porometer measurements were used to indicate irrigation needs.


Data collection: Climatic, number of surviving plants, vine vigor, virus, weevils, no. of harvested plants, above biomass, commercial and non-‐commercial roots no and weight, β-‐carotene, and

Selection criteria for drought tolerance: DM TOL = Yp -‐ Ys, the smaller value of TOL represents the less sensitive genotypes, Stress index (SI) = 1-‐(Y¯ˉs/ Y¯ˉp), SSI = (1-‐Ys/Yp)/SI, the smaller the SSI, the greater is the stress tolerance, STI = (Yp/Y¯ˉp)*(Ys/Y¯ˉs)*(Y¯ˉp/Y¯ˉs) = (Yp)(Ys)/( Y¯ˉp)², the higher the STI for a genotype, the higher its stress tolerance and Yp

Experiment in the green house: All genotypes tested on the field experiment were also planted in wooden boxes (150 cm x 80 cm x 20) the screen house using RCBD with 2 reps. Clay and sand soil was mixed and sterilized. No fertilizers were applied. Vine cutting of 30 cm were planted at 20 cm between rows and 15 cm within row. The plants were watered for 10 DAP and then left to grow until 75 DAP. The net plot of 1.6 m² was used.

Data collected included plant wilt, vine length, vine diameter, number of of branches, number of internodes, leaf growth, leaf width, and vine production. Measurements were made on 4 randomly selected plants per plot on 3 dates of 20, 40 and 60 DAP. Plant wilt was taken on visual appearance, using a scale 1 to 9; where 1 is very wilted, 3 wilted, 6 little wilting, and 9 no wilting.

Statistical analysis: ANOVA, mean comparison and biplot were carried out using SAS, GENSTAT statistical packages.

Preliminary observations

A: Field experiments: Genotypes with high vine vigour were xiadla xa kau, ligodo, xihetamakote, gueri, MUSG0609-‐47, MUSG0608-‐33, MUSG0615-‐36, MUSG0606-‐2, MUSG0623-‐9, NASPOT, MUSG0616-‐18, & MUSG0610-‐45.

Under severe stress, high weevils incidence were observed on genotypes Manhissane, Canassumana, Resisto, Gueri, Zambezi, K566632, MUSG 0616-‐18, MUSG 0610-‐45, MUSG 0614-‐22 and cinco minutes. Under moderate stress Canassumana, K566632 and Gabagaba showed low weevils incidence.

Yield high potential was observed for genotypes 199062.1, MUSG0609-‐47, MUSG016-‐18, MUSG0623-‐09, Tainung64, MUSG0615-‐36, MUSG0608-‐33 and MUSG0622-‐60.

Under severe stress, high yield was revealed in 199062.1, MUSG0609-‐47, MUSG0616-‐18, MUSG0623-‐9, Jonathan-‐nairobi, Tainung64, Lo323, MUSG0608-‐33 and Atacana.

β-‐Carotene, higher content was observed in MUSG 0609-‐47, MUSG 0616-‐18, MUSG 0606-‐2, Resisto-‐Nairobi, MUSG 0608-‐33, MUSG 0614-‐22, MUSG 0615-‐36, Resisto and Carrot-‐C. Local germplasm had lower β-‐carotene content.

Dry Matter -‐ Among genotypes evaluated, Ukerewe, Mgcl01 (34.13%), K-‐566632 (33.88%), Naspot (33.79%), Pipi (33.36%) and Xitsekele (33.04) showed higher DM content.


In moderate stress: Tolerant genotypes-‐ with high STI -‐ MUSG0608-‐33, MUSG0623-‐9, MUSG0616-‐18, Tainung64, MUSG0622-‐60, MUSG0615-‐36 and 199062.1 with uniform superiority in both moderate stress and irrigated treatments. In severe stress: Tolerant genotypes-‐ MUSG0608-‐33, Tainung64, 199062.1, MUSG0609-‐47, MUSG0616-‐18, MUSG0623-‐9, LO323 and Jonathan-‐Nairobi.

Biplot analysis: Under moderate stress, drought tolerant ones are 199062.1 (21), MUSG0616-‐18(23), MUSG0622-‐60 (39), MUSG0609-‐47 (22), MUSG0623-‐9 (25), and MUSG0608-‐33 (38). Under severe stress, drought tolerant ones are 199062.1 (21), MUSG0608-‐33(38), Lo323 (35), Jonathan-‐Nairobi (34) STI and Ys favoured genotypes.

B: Green house: Very little vine reduction (less 10%) was observed in ADMARC, Mgcl01, tacna, Naspot, Jonathan, Carrot-‐c, K135, MUSG0614-‐22, MUSG0608-‐33, ligodo, atacana and UKN-‐Malawi. These genotypes were less affected by drought.

Plant survey (More 60 DAP) Mgcl01, Tacna, Carrot-‐c, Gueri, Ukerewe, K566632, K118, MUSG0609-‐47, MUSG0610-‐45, MUSG0614-‐24, MUSG0608-‐61, MUSG0606-‐2, Tainung64, MUSG0608-‐33, MUSG0622-‐60, gabagaba, nhacutse4 & UNK-‐Malawi

Conclusions and recommendations: The two methods used in the experiment showed some differences in results observed. In the field, drought tolerant genotypes were observed to be 199062.1, MUSG0608-‐33(38) under severe and moderate stress, while in the green house, the tolerant genotypes included Mgcl01, tacna, UKN-‐Malawi and MUSG0608-‐33. Thus, more experiments must be conducted in the green houses to consolidate results of this experiment. No evaluated variety had better performance in all evaluated parameters. The amount of DM and BC did not vary with the different levels of irrigation.

FIELD VISIT TO NaCRRI -‐-‐-‐ Robert Mwanga and Gorrettie Ssemakula

The objectives of the field visit were: a) breeders get updated on the ongoing sweetpotato breeding activities both for the national program as well as the SASHA platform; b) breeders share on common approaches and methods of experimentation and data collection. The breeders initially met the Director of NaCRRI who briefed them on the overall history and different programs of the institute. To meet the above objectives, the participants visited the following activities:

i) Sweetpotato tissue culture lab -‐ where over 100 sweetpotato accessions are maintained in vitro. Also copies of different accessions that were introduced in-‐vitro into Uganda are maintained.

ii) Sweetpotato Entomology Lab -‐ where both weevil species are reared and conserved. A number of students researching on Bt-‐toxins for control of weevils are undertaking their experiments in this lab. Weevil damage to sweetpotato roots was explained and demonstrated to the breeders.

iii) Near Infra-‐red Reflectance Spectrophotometer (NIRS) -‐ The breeders viewed the NIRS equipments and were explained of how it works to analyze the sweetpotato samples among other crops.


iv) Sweetpotato / yam bean screen house activities included: a) in situ multiplication and conservation of germplasm (core collection, breeding materials as well as introduced accessions); b) yam bean seed multiplication. Note that Yam beans are being tested for adaptability and acceptability in central Africa under Ahipa project.

v) Crossing block: Three sweetpotato crossing blocks were visited at NaCRRI. One is completely used for the national crossing priorities while the other two are operated by SASHA platform, but are accessible to the national research program. The latter two crossing blocks are used to develop two sweetpotato breeding populations that combine priority attributes for East and Central Africa sub-‐region. The traits are; resistance to SPVD, high DM, high beta-‐carotene content and root yields.

vi) Field trials at different stages (preliminary, intermediate and advanced yield trials) were visited. During the visit breeders shared on field scoring for viruses and Alternaria blight, planting and harvesting methods of AYT plots and scoring of root flesh colour using the colour chart.

TRAINING SESSIONS

A: Quality photos for sweetpotato breeding documentation – Silver Tumwegamire

Quality photos are important for reporting breeding experimentation process. The quality photos have among others the following features: a) rich in information/action, b) talk by self, c) clear (visually and in message), d) balanced or proportionate, e) have high or good resolution, f) have good contrast with background.

Some of the considerations one has to mind for taking quality photos are: a) what is (are) the message (s) you want in the photo(s)? b) action rich versus dull pictures, c) the background, d) proportionality of the picture, e) portrait versus landscape, f) best position of taking the photograph, g) one versus many subjects, h) take as many captions as possible, i) to scale pictures, j) know your camera (in terms of features) well, k) time/weather conditions of the day.

Managing photos is important for their future use. This starts during the process of taking photos. For example labeling photos for every different subject is very important. In the field one can separate photos of different subjects by taking photo of the label or shoot open air. Taking notes can be useful to differentiate and properly label the photo files after down loading. Down load the pictures to the computer. Label well the folder, sub-‐folder and photo files -‐ ubject, location, date e.g. Folder = On-‐farm trials Namulonge; File: 001On-‐farm Namu 24.6.10. It is always better if you have one folder that has sub-‐folders. Keep photos in the original size – retain original copy where change of size is done

B: Data management training sessions -‐ Jens Jacobson

The training session included: a) CloneSelector -‐ comprises of the field book and data analysis, b) Field log -‐ a pocket PC data collection, c) Sweet Mart -‐ a central data deposit for trial data, d) sweetpotato


knowledge forum/portal -‐ internet based but can also be used to publish the information, and e) managing files on your hard disk.

I. CloneSelector -‐ Field book: This was adopted from CIMMTY maize breeding program.

II. Field log -‐ This is a pocket PC that can be used to collect data in the field directly into usable formats. The objective is to reduce the cost and time of capturing data, thus improve its quality. This helps to avoid the process of transcribing data, where data entry errors are high.

III. Sweetpotato knowledge forum -‐ this is a web based knowledge deposit for Sweetpotato. It is a joint elaboration of documents. Example: CGIAR collaborative web site: www.cgxchange.org. Login at: https://cgxchange.org/login/auth.htm with your normal CGIAR login.

Define the top level knowledge structure of Sweetpotato in SSA

Three groupings of knowledge

o Knowledge on SP for journalists, donors and general public

o Scientific knowledge fields

o Organizations working on SP in SSA

Note: Scientific knowledge fields and organizations is a matrix structure, where organizations work in different fields. But in Content Management System (CMS) not a problem as same document can appear in both e.g. the same CIP trial report can both be seen under CIP and under SP Trial.

Through group work activities, the SP knowledge structure was discussed. The components include

o Popular introduction to SP

o Germplasm

o Seed Systems

o Production

o Value adding (processing and marketing)

o Use / consumption

o Institutions

o Projects/programs

IV. Organizing the hard disk of your computer


During the sub-‐session, the facilitator discussed folder and file naming and organization on hard disk.

Common problems with data on hard disk include: a) difficulties by most (>80%) users to find information again, and spends time looking for it, b) Inconsistent file and folder names and lack of clear structure, c) Mixing of different types of data (private, public, shared, non-‐shared) thus difficult to share data, d) Versioning of files and difficult to find final/last version; e) Data is insufficiently documented, and other people cannot understand it (and after a while neither can the original researcher); f) Organization principles for information, g) Organization, people, projects -‐ Subject to change, but legal necessity (owner of data), h) Professional knowledge structure -‐ Stable and intuitive to user, but overlapping concepts can be a problem, i) Type of data, photo, document, raw data, analyzed data, and publications -‐ Useful to some types e.g. photos, but often only used at sub category level; j) Time -‐ Useful for long sequences such as breeding, else mainly e.g. as versioning of files, k) Geography -‐ Relatively stable, usefulness depends on importance of location

Recommendations for folder structure are: a) define a system and stick to it; b) Immediately save new file in proper place in structure (not in email, desktop, my doc….); c) For each separately funded project, you want to keep everything related to the two folders (1 professional, 1 personal/contractual); d) Use the knowledge structure of your professional work on a high level as possible, and try to define non-‐overlapping stable categories; e) Avoid if possible using organizations and people as organizing principles as they tend to change e.g. CIP is restructuring, but research topics stay the same; f) Certain type of data such as photos, literature, GIS, you may want to have in special folder structured according to your professional logic; g) Often your work has a sequence of improvement/processing and at a low level this should be reflected in the file name and possible in folders, e.g. use dates and PD (preliminary draft), 1D, 2D, FD for documents or raw data, cleaned data, analyzed data; i) Consider using numbers to order your folders in logical sequence, rather than alphabetical.

File naming conventions: a) Use key words that will help you in a search e.g. subject area, geographical region, organization, type of document (Concept note, Budget, Agenda etc), b) Do not name a file by the person who will receive it or who gave it to you, c) If certain file types that are used repeatedly consider a formal naming convention e.g. Series-‐Year-‐Season-‐Experiment (OFUG10A05), d) For non-‐standard files use longer names that indicate content and key words, e) Indicate version and date for docs with revisions, f) SP breeding Uganda Concept note V02 2010-‐05-‐10, g) consider how numbers and dates can order your files, h) 2010-‐05-‐24 Agenda vs 24 May 2010 Agenda; i) Trial01, Trial02, Trial10 vs Trial1, Trial10, Trial2

NOTE: For formal data sets use the naming conventions of your institution and/or professional best practices.

To start organizing your hard disk: a) Make an External Complete Backup in original structure, or else never start restructuring; b) Create a folder “old Data”; and c) Move everything into that folder.

Note: If your hard disk is very full, you may have to work on only a part of the time.


Other issues to consider while organizing the main folders, sub-‐folders and files are: a) Consider to use numbers to order folders logically, b) Each folder should have some 3-‐10 subfolders, c) Less than 3 subfolders consider if you need main folder (reduce number of clicks), d) More than 10 consider to group to avoid scrolling (scrolling is slower than clicking!)

Sweetpotato characterization in Nigeria -‐ Egeonu Ijeoma

Nigeria is now 2nd largest producer of sweetpotato with 3.49 million tonnes (FAO 2009), but per capita annual consumption is approximately 22.3 kg. Average root yields of 5 t/ha are recorded. Despite its high agronomic potential, ease of production and ability to produce relatively good yields even on marginal soils, sweetpotato is considered as a minor crop in the country. Increased production of the crop is desired, particularly as more emphasis is gradually being placed on agriculture. Local varieties cannot meet the demand of end-‐users for different utilization purposes. Sweetpotato varieties that are higher yielding than the available local clones need to be identified and released after a good multiplication programme.

Challenges of sweetpotato production in Nigeria: a) Varieties being cultivated by farmers are of unknown origin and give low yields; b) No organized supply of good quality planting material; b) Utilization of the crop is limited to pockets, hence no widespread cultivation; c) Consumers bias and misconceptions about the crop, e.g. some claim it causes diabetes.

Objectives: a) Assess the sweetpotato systems in Nigeria, b) Characterize assembled sweetpotato clones under Ibadan conditions, and c) Document distinguishing traits for better identification to aid sequential selection of clones that suit consumer preferences.

A study comprising of 1 survey and 3 experiments was conducted.

Investigation I: Survey on sweetpotato production, marketing and utilization systems in Nigeria. The objective was to assess sweetpotato production, utilization and marketing as an update of knowledge. The study areas were Oyo, Kwara, Abia, Ebonyi, Rivers and Bayelsa States and three Local Government Areas (LGAs) per State. Focus group discussions with 10 men and 10 women farmers/LGA/State were conducted to obtain information on problems encountered in production and marketing, as well as common utilization forms of the crop. The major sweetpotato market in each LGA was used as a population. Survey periods were: October 2005 (Abia), November 2005 (Ebonyi), March 2006 (Oyo), April 2006 (Kwara), May 2006 (Bayelsa), and June 2006 (Rivers).

Investigation II: Characterization of sweetpotato genotypes (125 clones from different sources within and outside Nigeria) in a tropical environment (Ibadan). The objective was to characterize many clones and identify traits to aid sequential selection of clones that suit consumer preferences. The experiment was done at University of Ibadan, (longitude 3o45´E; latitude 7o30´N; elevation of 210 m above mean sea level; bimodal rainfall distribution and mean annual rainfall of 1250 mm) during May to September 2006 and was repeated March to September 2007. A randomized complete block design with two replications


was used. Single row plots measuring 2.1 m x 1 m to give seven plants. During the 2nd season, double row plots measuring 2.1 m x 2 m were used, giving 14 plants.

Data collection: Characterization of the leaves, vines, storage roots and inflorescences was done using the CIP Protocol. Border plants were disregarded for both seasons

Statistical analysis: Multidimensional Analysis (MDA) of key traits to suit producer and consumer preferences was done in order to select clones for further evaluation in three agro-‐ecological zones of Nigeria.

Investigation III: Evaluation of promising sweetpotato clones in different agroecological zones of Nigeria. The objective was to evaluate 40 clones selected from the initial collection of 125. The trial was planted in Ibadan, Oyo State (Derived Savannah) and Umudike, Abia State (Humid Forest) and Kuru, Plateau State (Mid Altitude Zone) from July 2007 to January 2008. A randomized complete block design with 2 reps. Each plot was 4.5 m x 1 m (4.5 m2) with a plant spacing of 1 m x 0.3 m (=15 plants per plot). Plots were weeded using hoes 4 and 8 weeks after planting and no fertilizer or pesticides were applied.

Data was collected on whole plant and root variables.

Statistical analysis: Multidimensional Analysis (MDA) to select top white, yellow and OFSP clone for further trials in the locations.

Investigation IV: was on assessment of storage root yields of elite sweetpotato clones (15 clones 5 white-‐, 5 yellow-‐ and 5 orange-‐fleshed) in different agro-‐ecological zones of Nigeria. The objective was to assess root yield of 15 sweetpotato clones selected for different end-‐uses. Experimental sites: Ibadan, Oyo State; Umudike, Abia State, and Kuru, Plateau State. A randomized complete block design with 2 reps was used. Plot size was 5.1 m x 5 m, with five rows of 17 plants each, giving 85 plants/plot for each clone. Plant spacing was 30 cm between plants and 1.0 m between rows. Two local checks (one white-‐ and one yellow-‐fleshed variety) were used.

Data was collected on survival rate, fresh root yield, and marketable root yield. Marketable roots were taken to be ≥ 80 g and free from insect, disease or rot damage.

Statistical analysis: Plotting of mean storage root yields and coefficients of variation (CV %) across locations

Results

Forms of sweetpotato utilization based on survey in six States of Nigeria were: a) boiling and eating with stew/palm oil; b) slicing and frying; c) roasting; d) boiling and eating as snack; e) boiling and pounding alone or with boiled yam/garri for eating with soup; f) cooking alone or with another crop to make pottage; g) slicing and sun-‐drying for milling into flour; h) feeding of vines and leaves to livestock; i) small storage roots as livestock feed; j) made into fufu like cassava; k) fresh leaves and young shoots consumed as vegetable.


Preferred characteristics of sweetpotato varieties by producers, marketers and consumers during focus group discussions in six States from October 2005 to June 2006-‐:

Sweetpotato producers: a) ability to spread fast and suppress weeds -‐ Weeds are suppressed thus reduces the need for weed control; b) Disease and insect resistance -‐ Plants grow better leading to higher root yields; c) tolerance to water-‐logging -‐ High amount of rainfall in some areas often leads to water-‐logging; d) potential to be grown in all seasons -‐ Rainy season sometimes unpredictable and the need to provide food and income year-‐round; e) High yielding -‐ Leads to increased income with minimal inputs; f) early maturing -‐ To free land for other crops, or second crop of sweetpotato

Sweetpotato marketers: a) Large storage root size -‐ Preference of consumers, b) Good root shape (elliptical shape) -‐ Makes produce more attractive for consumers to buy, c) Marketability (free from blemishes) -‐ More sales means more income, d) Outer skin colour of roots -‐ Consumers are used to cream and purple-‐red skinned types, e) Roots with hard-‐to-‐bruise skin -‐ Handling and transport is usually rough and consumers reject bruised roots, f) Good storability -‐ Storing in times of glut and selling later gives more profit

Sweetpotato consumers: a) Less-‐ sweet or non-‐sweet taste -‐ Only children and a few adults enjoy the very sweet types, b) High root firmness when boiled -‐ Soft texture of boiled roots is unappetizing, c) Little or no discolouration after boiling -‐ Makes it more appealing, d) Low fibre content -‐ Easier to chew and swallow when boiled

Summary and conclusions

Red skin, white-‐fleshed and cream skin, yellow-‐fleshed sweetpotato varieties are the most commonly grown, marketed and consumed types.

Sweetpotato roots are mainly eaten in fresh form with little or no processing in the survey areas.

Stakeholders (producers, marketers and consumers) have selection preferences and these must be considered in any meaningful selection scheme. For example producers prefer varieties that are disease and pest resistant, with ability to spread fast, suppress weeds, and be grown in all seasons; marketers prefer those with large, healthy and elliptical-‐shaped roots; and consumers prefer roots that are less sweet with firm texture when boiled.

Characterization, evaluation and sequential selection of a collection of 125 sweetpotato clones gave fifteen elite clones which meet different end-‐uses.

Vine cuttings of the 15 elite clones have been multiplied and disseminated to farmers in Oyo State for on-‐farm trials.

Five clones with relatively stable yield across agro-‐ecological zones were:

Arrowtip; CIP Tanzania; Shaba; Benue and 199034.1


Participatory breeding and official variety release -‐ Robert Mwanga

The work involved farmers selecting genotypes from segregating populations. Farmers raised seedlings and monitored their performance in the field – e.g. drought tolerance, disease resistance, yield, vigor, maturity period, size of roots.

The objective of PPB: a) Estimating time to deliver improved varieties to farmers [National Sweetpotato Breeding Program (NSPBP) takes 7-‐8 years to release a variety]; b) assessing any other advantages of PPB.

Methods: The PPB trials were initiated in 2003 by NSPBP + NRI/UK+ Ugandan and Tanzanian farmer groups (Gibson et al. 2008). The seedling nurseries were established by 3 farmer groups in Luwero, Mpigi, and Kiboga (Central Uganda) and 3 in Kyaka, Nyungwe, and Maruku (Lake Zone, Northern Tanzania). A total of 2000-‐6000 pre-‐germinated seeds of 2 families – minimum (New Kawogo and Bunduguza) was given to each group. The seeds were planted on 1 m-‐wide raised seed beds; with seed spacing of 10 cm x 20 cm.

Clonal Evaluation (2006/2007): The vines were planted on ridges, 1 m x 1 m (0.3 m between plants on ridge). Dimbuka and NASPOT 1 were used as checks. The number of ridges ranged between 1 and 3 (50 plants/ridge).

For on-‐farm evaluations the number of farms varied, 9 (Luwero), 15 (Mpigi), and 1 (Kiboga). The farmers’ field practices (e.g. weeding) were adopted. The taste tests were done by 12 farmers (8 female, 4 male) in Luwero, 15 farmers (13 female, 2 male) in Mpigi, and 9 farmers (8 female, 1 male) in Kiboga.

On-‐station PPB trial evaluations were done at Namulonge, Kachwekano, Ngetta, and Serere research institutes. Routine on-‐station procedures were used to generate data for variety release. 4 ridges (5.4 m x 1 m ridges, 0.3 m between plants), 18 plants/ridge were planted in a RCBD design and 4 reps. SPVD and Alternaria blight were scored at 2 months after planting. Dry matter was determined by oven drying at 650C until constant weight.

Results

NKA1081L on average performance out yielded checks by: 11.6% Dimbuka-‐Bukulula, 6.7% NASPOT 1

Main characteristics: Root yields = 26.5 t/ha (3.7-‐48.2 t/ha range), dry matter = 33.5% (26.9 – 36.0% range), purple red skin colour, susceptible to sweetpotato weevil, high resistance to Alternalia blight and moderately resistant to SPVD.

Way forward with the clone selector -‐ Jens Jacobson

The users are free to use Clone Selector/Field book.

Caution: Application has not been tested and you will encounter problems. Save frequently, and copy to other sheet if necessary.


In case of problems with installation of RExcel or CloneSelector, seek help from your local IT staff.

The sub-‐regional leaders (Robert Mwanga, Maria Andrade, and Ted Carey) and Wolfgang Gruneberg are responsible for the breeding protocol issues.

The following constitute the technical committee: Ijeoma Nwankwo, Mmnapaseka Malebana, Silver Tumwegamire, Joyce Malinga, Raul Eyzaguirre (statistics), and Martin Ogwal (Installation).

Note: Open committee and anyone interested can participate.

The committee are responsible for: a) Systematically testing all functionality in CloneSelector; b) Collaborate in elaboration and test of users manual; c) Help refine the analytical tools in Clone Selector (Selection index, statistical analysis, across experiment analysis); and d) Train and backstop users.

The breeders have been involved in the development of the breeding protocols. The protocols are in the usable form.

Proposed changes for virus and Alternalia blight scoring scale of 1 – 9.

Virus symptoms score 1 – 9: where 1-‐ No virus symptoms, 2-‐ Unclear virus symptoms, 3-‐ Clear virus symptoms at <5% per plot, 4-‐ Clear virus symptoms at 6 to 15% of plants per plot, 5-‐ Clear virus symptoms at 16 to 33% of plants per plot (less than 1/3), 6-‐ Clear virus symptoms at 34 to 66% of plants per plot (more than 1/3, less than 2/3), 7-‐ Clear virus symptoms at 67 to 99 % of plants per plot (2/3 to almost all), 8-‐ Clear virus symptoms at all plants per plot (not stunted), and 9-‐ Severe virus symptoms in all plants per plot (stunted).

Alternaria symptoms score 1 – 9: where 1-‐ No symptoms, 2-‐ Unclear symptoms, 3-‐ Clear symptoms at <5% per plot, 4-‐ Clear symptoms at 6 to 15% of plants per plot, 5-‐ Clear symptoms at 16 to 33% of plants per plot (less than 1/3), 6-‐ Clear symptoms at 34 to 66% of plants per plot (more than 1/3, less than 2/3), 7-‐ Clear symptoms at 67 to 99 % of plants per plot (2/3 to almost all), 8-‐ Clear symptoms at all plants (not fully defoliated), and 9-‐ Severe symptoms at all plants per plot (fully defoliated)


Annex 1: List of participants

Names Institution Telephone Email

Kouss Koussao Some INERA – Kamboinse 01 BP 476 Ouagadougou Burkina Faso.

Off +226 50 319202 or 226 71 747167

Mob: +226 76 61 58 94

[email protected]

Engida Tsegaye Awasa Agricultural Research Center, P.O. Box 6, Awasa, Ethiopia.

Off +251 946 2202034 Mob:+251 916 828014

[email protected]

Kwabena Acheremu CSIR-‐Savanna Agricultural Research Institute, Tamale, Ghana.

Mob:+233 243 960803

Ted Carey CIP, P.O. Box 785, Kumasi, Ghana. Mob:+233 546 938599 [email protected]

Jan Low CIP, P.O. Box 5171, Nairobi, Kenya. Off +254-‐20-‐4223602

Mob:+254 733 411010

[email protected]

Philip J. Ndolo KARI Kakamega, P.O. Box 169, Kakamega, Kenya

Off +254 031 30031

Mob+254 722227456

[email protected]

Sammy Agili CIP, P.O. Box 25171, Nairobi, Kenya. Off +254 20 4223602

Mob:+254 722 365784

[email protected]

Laura Karanja KARI Njoro, Nairobi, Kenya Mob:+254 722 685544 [email protected]

Jean Marc Randrianarivoarivony

FIFAMANOR, BP198, Antsirabe 110, Madagascar.

Off +261 20 44 99139 or 261 20 44 24454

[email protected]

Felistus Chipungu Bvumbwe Research Station, P.O. Box 748, Limbe, Malawi

Off +265 1471323

Mob:+265 9 933411

[email protected]

Maria Andrade CIP, P.O. Box 2100, IIAM, Av. FPLM 2698, Maputo, Mozambique.

Off +258 214 61610

Mob: +258 823065460

[email protected]

José Ricardo IIAM, P.O. Box 2100, Av. FPLM 2699, Maputo, Mozambique

Off: +258 21461610

Mob: +258 823229880

[email protected]

Innocent Nwankwo National Root Crops Research Institute, Umudike, PMB 7006, Umuahia, Abia State, Nigeria.

Mob: +234 806 3668433 [email protected]

Wolfgang Gruneberg

CIP, Lima, Peru [email protected]

Jean Ndirigwe ISAR, P.O. Box 7231, Kigali, Rwanda. Off: +250 578768

Mob:+250 08527320

[email protected],


Mmapaseka Malebana

ARC-‐Roodeplaat Vegetable and Ornamental Plant Institute, Private Bag X293, Pretoria, 0001, South Africa

Off: +27 12 8419639 [email protected] [email protected]

Rahila Amour ARI-‐ Ukiriguru, P.O. Box 1433, Mwanza, Tanzania

Off: 255 754 430675 or 255 732 980768

[email protected]

Robert Mwanga CIP, Box 22274, Kampala, Uganda. Off: 256312266250/1/2

Mob: +256-‐772-‐825725

[email protected] , [email protected]

Gorrettie Nankinga Ssemakula

National Crops Resources Research Institute (NaCRRI) P.O. Box 7084, Kampala, Uganda.

Off: +256 414 573016 [email protected] gssemakula@naro-‐ug.org

Silver Tumwegamire CIP-‐Uganda P.O Box 22274, Kampala, Uganda.

Off: +256 0414 287571

Mob:+256 772 911652

[email protected]

Martin Chiona Zambia Agriculture Research Institute, P.O. Box710129, Mansa, Zambia.

Off: +260 212 821617

Mob: +260 977 125692

[email protected]

Joyce Malinga KARI Njoro (AGRA sweetpotato project)

Christin BMGF, P.O. Box 66773, Nairobi, USA Tel: +254 20 3750 627 [email protected]

Martha Ameru CIP P.O. BOX 22274 Kampala, Uganda Off: +256 0414 287571 [email protected]

Martin Ogwal CIP P.O. Box 22274 Kampala, Uganda Off: +256 0414 287571 [email protected]

Jens Jacobson CIP, P.O. Box 25171, Nairobi, Kenya Off: +254-‐20-‐4223602 [email protected]


Annex 2: Agenda

Date/Day Activity Responsible

Jun 21 Mon Arrival Martha Ameru/

Silver Tumwegamire

Jun 22 Tues

8:30 am Registration Martha Ameru

9:00 am Welcome remarks Berga Lemaga

Opening of meeting

Chair: Gorrettie Ssemakula

9:30-‐10:15 am From HarvestPlus to SASHA and SPHI Jan Low

10:15-‐11:00 am Sweetpotato breeding, Lessons from HarvestPlus Wolfgang Grüneberg

11:00-‐12:00 Application of molecular methods in sweetpotato Wolfgang Grüneberg and

Silver Tumwegamire

12:00-‐12:30 Diallel analysis of sweetpotato for beta-‐carotene content Martin Chiona

& yield components

12:30-‐1:00 pm Sweetpotato field note book & anlaysis of sweetpotato Jens Riis Jacobsen

trials Robert Mwanga

Wolfgang Grüneberg

1:00-‐2:00 pm Lunch Silver Tumwegamire

Chair: Ted Carey

2:00-‐3:30 pm Sweetpotato field note book & anlaysis of sweetpotato trials JRJ, RM, WG, ST

3:30-‐3:50 pm Sweetpotato breeding for food & healthy nutrition in Malawi Felistus P.Chipungu

3:50-‐4:10 pm Development of sweetpotato varieties for high altitude Jane Laura

4:10-‐4:30 pm Development of sweetpotato varieties for dual purpose use Jean Ndirigwe

through participatory breeding in Rwanda

4:30-‐5:00 pm General Disscussion

Jun 23 Wed Chair: Felistus Chipungu

8:30-‐10:30 am Sweetpotato field note book & anlaysis of sweetpotato trials JRJ, RM, WG, ST

10:30-‐11:00 am Sweetpotato breeding for Southern Africa Maria Andrade

11:30-‐12:30 am Sweetpotato response to drought stress Sammy Agili

12:30-‐1:00 pm Development of fast screening methods for drought Ms Mmapaseka Malebana

tolerant sweetpotato

1:00 -‐ 2:00 pm Lunch


Date/Day Activity Responsible

Jun 23 Wed Chair: Philip Ndolo

2:00-‐2:30 pm Sweetpotato breeding for Western Africa Ted Carey

3:00-‐3:30 pm Sweetpotato breeding for East and Central Africa Robert Mwanga

3:30-‐4:00 pm Genotype x environment interaction effects for nutritional Silver Tumwegamire

quality traits among East African sweetpotato genotypes

4:00-‐4:30 pm Breeding for enhanced beta-‐carotene content of Some Koussao

sweetpotato in Burkina Faso

4:30-‐5:00 pm Greenhouse and field screening for drought tolerance in Jose Ricardo

sweetpotato (Mozambique experience)

5:00-‐5:30 pm General Discussion

Jun 24 Thur Visit to the National Crops Resources Research Institute Gorrettie Ssemakula

Namulonge ST, RM

Jun 25 Fri Chair: Martin Chiona

8:30-‐10:30 Sweetpotato field note book and anlaysis of sweetpotato trials JRJ, RM, WG, ST

11:00-‐1:00 Sweetpotato field note book and anlaysis of sweetpotato trials JRJ, RM, WG, ST

1:00-‐2:00 pm Lunch

Chair: Joice Malinga

2:00-‐2:30 pm Sweetpotato characterization in Nigeria Ijeoma Nwakaku Egeonu

2:30-‐4:00 pm Participatory breeding and official variety release Robert Mwanga

Group discussion

4:00-‐5:00 pm General discussion and conclusions/ Way Forward Robert Mwanga

Jan Low

Ted Carey

Maria Andrade

Silver Tumwegamire

Sammy Agili


Annex 3: Program: Sweetpotato Breeders Meeting, Visit to NaCRRI, June 24, 2010

Time Activity Responsible

9:00 am Courtesy call, Director of NaCRRI Gorrettie Ssemakula/

Ted Babirye 9:15 am Tissue culture lab G. Ssemakula/Rose Makumbi

9:30 am Entomology lab/ Demonstration weevil damage Moses Ekobu

9:45 am NIRS Equipment / Livestock Rose Omaria/

Silver Tumwegamire

10:00 am Bioscience lab Yona Baguma/

Gorrettie Ssemakula

10:20 am Screenhouse/ Sweetpotato, yam bean Gorrettie Ssemakula/

Silver Tumwegamire

10:30 am Virus and Athernaria blight scoring Robert Mwanga

G. Ssemakula, Agnes Alajo

11:30 am Planting/harvesting standard sweetpotato AYT plot R. Mwanga, A. Alajo

12:00 Field trials, crossing blocks R. Mwanga, S. Tumwegamire

1:00 -‐ 2:00 pm Lunch break Martha Ameru

Silver Tumwegamire

2:00 -‐ 3:00 Colour Chart / scoring root flesh color Silver Tumwegamire

3:00 -‐ 5:00 pm Breeding photoes Silver Tumwegamire

Participants’ evaluation of the annual sweetpotato breeders meeting.

Colline Hotel Mukono June 22 -‐ 25, 2010

The meeting was held at Colline Hotel, Mukono, in Uganda between June 22nd and 25th. Up to 25 participants comprising of CIP scientists and partner scientists from different countries attended the meeting. However, only 21 (4 CIP and 17 partners) participants evaluated the workshop. The first five questions were assessed by using a subjective ranking of 1 – 5, where 1 = very poor and 5 = very good. The subsequent questions were answered by listing points of opinion. Below is the summary of the outcomes of the evaluation by different questions

1. Did the meeting meet your expectations? Overall, majority (61.9%) of participants felt that the meeting met most of their expectations while the remainder (38.1%) felt that the meeting completely met their expectations. There was no significant variation between CIP and non-‐CIP participants.

2. How would you rate the quality of the meeting in terms of content? Overall, majority (57.1%) of the participants agreed that the quality of the meeting in terms of content were very good (Rank 5) while the rest (42.9%) felt that it was good. However, whereas all CIP staff agreed that the quality of the meeting was very good (rank 5), the majority of the partners (52.9%) felt it was good (rank 4).

3. Over all, how would you rate the quality of the different presentations? Over all, the majority (61.9%) of participants agreed that the quality of the presentations was good (rank 4), while the remainder (38.1%) felt that the presentations were of very good (rank5) quality. There was no particular variation between CIP and non-‐CIP participants.

4. Was the field trip at Namulonge useful in terms of helping to better implement your breeding program? Eighty one (81%) percent of the participants found the field day at Namulonge extremely useful (rank 5) compared to 19% that found the field day useful (rank 4). There was no particular variation between CIP and non-‐CIP participants.

5. How would you rate the meeting in terms of organization (logistics, communication)?

Over all, the majority (61.9%) of participants agreed that the organization of the meeting was very good (rank 5), while the remainder (38.1%) felt that the organization of the meeting was good (rank 4) quality. There was no particular variation between CIP and non-‐CIP participants.

6. List the 3 things in the meeting that were most useful to you

Three most useful things in the meeting Frequency of mention

Field trip training on breeding protocol/ manual use at Namulonge 15 Field note book development & software 15 Discussions on Participatory plant breeding 6 Sharing of experiences from countries, sub-‐regions and Harvest plus 4 Discussions on Speed/accelerated breeding 3 All presentations 3 Open discussions/participation 2 Listening how breeders do their work 2 Well coordinated organization 1 Meeting experienced SP breeders 1 Sequencing of activities 1 Resource materials (catalogue, poster, Book) 1 Logistic materials 1 Learning of resources available to SP breeders 1 How to organize your hard disk 1 Update on SASHA project 1 Drought research presentations 1

7. List of areas for improvement

Areas of improvement by content/organization Frequency of mention Time for field/practical training 6 Adequate time for discussion sessions 3 Time allocated to field note book & data management 3 Identify & invite external speakers on special topics 1 Problematic examples of data analysis 1 Annual field hands on training on protocol 1 Strategic selection of advanced research from countries 1 Involvement of more platform member countries 1 Field visit to sweetpotato farmers 1 Session on constraints that affect members 1 A free afternoon for AOB and moving around 1

Souvenirs for the meeting (files) 1 Representation of end users in the meeting 1 Efforts to breed for animal feed 1 SASHA breeding network and website for more exchange 1 Get real data for analysis demonstration 1 Use of software for analysis across sites and seasons 1 Sharing of experiences 1 Use of group discussions to increase participation by all 1 Better quality presentations 1 Presentations with data 1 Detailed presentation on PPB 1 Visit at On-‐farm level for data collection 1

8. Topics suggested to be covered in the next meeting

Preferred topics for next meeting Frequency of mention DATA ANALYSIS & INTERPRETATION • Analysis and interpretation of morphological & molecular

data • Protocol & best understanding of quality data analysis • Standard procedure in data management • Linkages of field note book with other data analysis

packages e.g. genstat, SAS, plabstat • Data analysis and interpretation of different data sets e.g.

GxE, dendograms • More examples of analysis using R

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Molecular characterization & implications to breeding • MAS versus conventional breeding

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Participatory methods in SP variety selection 3 Protocols for drought screening trials 2 Multi-‐trait selection 1 Genetic gain 1 Heterosis breeding 1 Speed breeder tool 1 Use of GIS (maps) 1 Use of gender analysis 1 Partnership in sweetpotato breeding 1 ABS for sweetpotato 1 Quantification of beta-‐carotene 1 Extraction of rotenone in yam beans 1 Clarification of terminologies used in sweetpotato breeding 1

Morphological characterization procedures 1 Assessment of diseases (viruses etc) in breeding trials 1 Training for technicians 1 Sharing of relevant Sweetpotato publications in SSA or other continents 1 NIRS procedure for nutrient analysis 1 Field visit to sweetpotato farmers 1

9. How best to strengthen communication between breeders in this community of practice?

Ways to strengthen communication Frequency of mention Webpage for posting information • Website for sweetpotato breeders (charting on web) • Use the knowledge portal and ….. • Platform of sweetpotato information knowledge sharing

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Use of e-‐mails and g-‐mails 4 Skype 2 Backstop visits 1 Share regular reports 1 Plan on regional training 1 Joint field visits 1 News letter 1 Meetings at subregional levels before annual meetings 1

Tentative Agenda: Sweetpotato Breeders' Annual Meeting · Skype:some.koussao1 14 Kwabena Acheremu...

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