Tackling abiotic production constraints in pearl millet and sorghum-based agricultural systems of the West African Sahel

1. Tackling abiotic production
constraints in
pearl millet and sorghum-based
agricultural systems of the
West African Sahel
Final Project Meeting
Niamey, 23-55 March 2014
Introduction, Objectives, Program,
Overview of Activities
Bettina Haussmann
University of Hohenheim
Stuttgart, Germany
Tom Hash
ICRISAT Sahelian Center
Niamey, Niger

2. Introduction of partners & participants
• Institut d'Economie Rurale (IER), Mali: Sorghum,
Pearl Millet
• Institut National de l’Environnement et Recherche
Agricole (INERA), Burkina Faso: Pearl Millet
• Institut National de Recherches Agronomiques du
Niger (INRAN), Niger: Sorghum
• Institut Sénégalais de Recherche Agricole (ISRA),
Sénégal: Sorghum, Pearl Millet
• University of Kassel (UKW), Witzenhausen, Germany:
Plant nutrition
• University of Hohenheim (UH), Stuttgart, Germany:
Molecular Markers, Soil Science
• ICRISAT-Niger, -Mali, and -India: Sorghum, Pearl
Millet, molecular markers, physiology
• Farmer Organizations in the four countries
CNRA- Bambey

3. Conclusion
Heiko K. Parzies
1959 - 2011

4. Objectives of this workshop
• Critically Review
Y1-Y3 + NCE
• Learn!
• Plan publications
& final report to
assure that all
promised project
outputs are
achieved

5. Proposed Workshop Program
Suggestions re workshop program?
• Progress of activities by project objectives
– Pearl millet field trials by country
– Sorghum field trials by country
– Low-P adaptation mechanisms
– Interaction of drought with P deficiency
– Genetics of low-P adaptation
– Additional management options for low-P
conditions
– On-farm testing highlights
• Outcomes & perspectives
– Products – populations, data, facilities, &
improved capacity
– Planning of publications & Final Report
– Project evaluation

6. Aims of this project
Overall Goal: Enhance pearl millet & sorghum
productivity under rainfed conditions in the
West African Sahel
By Integrating
- cereal breeding research,
- crop physiology,
- plant nutrition, and
- agronomic research
Understand Effects and Interactions of
low soil P and recurrent drought spells
Develop and test options to overcome these
constraints in farmer’s fields

7. Expected Outputs
1. Genetic Variation among West African pearl millet and
sorghum varieties characterized, major mechanisms
for adaptation to low-P soils understood, and promising
germplasm identified
2. Knowledge generated about interaction between P
deficiency and water stress in pearl millet and sorghum
and potential indirect screening methods assessed
3. Initial molecular markers for tolerance to low soil P
identified in pearl millet and sorghum
4. New management options tested that enhance cereal
performance under soil P deficiency and water stress
5. New cereal cultivars and crop management options
validated through farmer experimentation in target
environment conditions

8. Activities - Output 1: Genetic variation and
mechanisms of adaptation to low-P
• Act. 1.1. Determine quantitative-genetic parameters
of Sahelian pearl millet and sorghum landraces and
breeding materials for low-P tolerance under field
conditions
• Act. 1.2: Characterize contrasting materials for
component traits of low-P tolerance (pot trials and
Vesicular Arbuscular Mycorrhizza (VAM) studies)
• Act. 1.3 Hands-on training of partners on the
phenotyping of tolerance to low-P conditions
• Act. 1.4. Evaluation of recurrent selection progress
in promising pearl millet populations

9. Activities - Output 2:
Interaction between low-P & water stress
• Act. 2.1 Establish the lysimeter screening
facility at ICRISAT-Niger
• Act. 2.2. Establish a lysimeter-based
phenotyping methodology
• Act. 2.3. Compare transpiration efficiency
in pearl millet and sorghum germplasm
under various conditions of P
fertilization
• Act. 2.4. Assess water uptake patterns
under various conditions of P fertility

10. Activities - Output 3:
Molecular markers for low-P tolerance
• Act. 3.1. Pearl millet association study
• Act. 3.2. Sorghum association study

11. Activities - Output 4:
New management options
• Act. 4.1 Develop and test new seed
coating techniques to enhance early
seedling establishment
• Act. 4.2. Develop and test
methodologies for artificial
mycorrhizza infestation
• Act. 4.3. Develop a procedure for
on-farm processing of different
WA rock phosphates
• Act. 4.4. Test the effects of above
technologies on productivity increase
under low-P and water stress

12. Activities - Output 5: On-farm validation
• Act. 5.1. Evaluate in a farmer-participatory
manner genotype × management inter-
actions to identify most responsive treat-
ment combinations that are adoptable and
appreciated by farmers
Dissemination of results
• Project web page
• Publications, posters, flyers, rural radio
• Demonstration trials / on-farm experimentation
• Performance & marker data produced will enter
data base

13. Originally proposed activity time line

14. ICRISAT is a member of the CGIAR Consortium
Fofo!
Merci!
Shukra!
Thank you!
Danke schön!
Dryland Cereals

15. Data sharing and intellectual property
• Quote MoU: "The partners agree to share
with ICRISAT all data generated as part of the
project activities. The information will be
made available by ICRISAT to all partners
and, ultimately, to the global community as
per BMZ/GTZ requirements."

16. Publication rules
• Quote MoU: "All publication of results will be made
only after approval by all parties concerned and with
appropriate recognition of each one's contributions.
Drafts of all publications will be circulated prior to
submission."
• All publications must acknowledge the donor, using
the following phrase: “Funded by GIZ on behalf of
the Government of the Federal Republic of
Germany”.
• Please assure documentation of all PR activities!!!

17. Rationale
Low soil P and unpredictable drought stress are major
overlapping crop production constraints in the Sahel
Foundation for effective and sustained development
of new farmer-preferred cultivars and crop management
techniques, beyond fertilizer micro-dosing
Increased cereal productivity and food security in the
unfavourable and risky Sahelian belt of West Africa
Understanding the relative importance of these
abiotic stresses and their interaction as well as
mechanisms of adaptation