Improvement and Sustainable Use of Plant

Genetic Resources in Somalia

Presented To: Horn Relief – ToT; Training of Trainers

September 28th to October 2nd 2009

Outline

 Introduction to agriculture research in Somalia

 Objectives of the study

 Materials used and crops reviewed

 Results

 Summary and recommendation

Introduction
1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2009

Independence
day
Somali Universities
CARS establishment

First graduates
from SNU
NGO era
Wyoming team
IDRC (Bonka)

Fertilizer use

BIG BANG
Objectives

 Review of previous seed and PGR programmers implemented

in Somalia
 Identification and recommendations for the area of collection

 Recommendations and introduction of suitable varieties for

varietal trials and commercial production
 Guidelines to describe germ plasm to be collected and
varietal trials to be undertaken
Materials

 Pre-war (1980-1990)
• FAO for irrigated crops
• University of Wyoming for dry land crops
• IDRC for sorghum research
• CIMMYT website – for CIMMYT trials conducted at CARS
• Individuals previously engaged in agric. research in Somalia

 Post-war (1990-present)
• International and local NGO currently working in Somalia
Crops Reviewed

 Sorghum

 Maize

 Grain legumes : Cowpeas and Mungbeans

 Oil Crops: Sesame, Groundnut, Safflower, Sunflower and

Soybean
 Fruits and Vegetables
Sorghum

 Pre-war (1980-1990)
• Local germplasm collection and evaluation
• Damania and Rao 1979 - Bay and Bakool (69)

• Prasada Rao et al. 1987 - Southern regions (252)

• Testing of exotic varieties

 Post-war (1990-2007)
• Local germplasm collection and evaluation
• Manzelli et al., 2002 - North West (53)

• Testing of exotic varieties

Sorghum Germplasm Collection - 1987
Sorghum Germplasm Collection - 1987
Sorghum Local Germplasm Evaluation

 The 1979 collection was evaluated in 1981 and 1982

 No genotypic variation

 Narrow genetic base

 The 1987 collection was evaluated in Der 1987. Genotypic

variations were observed. 27 best performing landraces were
selected
Performance of Local Landraces in Der 1987

Local landraces Days to 50% Plant height (cm) Yield (kg/ha)

flowering
SS242 53 175 1734
SS223 53 190 1600
SS162 52 170 1510
SS228 56 170 1479
SS231 55 190 1463
Sorghum Germplasm Collection - 1987
Summary and Recommendation

 Significant genotypic variation exist among the local

landraces. Selection of superior lines is possible
 The local landraces posses the following characteristics:
• Good grain and fodder qualities, early maturing, ratooning ability, high
tolerance to stress conditions, tolerance to insects and diseases, and
perform well in both Gu and Der growing conditions

 The best performing local landraces can form the basis for a
varietal trial to be conducted by the Program
Exotic Germplasm Evaluation (1980-1985)

 Over 50 variety evaluation trials were conducted at Bonka

 The trials experienced extreme condition of soil

heterogeniety
 Inconsistency of the results

 High experimental errors

 Selection of superior lines-impossible

Exotic Germplasm Evaluation (1986-1989)

 1986 was marked a new era for the trials

at Bonka
 Fertilization was introduced and
management practices were improved
 Experimental errors were reduced

 Better results were obtained

Summary
Summary
Summary and Recommendation

 17 trials were conducted in 1986. Only 2 trials produced varieties that

significantly out-yielded the local landrace
 16 trials were conducted in 1987, only 3 trials produced varieties that
significantly out-yielded the local landrace
 25 hybrids were tested in ISHAT trial, 11 hybrids significantly out-yielded
the local
 A total of 12 varieties and 6 hybrids (?) were chosen for future seed
intervention strategies. The percent yield increase over the local ranged
from 38% to 72%
Post War Sorghum Research (1990-Present)

 Local germplasm collection and evaluation

• 48 local accession in the north west-CINS
• Genotypic differences were observed among the different accessions

 Exotic germplasm evaluation

• Save the children – Hiraan – 6 varieties
• CARE/ICRISAT promoted 3 varieties in Bay and Bakool Regions
• CINS introduced varieties in Bay and Bakool Regions
• CINS conducted local landrace evaluation - Bakool
Summary

 Results on varietal evaluations were inconclusive

Maize

 Pre-war (1980-1990)
• Local germplasm collection and
evaluation
• Development of synthetics and
composite varieties
• Testing of exotic varieties – CIMMYT

 Post-war (1990-2007)
• Testing of exotic varieties
Maize

 Pre-war (1980-1990)
• Early years, yellow maize varieties
were identified
• Identification of tuxpeno maize
varieties
• Development and release of Afgoi
composite
• Somtux release - 1979

• Isoma release - 1983

Exotic Varieties from CIMMYT: Low Land Tropical, Late
Maturing, White Grain Varieties – EVT12

6000

5000

4000

3000

2000

1000

35 to 49% higher yield compared to the check

Quality Protein Maize - QPM
4500
4000
3500
3000
2500
2000
1500
1000
500
0

38 to 50% higher yield compared to the check

New Potential Varieties

Varieties Maturity Performance Source

WS102 M H.Y. Western seed
WS103 M H.Y.
WSQ103 M QPM
CK1R04002 M R-stem borer CIMMYT
CK1R04003 M R-stem borer CIMMYT
New Potential Varieties

Varieties Maturity Performance Source

ECA-EE6 E H.Y. CIMMYT
ECA-EE13 E H.Y.
ECA-EE18 E H.Y.
ECA-EE21 E H.Y
ECA-EE45 E H.Y
Recommended Trials

 Strip trial

 Mother-baby-trial
Post War Maize Research

Exotic germplasm evaluation 3500

 Save the children – Hiraan – 5 3000

2500
varieties
2000
 Ferke9449-SR and S9449-SR
1500
produced 49% and 26% higher yield
1000
than the local 500
 Food and fodder quality was better 0
than the local
 Stay-green in the field until harvest
Post War Maize Research

Best Management Practices

 CEFA engaged in trials involving
Somtux and other local varieties
 Plant spacing

 Fertilizer application

 Number of plants/hill

 Plant spacing of 75 cm x 45 cm with

one plant/hill appear to produce
better results
Summary Recommendation

 Somtux seed purification and multiplication

 Introduction of CIMMYT O.P. varieties recommended for

release in Kenya

• Strip trial

• Mother-baby trial

 PERKE9449 from post-war studies

Grain Legumes

 I- Mungbean

 Pre-war (1980-1990)
• Testing of exotic varieties – AVRDC

• FILSAN seed release in 1987

Agronomic Data (1981-1986) - Bonka

Variety Days to Seeds/pod Seed wt. Yield % Ashy

maturity (Kg/ha) Stem
Blight
Filsan 60 7 60 470 23
Local 76 12 42 458 6
V3474 59 8 57 453 18
V1945 58 8 63 447 52
V1560 60 7 62 418 41
V1177 60 6 62 380 -
Grain Legumes

“FILSAN”
 Success story in late 80’s

 Recommended to the growers in 1987

 Large seeds, high yielding, early

maturing, tolerance to moisture stress
Post War - Filsan

CEFA conducted 9 demonstration plots using both FILSAN and a

local variety in the Bay region. Filsan yielded 558 Kg/ha, 37% higher
yield than the local that averaged 407 Kg/ha.
Recommendation

 FILSAN seed production

 Introduction of new improved varieties with resistance to Ashy

Stem Blight (Macrophamicna phaseoli) from AVRDC - Taiwan
Grain Legumes

 II- Cowpeas
 Pre-war (1980-1990)
• Testing of exotic varieties – IITA
• The local variety out-yielded the exotic varieties
Recommendation

 Local germplasm collection and evaluation

 Introduction of new superior varieties from IITA - Nigeria

Oil Crops - Sesame

Pre-war (1980-1990) 800

700
 Local germplasm collection – 73 in 600
Gu 1987 500

 Testing of exotic varieties - Ethiopia 400

300
 SPS1 produced the highest yield
200
followed by SPS2. 100
0
Oil Crops - Groundnut

Pre-war (1980-1990)
 Testing of exotic varieties - ICRISAT

 At CARS, the varieties NC-2,NC-6 and Florigian produced superior yield

 At Bonka, the local variety out-yielded the exotic varieties

Oil Crops - Safflower

Pre-war (1980-1990)
 Testing of exotic varieties - ICRISAT

 At CARS, the varieties NC-2,NC-6 and Florigian produced superior yield

 At Bonka, the local variety out-yielded the exotic varieties

Agronomic Data (1981-1986)

Variety Days to 50% Plant height Yield (Kg/ha)

flowering (cm)

VC-152 79 56 650
VC-163 77 53 630
VC-155 81 72 600
GILA 75 41 560
RH-2 76 56 560
Partial Hull 75 55 520
Summary and Recommendation

 Tolerance to drought – deep rooting habit

 Good source of cooking oil (30-40%)

 The variety VC-152 produced the highest yield followed by VC-162

 Supplements sesame for oil under extremely unfavorable moisture

conditions or under conditions where sesame cannot be grown
 Difficulties-harvesting the thorny type
Oil Crops - Sunflower

Pre-war (1980-1990)
 Testing of exotic varieties

 Testing dropped in 1985 due to:

• Excessive bird damage

• Extracted oil had an unacceptable quality (a dark sediment)

Oil Crops – Soy Bean

Pre-war (1980-1990)
 Testing of exotic varieties – USA

 Over 150 varieties were introduced at CARS

 Drawback-seed deterioration in storage

Oil Crops – Soy Bean

 Introduced at BDARS in 1983

 Prelim testing showed the potential of soybean crop

in the Bay Region agriculture
 IITA is the source for new soybean varieties
Fruits and Vegetables

Fruits Vegetables
 Banana  Tomato

 Lime  Onion

 Grapefruit  Pepper

 Mango  Watermelon

 Papaya  Carrots

 Coconut  Cucumber

 Lettuce
Tomato

 Tomato Improvement Program – 1982

 Develop varieties resistant to Leaf Curl Virus

 The virus is transmitted by whiteflies (Bemisia tabaci)

 Over 1000 new varieties were screened

 Crosses were performed between Roma V.F. and resistant varieties

 The local Cherry-type and wild type tomatoes were the main source for
resistance
 Complete resistance was obtained when the wild type source of resistance
was used as the pollinator
General Recommendation

 Gu and Der are two distinct seasons. Discuss in relation to varietal

evaluation
 Exploit the genetic potentiality of the local varieties

 Sorghum: superior lines from the local landraces and introduced varieties
were identified for future sorghum trials
General Recommendation

 Maize: Purification and multiplication of Somtux seed. Yield potential of

Somtux can be improved by a simple mass selection breeding
 New potential varieties from CIMMYT were identified which can be tested
in either strip or mother-baby trial
Summary and Recommendation

Grain Legumes: Filsan seed multiplication and introduction of

new varieties from AVDRC
Thank You