http://annualreport.iita.org IITA Annual Report Wed, 05 May 2010 10:26:50 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en [caption id="attachment_284" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Buying maize from a roadside vendor. Biofortified maize is key to addressing vitamin-A deficiency in many Africans, especially women and children. Photo by O Adebayo, IITA."][/caption] Nutrition studies have shown that over 100 million Africans who rely heavily on cereal-based diets such as maize have sub-optimal vitamin ... http://annualreport.iita.org/?p=481 [caption id="attachment_298" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Maize farmers broadcasting aflasafe in their field. Photo by Ranajit Bandyopadhyay."][/caption] Aflatoxins are chemical poisons produced mainly by the fungus Aspergillus flavus in maize, groundnuts, cassava, and yam chips. They undermine human health, are potent causes of cancer, suppress the immune system of humans and animals, and ... http://annualreport.iita.org/?p=478 [caption id="attachment_285" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Boxes of African seeds being loaded onto a van on the way to the Svalbard Global Seed Vault. The shipment was prepared by staff of IITA's Genetic Resources Unit. Photo by O Adebayo, IITA."][/caption] In June 2009, we shipped the second batch of African seeds to the ... http://annualreport.iita.org/?p=473 Diagnostic tools is vital to disease surveillance, development of host plant resistance, quarantine monitoring, and supporting safe conservation and exchange of germplasm. Good knowledge on pathogen population structure and genetic diversity is a pre-requisite to developing unambiguous diagnostic tools and is critical in establishing disease management tactics. Increasingly, modern diagnostic ... http://annualreport.iita.org/?p=470 [caption id="attachment_296" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Flesh of banana fruit infected by BXW. Photo by Piet van Asten."][/caption] Among the many diseases that affect bananas and plantains in Africa, the two greatest threats are Banana Xanthomonas Wilt (BXW) and Banana Bunchy Top Disease (BBTD). Combined, these diseases have the potential to wipe out ... http://annualreport.iita.org/?p=462 [caption id="attachment_272" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="A banana valley near Ruhengeri, Rwanda. Photo by Piet van Asten, IITA."][/caption] This year, we undertook research to further understand the dynamics of the relationships among factors affecting banana and plantain production in Africa such as pest and diseases, biotic and abiotic stresses, and farmers’ preferences. This ... http://annualreport.iita.org/?p=457 [caption id="attachment_267" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="A local partner holding a cob of aflatoxin-contaminated maize. Photo by Godwin Atser, IITA."][/caption] Aflatoxins, poisons produced by the fungus Aspergillus flavus, infect agricultural commodities such as groundnuts, cassava, yam, and maize. They pose serious potential health hazards to both humans and animals, and have far-reaching negative ... http://annualreport.iita.org/?p=449 [caption id="attachment_292" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Women farmers in a cowpea field. Photo by Sato Muranaka."][/caption] Resource-poor cowpea farmers in northern Nigeria have seen their profits jump an average of 55 percent due to improved dual-purpose cowpea varieties that we and our partners developed and introduced. Farmers who use traditional varieties earn about US$251 ... http://annualreport.iita.org/?p=446 [caption id="attachment_301" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Asian rust-resistant TGx 1835-10E, at right, compared to a susceptible variety. Photo by IITA."][/caption] The Asian soybean rust is a fungal disease that is capable of laying waste as much as 80 percent of infested crops. This year, a soybean variety resistant to the disease that we ... http://annualreport.iita.org/?p=442 [caption id="attachment_269" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Growing vegetables is hard work - from preparing the land to watering the plants twice a day. We are continuously finding ways to make life easier and better for African farmers. Photo by Arnstein Staverlokk, Bioforsk."][/caption] In 2009, most of the world was still on ... http://annualreport.iita.org/?p=437