Tackling abiotic production constraints in pearl millet and sorghum-based agricultural systems in the West African Sahel
- Status
- current
- Project begin
- 01.04.2010
- Project end
- 31.03.2013
- Sponsor mark
- BMZ/GTZ 09.7860.1-001.00
Using an integrated genetic and natural resource management (IGNRM) approach, this project aims at enhancing adaptation of pearl millet [Pennisetum glaucum (L.) R. Br.] and sorghum [Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench] to low-phosphorus (P) soils and water stress in the Sahelian zone of West Africa (WA). A combination of physiological experiments, classical and marker-assisted breeding research, and agronomic studies is used to tackle the combined effects of low soil P and droughts on pearl millet and sorghum growth in West Africa’s smallholder cereal production systems.
In a step-wise approach the studies will unravel available genetic diversity for low-P tolerance and enhance the understanding of the relative importance of low soil P and water stress, and their interaction, for cereal productivity in the Sahel. New crop management techniques beyond fertilizer micro-dosing will be developed and tested, such as seed coating with P, promotion of symbiosis with vesicular-arbuscular mycorrhiza (VAM) and on-farm processing of rock phosphate (RP) , to help enhancing productivity under Sahelian abiotic stress conditions. A strong focus on farmer experimentation with adapted cereal cultivars and new crop management options will help validating these techniques and contribute to early adoption and project impact. Outputs will include:
| 1. | Variation among West African pearl millet and sorghum varieties and 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 invented that enhance cereal performance under soil P deficiency and water stress. |
| 5. | New cereal cultivars and crop management options for enhancing productivity under the combined pressure of low-P and water stress in the Sahel assessed and validated through farmer experimentation under target environment conditions. |
Each output will include capacity building of African MSc and PhD students and hands-on training of NARS partners in the participating countries Niger, Burkina Faso, Mali and Senegal.