Breeding

Our Impact

includes NextGen cassava varieties that deliver farmer identified quality traits in addition to offering increased yield and improved disease resistance adopted by smallholder farmers and cassava processors in sub-Saharan Africa.

Genomic resources developed for global cassava community

• 3rd Generation Hapmap for cassava
• Whole genome resequencing
• 1,273 cassava clones
• 20 million SNPs
• Regular genotyping
• Over 42,000 cassava accessions genotyped

Adoption of genomic selection has shortened breeding cycle by more than half

Our Approach

To improve cassava populations and breeding pipelines and extensively test improved clones for variety release, this division implements breeding pipelines at four breeding programs in Africa: the National Root Crops Research Institute (NRCRI), Umudike, Nigeria; the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), Ibadan, Nigeria (with additional support from IITA/Uganda); the National Crops Resources Research Institute (NaCRRI), Namulonge, Uganda; and the Tanzanian Agricultural Research Institute (TARI), Ukiriguru, Tanzania.

Pre-breeding for traits relevant to Africa and aid in germplasm acquisition is carried out in two other breeding programs in South America, the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) and the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (Embrapa). Other centers, such as the United States Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service (USDA-ARS) Pacific West and the University of Hawaii at Hilo, play roles as centers for phytosanitary certification and as international nurseries for cassava germplasm transfer in a disease-free environment.

To build capacity in Africa’s breeding programs, NextGen Cassava funds students to obtain advanced degrees in plant breeding. Cornell University, the West African Center for Crop Improvement (WACCI) at the University of Ghana, and Makerere University, Uganda are involved in this effort.

NextGen Annual Meeting Breeding Division update

Breeding Team

Xiaofei Zhang
CIAT