By YANGE IKYAA
Two Nigerian scientists, Dr. Anthony Job and Moses Igyuve, both of Value Seeds Limited (VSL) in Kaduna State, have collaborated with two CGIAR centers, the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) and the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), and also with the Institute for Agricultural Research (IAR) of the Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), to successfully develop a fall armyworm (FAW) tolerant maize hybrid.
The approval for release of the FAW-tolerant maize hybrid was given at the recently concluded 31st meeting of the National Committee on Naming, Registration and Release of Crop Varieties, Livestock Breeds/Fisheries at the National Centre for Genetic Research and Biotechnology. (NACGRAB), which held on January 19, 2023 at NACGRAB Conference Hall, Ibadan, and where the newly-released hybrid maize was registered.
The fall armyworm (FAW) or Spodoptera frugiperda, as named by J.E. Smith, was first reported in Africa in 2016, where it continues to severely impact maize production. Annual yield losses in maize due to FAW infestation are estimated between 8.3 and 20.6 million tons in just 12 African countries, valued at between $2.481 and $6.187 million.
The development of the maize hybrid that is now resistant to this pest followed intensive screening activities that started at the University of Ibadan under FAW artificially-infested and protected conditions. The success recorded during the screening resulted in the evaluation of the selected hybrids in many locations spanning the southern and northern parts of Nigeria.
These breeding activities followed the concept of participatory plant breeding (PPB) with our smallholder farmers in the “driver’s seat.” The routine involvement of farmers in the selection process gave VSL scientists the opportunity to incorporate farmer preferred traits in the profiles of the hybrid maize.
Data from Value Seeds Limited, which was seen by The Africanscholar, show that the approved maize hybrid, VSL 2201, has a potential yield of over 8.3 tonnes per hectare and is medium maturing (110-120 days). It performs optimally in the derived and guinea savanna ecologies, which include, but are not limited to Kaduna, Katsina, Niger, Nasarawa, Jigawa, Bauchi, Ekiti, and Oyo States.
The outstanding characteristics of the maize hybrid include high grain yield, tolerance to fall armyworm, maize streak virus, rust, leaf blight and curvularia leaf spot. Malam Aliyu Muhammad, a participatory farmer in Kwarin Juwan Village of Birnin-Kudu, Jigawa State said that the farmers’ fears about FAW pest were now over,
According to him, “we can now plant a FAW-tolerant maize variety in our fields, not apply any pesticides and be assured of high yield at the end of the season”.
It is expected that the economic and environmental benefits of the newly-developed hybrid maize by Nigerian scientists, which are immense, will most certainly reduce the use of chemical pesticides in the control of the invasive pest in question.
The Africanscholar learnt that the entire breeding team that developed the hybrid maize under review includes Dr. Anthony Job, who is a senior breeder at VSL Muhammad Ahmad Yahaya, a Maize Breeder at IAR Samaru, and Moses T. Igyuve, Associate Breeder at VSL. Other collaborating scientists are I. Iseghohi, R. Olayiwola, A. Abe, R. Akinwale, A.A. Yusuf, K. Abdulbasid, J. Oyekanmi, G. Zangir, and O. Obisesan.
