Birds and weeds

Hungry birds destroy ripening grain all over the world, yet few researchers study on them. Farmers in Senegal told AfricaRice researchers that their two major rice pests were birds and weeds.

 Farmers have insights about birds. In a farmer survey by AfricaRice near Saint Louis, Senegal farmers said that birds did lower yields, especially when the fields were weedy. The weeds mature before the rice does, and birds like to eat weed seeds, the farmers said. The birds only eat rice once the weeds are gone. Farmers said that “if I manage my weeds I have less bird attack”.

The farmers were right. In 2008 AfricaRice weed scientist Dr. Jonne Rodenburg joined the team and validated what the farmers said in experiments on-station with four treatments:

1. No control of either weeds or birds
2. Only bird control (plots were covered with nets)
3. Only weed control (hand weeded every ten days) and
4. Full control of birds and weeds.

They did the experiment with early and late maturing rice varieties. The weed-free fields discouraged birds. Weedy fields, on the other hand, attracted birds. The birds fed on weed seeds, found shelter in the weeds, and perched on the weeds to eat the rice. Weed-free, early maturing varieties suffered little from bird attacks. If the rice matures late, it is ripe when the weeds seeds are all gone, and the birds then turn to the rice grains.

Managing birds. Pest management scientists tend to ignore birds, and ornithologists tend not to think of birds as pests. Therefore, far too little research is done on birds as pests. This research, although in an early stage, suggests that farmers have several options to manage birds.

• Keep fields weed free
• Plant early maturing rice
• Experiment with different planting times.

The AfricaRice team measured bird damage in the Senegal River Valley, based on their annual farmer surveys. They estimated average bird damage at 11.2% of the potential rice yield in 2003-2007, which translates into an average annual economic loss of 4 billion FCFA (about $9 million).

Some governments and farmers use large quantities of non-selective poisons to kill birds. This needlessly kills non birds that do not eat grain, besides damaging the environment and human health. Alternatives to these harmful pesticides are urgently needed. Research like this is a step in the right direction.

The team conducting this research includes Dr. Jonne Rodenburg (AfricaRice Weed Scientist), Dr. Matty Demont (AfricaRice Agricultural Economist), Yann de Mey (K.U. Leuven MSc Student) and Abdoulaye Sow (AfricaRice Research Assistant).

Oiseaux et adventices

Partout dans le monde, les oiseaux affamés s’attaquent aux grains mûrs et occasionnent des dégâts; cependant, ils font l’objet de peu d’études de la part des chercheurs. Les paysans sénégalais ont dit aux chercheurs d’AfricaRice que les oiseaux et les adventices étaient leurs deux principaux ennemis du riz.

Les paysans ont une connaissance approfondie des oiseaux. Dans une étude paysanne menée par AfricaRice près de Saint Louis, Sénégal, les paysans ont déclaré que les oiseaux réduisent effectivement les récoltes, surtout lorsque les champs sont enherbés. Selon les paysans, les adventices mûrissent avant le riz, et les oiseaux aiment manger les graines d’adventices. Les oiseaux ne mangent le riz que lorsqu’il n’y a plus d’adventices. Les paysans ont déclaré que “si je gère mes adventices, j’ai moins d’attaques d’oiseaux”.

Les paysans avaient raison. En 2008, le malherbologiste d’AfricaRice, Dr. Jonne Rodenburg s’est joint à l’équipe et a validé les déclarations des paysans dans des expérimentations en station avec quatre traitements :

1. Pas de contrôle d’adventices ou d’oiseaux
2. Contrôle d’oiseaux seulement (parcelles couvertes avec des filets)
3. Contrôle des adventices seulement (désherbage manuel tous les dix jours) et
4. Contrôle total des oiseaux et des adventices.

L’expérimentation a été faite avec des variétés de riz précoces et des variétés tardives. Les parcelles désherbées ont découragé les oiseaux. Par contre, les parcelles enherbées attiraient les oiseaux. Les oiseaux se nourrissaient d’adventices, ont trouvé des abris dans les adventices et s’y perchaient pour manger le riz. Les variétés précoces débarrassées d’adventices ont peu souffert des attaques des oiseaux. Si le riz est tardif, il mûrit au moment où il n’y a plus de grains d’adventices, et les oiseaux se tournent vers les grains de riz.

Gestion des oiseaux. Les spécialistes des ravageurs ont tendance à ignorer les oiseaux, et les ornithologues ont tendance à ne pas considérer les oiseaux comme des ravageurs. En conséquence, très peu de recherches se font sur les oiseaux en tant que ravageurs. La présente recherche, bien qu’étant à ses débuts, propose que les paysans aient plusieurs options de gestion des oiseaux.

• Débarrasser les champs des adventices
• Cultiver des variétés de riz précoces
• Expérimenter différentes périodes de semis.

L’équipe d’AfricaRice a mesuré les dégâts causés par les oiseaux dans la vallée du fleuve Sénégal, en se basant sur leurs enquêtes annuelles auprès des paysans. Ils ont estimé la moyenne des dégâts annuels causés par les oiseaux à 11,2% du potentiel du rendement du riz en 2003-2007, ce qui se traduit en moyenne par une perte économique annuelle de 4 milliards de FCFA (environ 9 millions de dollars américains).

Certains gouvernements et paysans utilisent de grandes quantités de poisons non sélectifs pour tuer les oiseaux. Cela tue inutilement les oiseaux non granivores, en plus du fait d’endommager l’environnement et la santé humaine. Il urge d’avoir des alternatives à ces pesticides néfastes. Toute activité de recherche comme celle-ci est un pas dans la bonne direction.

L’équipe chargée de réaliser cette étude est composée de Dr. Jonne Rodenburg (malherbologiste à AfricaRice), Dr. Matty Demont (économiste agricole à AfricaRice), Yann de Mey (étudiant en MSc, K.U. Leuven) et Abdoulaye Sow (Assistant de recherche à AfricaRice).

Developing the next generation of rice varieties

IRRI and AfricaRice jointly launched the Japan-funded project on ‘Developing the next generation of new rice varieties for sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia’. The eastern and southern African launch of this project took place on 24 April, in Kirundo Province of Burundi.

The launch was attended by scientists from IRRI, AfricaRice and 38 national research and extension partners from nine eastern and southern Africa countries (Burundi, Ethiopia, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mozambique, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda).

The overall aim of the project is to accelerate the development and deployment of the next generation of elite rice varieties for major production systems in SSA and Southeast Asia. To ensure the development and delivery of products (rice varieties) well-accepted by farmers and consumers, this project aims to establish a network of NARS breeders.

The project will allow IRRI and AfricaRice to rebuild rice breeding capacity at the national level in SSA and Southeast Asia, and pursue a systematic collaborative approach to rice breeding that will greatly shorten the time needed to develop new varieties. Delivery of varieties will also be accelerated through streamlining and harmonizing varietal release procedures across the regions. 

Reviewing impact and planning the future of the AfDB-funded NERICA dissemination project

The 2010 Steering Committee Meeting of the African Rice Initiative (ARI), held in Cotonou, Benin, 19-21 Apr 2010, reviewed the progress made by the $35 million, five-year AfDB-funded NERICA dissemination project and planned the next steps.

The AfDB project supports the dissemination of NERICA and other improved rice varieties in seven West African countries – Benin, Ghana, Guinea, Mali, Nigeria, Sierra Leone and The Gambia.

The AfDB project is coordinated by the African Rice Initiative (ARI), which is hosted by AfricaRice. ARI has been supported by several partners and donors, including AfDB, Rockefeller Foundation, JICA and UNDP. Two JICA rice specialists who are working with the Initiative have been particularly involved in group training programs on important aspects of rice cultivation – ranging from quality seed production to agronomic packages.

The Steering Committee highlighted the progress made in the pilot countries as many promising new varieties – including new NERICA varieties – have been selected by farmers using farmer-participatory approaches. Thanks to these, rice farmers are able to make enough profit from their farms to send their children to school and provide them with better health care.

Since seed shortage is the biggest bottleneck in rice development in the region, the project has mounted a major effort on the production and diffusion of quality seed. Efforts are being made to put in place sustainable quality seed production and delivery strategies.

To increase the productivity of improved rice varieties, complementary technologies, such as agronomic packages, are currently evaluated in all pilot countries in collaboration with AfricaRice scientists and other resource persons. The Regional Coordination Unit has contributed to the dissemination of relevant information through the publication, NERICA Compendium, which was published jointly with FAO and Sasakawa Africa Association.

In view of the tangible impact made in the pilot countries and the keen interest of other sub-Saharan African countries to be included in the AfDB rice project, the ARI Steering Committee meeting focused on the strategy and the development of the next phase. The project was launched in 2005 but began its operations only from 2006.

African Rice Challenge Initiative launched

The Rice Challenge Initiative launching meeting was held in Montpellier, France, from 13 to 15 April. This four-year project, funded by the CGIAR Generation Challenge Programme (GCP) and led by AfricaRice, focuses on breeding for drought tolerance in the rainfed lowland ecosystems in Burkina Faso, Mali and Nigeria.

The main objective is to develop cultivars possessing high yield potential in normal years and still give good yield under drought and other major stresses of each target environment. This will help sustain rice production, beyond the three target countries, in the large rainfed lowland ecosystem across Africa. Details of research activities, responsibilities of each partner, time frames and budget were discussed at the launch. 

African Rice Challenge Initiative launched

The Rice Challenge Initiative launching meeting was held in Montpellier, France in 13-15 Apr 2010. This 4-year project, funded by the Generation Challenge Programme (GCP) and led by AfricaRice, focuses on breeding for drought tolerance in the rainfed lowland ecosystems in Burkina Faso, Mali and Nigeria.

The main objective is to develop cultivars possessing high-yield potential in normal years and considerably good yield under drought and other major stresses of each target environment in rainfed lowland, which will help sustain rice production, beyond the three target countries, in the large rainfed lowland ecosystem across Africa.

Details of research activities, responsibilities of each partner, the time frames and the budget were discussed at the launching meeting.

Strengthening MAS capacity of national partners

A regional training workshop organized by AfricaRice jointly supported through its Green Super Rice (GSR) project and the West and Central African Council for Research and Development (CORAF/WECARD) project on research methods in marker-assisted selection (MAS) was held in Cotonou, from 29 March to 3 April.

The aim of the workshop was to upgrade the capacity of plant breeders from research centers and universities of 12 African countries (Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Liberia, Mali, Mozambique, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone and Uganda) to use research methodologies applied in MAS. MAS is a tool that allows the direct application of molecular markers to make plant breeding easier and breeding programs more efficient.

AfricaRice and the Institut de recherche pour le développement (IRD) experts served as resource persons for the workshop. The participants highlighted the importance of forming a network that will enable them to exchange information on MAS-related research activities in the participating countries. They also pointed out the importance of establishing functional biotechnology laboratories in their countries and of a regional supply system to facilitate procurement of laboratory material. 

Building marker-assisted selection capacity of national partners

A regional training workshop organized by AfricaRice jointly supported through its Green Super Rice (GSR) Project and CORAF/WECARD Project on “Research methods in marker-assisted selection (MAS)” was held in Cotonou, Benin, from 29 Mar to 3 Apr 2010. MAS is a tool that allows the direct application of molecular markers to make plant breeding programs easier and more efficient.

The aim of the workshop was to upgrade the capacity of plant breeders from research centers and universities of 12 African countries (Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Liberia, Mali, Mozambique, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone and Uganda) to use research methodologies applied in MAS. AfricaRice and IRD experts served as resource persons for the workshop.

The workshop, which included theoretical and practical sessions, helped the participants gain a better understanding of the importance of molecular markers in breeding. Participants were able to learn various practical techniques relating to DNA extraction, PCR reactions, thermal cycler programming and amplification, PCR product separation on agarose and polyacrylamide gels, gel staining, data scoring and interpretation.

The participants highlighted the importance of forming a network that will enable them to exchange information on MAS-related research activities in the participating countries. They also pointed out the importance of establishing functional biotechnology laboratories in their countries and regional supply system to facilitate procurement of laboratory material.