Improving Crops to Feed Latin America and the Caribbean: First Results of a Regional Project Presented at an IAEA Meeting
Mutant lines of rice, bean, wheat, quinoa, and tomato are being developed to increase yields and their resistance to harsher conditions. That includes tolerance to drought, extreme temperatures and salinity, as well as resistance to diseases and herbicides. New crop varieties will also have enhanced potential to face the effects of climate change. A number of advanced mutant lines are already in the process of official variety release.
This comes as the
first results from an IAEA regional technical cooperation project, now in its
third year of implementation, were presented during a mid-term review meeting
in Panama City, Panama, from 11 to 15 June 2018. The goal is to develop
climate-resilient varieties of crops of economic importance, with good yields
and quality characteristics. The project[1], carried out in
cooperation with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
(FAO), aims to increase the yield and commercial potential of crops that are
economically important to the Latin America region through mutation breeding.
Participating
countries, including Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba,
Ecuador, El Salvador, Jamaica, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru and
Plurinational State of Bolivia, are working to improve crops using induced
mutation. Each participant is working with one or several crops relevant to
their country, giving a broad scope to the project.
“Plant mutation
techniques have had enormous success worldwide for development of new and
better adapted crop varieties. These will ultimately help in the attainment of
some of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)”, said Stephan Nielen from the
Joint FAO/IAEA Division, technical officer for the project.
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Source: IAEA