Scaling Seed Production in East Africa

Poor-quality seed considerably limits potato yields in Kenya. Smallholders there find it difficult to access clean certified seed. The Syngenta Foundation helped the large Kisima Farm Company to grow high-quality seed for neighboring farmers. Such partnerships take several years to produce results. Kisima now runs a profitable potato seed business. Other farms are beginning to follow

Synthesis and antiviral properties of spirocyclic [1,2,3]-triazolooxazine nucleosides

An efficient synthesis of spirocyclic triazolooxazine nucleosides is described. This was achieved by the conversion of β-D-psicofuranose to the corresponding azido-derivative, followed by alkylation of the primary alcohol with a range of propargyl bromides - obtained via Sonogashira chemistry. The products of these reactions underwent 1,3-dipolar addition smoothly to generate the protected spirocyclic adducts. These were easily deprotected to give the corresponding ribose nucleosides. The library of compounds obtained was investigated for its antiviral activity, using MHV (Mouse Hepatitis Virus) as a model wherein derivative 3f showed the most promising activity and tolerability

Soil quality regeneration by grass-clover leys in arable rotations compared to permanent grassland: Effects on wheat yield and resilience to drought and flooding

Intensive arable cropping depletes soil organic carbon and earthworms, leading to loss of macropores, and impaired hydrological functioning, constraining crop yields and exacerbating impacts of droughts and floods that are increasing with climate change. Grass and legume mixes traditionally grown in arable rotations (leys), are widely considered to regenerate soil functions, but there is surprisingly limited evidence of their effects on soil properties, resilience to rainfall extremes, and crop yields. Using topsoil monoliths taken from four intensively cropped arable fields, 19 month-old grass-clover ley strips in these fields, and from 3 adjacent permanent grasslands, effects on soil properties, and wheat yield in response to four-weeks of flood, drought, or ambient rain, during the stem elongation period were evaluated. Compared to arable soil, leys increased earthworm numbers, infiltration rates, macropore flow and saturated hydraulic conductivity, and reduced compaction (bulk density) resulting in improved wheat yields by 42–95 % under flood and ambient conditions. The leys showed incomplete recovery compared to permanent grassland soil, with modest gains in soil organic carbon, total nitrogen, water-holding capacity, and grain yield under drought, that were not significantly different (P > 0.05) to the arable controls. Overall, grass-clover leys regenerate earthworm populations and reverse structural degradation of intensively cultivated arable soil, facilitating adoption of no-tillage cropping to break out of the cycle of tillage-driven soil degradation. The substantial improvements in hydrological functioning by leys will help to deliver reduced flood and water pollution risks, potentially justifying payments for these ecosystem services, especially as over longer periods, leys increase soil carbon sequestration

Optimizing pesticide spray coverage using a novel web and smartphone tool, SnapCard

International audienceThe overuse of pesticides leads to contamination of water and food. Therefore, there is a need for tools and strategies to optimize pesticide application. Here we present SnapCard, a user-friendly and freely available decision support tool for farmers and agricultural consultants, available at snapcard.agric.wa.gov.au. SnapCard allows to predict, measure, and archive pesticide spray coverage quantified from water-sensitive spray cards. Variables include spray settings such as nozzle orifice size, sprayer speed, water carrier rate and adjuvant, and weather variables such as barometric pressure, relative humidity, temperature, and wind speed at ground level. We use separate regression models for four nozzles types. Our results showed that there are strong and positive correlations between water carrier rate and spray coverage for all four nozzle types. Moreover, sprayer speed is highly negatively correlated with obtained spray coverage. In addition, there is no consistent effect of either nozzle type or use of a particular adjuvant, across water carrier intervals. We conclude that varying combinations of spray settings and weather conditions caused marked ranges of spray coverages among the four nozzle types, thus highlighting the importance of selecting the right nozzle orifice size and type. We demonstrate that realistic scenarios of environmental conditions and spray settings can lead to predictions of very low spray coverage with at least one of the four nozzle types. We discuss how the novel and freely available smartphone app, SnapCard, can be used to optimize spray coverage, reduce spray drift, and minimize the risk of resistance development in target pest populations

Cultar.

Cultar é o nome comercial da molécula paclobutrazol, descoberta e desenvolvida pela Syngenta, que atua como um potente regulador de crescimento vegetal. O controle do crescimento vegetativo e a adequação da época de produção, são dois dos aspectos mais importantes e desafiadores do manejo moderno e eficiente de pomares de frutas. O crescimento vegetativo deve ser reduzido por varias razões: diminuir a competição por nutrientes para a produção dos frutos; dar uma estrutura às plantas que facilite os tratos culturais e a colheita; tornar possível a implementação de pomares com espaçamentos menores e alta densidade de plantas. A manipulação da época de produção é desejável para programar o período de colheita, diminuindo o problema de disponibilidade e utilização da mão de obra, e possibilitando a obtenção de preços melhores fora da época tradicional de produção. Paclobutrazol, o ingrediente ativo de Cultor age retardando o crescimento das plantas, inibindo a biossíntese de giberelinas. O principal efeito morfológico é c redução dos internódios. Além disso, em algumas espécies de plantas, há indução ou aumento do florescimento. Resultado de Pesquisa: Trabalho 1. Efeito de Cultar como regulador de crescimento vegetativo, na floração e produção da mangueira cultivada no Submédio São Francisco. Autores: João Antônio Albuquerque - Embrapa Semi-Árido; Maria Aparecida Mouco - Empresa Baiana de Desenvolvimento Agrícola. Fazenda Novo Horizonte, Petrolina-PE. Julho/1998. Trabalho 2. Crescimento vegetativo, floração e produção da mangueira, cvs Haden e Tommy Atkins, com o uso de Cultar, na região de Itaberaba, Bahia. Autores: Maria Aparecida Mouco - Empresa Baiana de Desenvolvimento Agrícola; João Antônio Albuquerque - Embrapa Semi-Árido. Fazenda Volta do Rio, Itaberaba-BA. Agosto/1998.Participação: João Antonio Albuquerque, Embrapa Semiárido; Maria Aparecida Mouco, Ebda

Scaling Potato Seed production in East Africa

This short film is showcasing the impact of quality potato seed on smallholder farmers and local communities in Kenya. It describes how Kisima Farm, with some help from SFSA, grew to become one of the largest producers of certified potato seed in Kenya. With 2'000 tons of production a year, Kisima is now the largest local potato seed producer in East Africa. The aim is to show that the scale of their operation is a big part of what makes them successful and that this has encouraged other producers to imitate their business model. This is of course of great benefit to Kenya's food security and economy. This project is run by our Seeds2B team which helps farmers access quality, affordable seeds of improved varieties for the crops they need. Access to Seeds includes also investments in plant breeding and technology transfer of new varieties to smallholders. The Syngenta Foundation operates across product streams following a pipeline approach. Our current streams are: - Agriservices - Risk Management and Financial Inclusion for smallholder farmers, implementing and scaling up affordable agricultural insurance products and risk transfer mechanism to access credit; - Access to Seed