Government releases 11 high-yielding crop varieties to farmers
The National Varieties Release Committee (NVRC) has released 11 new high-yielding crop varieties to Nigerian farmers.
The crops released are five hybrid maize, namely SC719, 30Y87, 30F32, P48W01 and P48W03; and two sesame varieties, namely NCRIBEN 04E and NCRIBEN 05E.
Others are three cassava varieties – UMUCASS 44, UMUCASS 45 and UMUCASS 46, and one soyabean variety, TGx1951 – 3F.
Oladosu Awoyemi, chairman of NVRC, announced the official registration and release at the 20th meeting of National Committee on Naming, Registration and Release of Crop Varieties, Livestock Breeds and Fisheries.
But while giving further details after the meeting held at the committee’s secretariat, National Centre for Genetic Resources and Biotechnology (NACGRAB) in Ibadan, Olusoji Olufajo, chairman, Technical Sub-Committee on Crops, said the 11 new varieties were recommended out of 12 varieties submitted to his committee.
Olufajo, a professor, said the crop varieties were usually submitted to the committee for consideration by research institutes, universities and private companies in Nigeria who developed them.
He disclosed that the maize varieties were developed by Institute of Agricultural Research, Zaria, Seed Co West Africa, International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), Institute of Agricultural Research and Training, and DuPont Pioneer Seeds.
The sesame varieties, he pointed out, were from National Cereals Research Institute (NCRI), Badeggi, while the cassava varieties were from National Root Crops Research Institute and IITA.
The soybean varieties were from NCRI and IITA.
According to him, maize hybrid SC719 was recommended for release based on high grain yield and large grain size. Maize hybrid 30Y87 was recommended for release based on excellent stay green characteristics, uniform ear placement, tolerance to lodging and high protein content.
He also stated that Maize hybrid 30F32 was recommended for release based on high grain yield resistance to root and stalk lodging and high protein content and Maize hybrid P48W01 was recommended for release based on combined host plant resistant to striga and tolerance to MetSulfuronMethyl (MSM) for striga control.
He explained further that Maize hybrid P48W03 was recommended for release based on its prolific characteristics, and combined host plant resistance to striga and tolerance to MetSulfuronMethyl (MSM) for striga control.
On the sesame, Olufajo said the varieties NCRIBEN 04E and NCRIBEN 05E were recommended for release based on high grain yield, high oil content and early maturity, saying the three cassava varieties, UMUCASS 44, UMUCASS 45, and UMUCASS 46 were recommended for release based on high root yield and high beta carotene content.
Olufajo said the soybean variety TGx1951 – 3F was recommended for release based on low shattering, tolerance to rust, cercospora leaf spot and bacterial pustule.
In his address, Sunday Aladele, NACGRAB’s registrar, called on the government agricultural research institutes who had never attended the NVRC meetings to start coming with their research findings on new hybrid crops they developed.
While appealing to the Agricultural Research Council of Nigeria to pass the message to the Minister of Agriculture for a change of attitude by the guilty research institutes thanked the West Africa Agricultural Productivity Programme for sponsoring the meeting and past meetings of the national committee.
REMI FEYISIPO