Progress 10/01/12 to 09/30/13
Outputs
Progress Report Objectives (from AD-416): Perform research to optimize biological control of aflatoxins and assist scientists based in Africa with the development of biological control for the management of aflatoxins in Ghana, Mali, Tanzania and Nigeria with the goal of optimizing the use of native microbials for the practical management of aflatoxin contamination. Approach (from AD-416): Potential biological control agents will be collected from soils and crops collected in the target countries. Techniques will be developed to provide information useful in selecting optimal biological control strains. Assistance will be provided for the training of African scientists in order to improve the capacity of the target nations to contribute improvements to biological control. Field and laboratory experience will be used to troubleshoot problems associated with adapting biological control to the target areas. Work is performed both by collaborators in Africa and in the Agricultural Research Service (ARS) laboratory in Tucson. ARS scientists participated in the Partnership for Aflatoxin Control in Africa (PACA) Strategy Development Stakeholder Consultation Workshop that was held in Dar Es Salaam which included technical assistance to the meeting and participants and to the PACA Steering Committee. ARS scientists also participated in the Inception Workshop of Mitigation of Aflatoxin with Biocontrol in Maize and Groundnut in Mozambique with governmental, university, non-governmental, and private sector stakeholders and visited potential sites at which a Mozambique biocontrol laboratory might be set up including Uni Lorio (Universidade L�rio). Protocols for genetic analyses of fungal communities continued to be improved and ARS personnel continued to be trained to increase efficiency and accuracy. Seventeen variable genes were examined to characterize genetic groups of fungus of potential value in biocontrol. Eighteen groups were found to be competitive and distributed in more than one African country. And several were found in more than 3 countries. These results will aid development of regional biocontrol products. Genetic analyses have been initiated on just over 5,000 Aspergillus flavus isolates and for over 2,400 isolates the analyses have been completed. One genetic group has been detected in East (including Somalia and Kenya), West (including C�te d�Ivoire and Benin [isolates from the 1990s]), and Southern Africa (Zambia and Zimbabwe) and in North America. This unusually broadly distributed genetic group will be reported on, in the American Phytopathological Society Meetings by an ARS Student Intern. A better understanding of which fungi will be best for biocontrol will be garnered as the number of fungi examined and the distribution of origins of examined isolates increase. ARS PI monitoring activities to evaluate research progress included: phone calls/conference calls, on-site Cooperator/ARS meetings, site visits, email communications, field days, outreach activities, discussions at professional conferences/meetings, review of Accomplishment Report.
Impacts
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Publications
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Progress 10/01/11 to 09/30/12
Outputs
Progress Report Objectives (from AD-416): Perform research to optimize biological control of aflatoxins and assist scientists based in Africa with the development of biological control for the management of aflatoxins in Ghana, Mali, Tanzania and Nigeria with the goal of optimizing the use of native microbials for the practical management of aflatoxin contamination. Approach (from AD-416): Potential biological control agents will be collected from soils and crops collected in the target countries. Techniques will be developed to provide information useful in selecting optimal biological control strains. Assistance will be provided for the training of African scientists in order to improve the capacity of the target nations to contribute improvements to biological control. Field and laboratory experience will be used to troubleshoot problems associated with adapting biological control to the target areas. This project is a collaboration among Agricultural Research Service (ARS), the International Institute for Tropical Agriculture (IITA), and Doreo Partners, a private Nigeria based agricultural consulting firm. The funding is from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) through the Meridian Institute. The Meridian Institute is overseeing all the initial funds directed at managing aflatoxins in Africa and at the formation of the Partnership for Aflatoxin Control in Africa (PACA), a newly formed organ of the African Union. Since initiating this project, ARS scientists have participated in the conceptualization and design of a manufacturing process and demonstration facility for the production of atoxigenic biocontrol products for the prevention of aflatoxin contamination. Since inception in March, the project has been coordinated through visits to Tucson, AZ,by IITA scientists and Ibadan by ARS scientists and by internet and phone. The visit to Ibadan included meeting with the steering committee of PACA and updating them on efforts to push biocontrol out across Africa. PACA supported researchers also met in Washington DC, and Nairobi earlier in the year. Activities have also been initiated directed at selecting biocontrol strains of optimal value in the target nations and the target agroecosystems. This has already included further genetic analysis of potential African biocontrol strains already in hand, initiation of sampling in Tanzania and will include initiation of activities in Ghana later this year. Overall, the project is making concerted effort to solve technical challenges associated with adapting biocontrol of aflatoxins to sub-Saharan Africa and to the creation of cost effective solutions for preventing crop contamination with aflatoxins within the target nations. The program is monitored by periodic reports, presentations, and internet communication.
Impacts
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