Bhutan is a small landlocked country located in the eastern Himalayas. Over 69% of the population is engaged in agriculture. Rice, maize, wheat, barley, buckwheat and millets are the major cereal crops cultivated. Ric...Bhutan is a small landlocked country located in the eastern Himalayas. Over 69% of the population is engaged in agriculture. Rice, maize, wheat, barley, buckwheat and millets are the major cereal crops cultivated. Rice is the most preferred food crop of the Bhutanese. Maize is a primary food crop after rice and it ranks first among food crops in production. The cultivation ranges from less than 300 m asl （metres above sea level） nearly up to 2,800 m asl. In 2007, a new, extremely serious problem of GLS （gray leaf spot） in maize that was previously never reported in Bhutan was confirmed. This disease spread rapidly in the highland maize growing areas causing production losses of over 50% to 70%. All the maize varieties cultivated in the country were found to be highly susceptible to the disease. In order to contain this devastating disease, the national maize program drew short and long term strategies with the help of a CIMMYT Expert. As an immediate short term action to contain GLS, systemic fungicide Tilt 25 EC （active ingredient propiconazole） was supplied free of cost to the farmers. A longer term strategy pursued was the introduction, e＇valuation and selection of GLS tolerant genotypes for the highland ecosystem. Over 100 GLS tolerant genotypes vcere introduced from CIMMYT Colombia, Mexico, Zimbabwe and Nepal. These materials were initially evaluated in a disease hotspot sites and then further tested in multi-location trials in GLS affected areas across the country. Farmers were engaged for Participatory Variety Selection by organizing farmer＇s field days at the trial sites. Finally, in 2011 considering the need of GLS tolerant varieties for farmers, two GLS tolerant genotypes ICAV305 and S03TLYQAB05 were provisionally released. In the 2011 season, these two provisionally released genotypes were put under large scale demonstration in the GLS affected areas in nine districts across the country. In 2012, the two genotypes were formally released by the Technology Release Committee of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forest. Rapid seed increase of the new varieties was initiated through farmers from Community Based Seed Production groups and so far 75% seed replacement of GLS affected farmers has been accomplished.展开更多
Bhutanese maize farmers grow different open-pollinated traditional varieties and improved high yielding varieties recommended by the national maize program. All most every maize farmer uses the recycled seeds from the...Bhutanese maize farmers grow different open-pollinated traditional varieties and improved high yielding varieties recommended by the national maize program. All most every maize farmer uses the recycled seeds from their farms for planting in the next season. Farmers traditional or informal seed system was found to be poorly organized and unscientific that has resulted in the deterioration and contamination of seed quality. Bhutanese maize farmers living in remote areas are highly constrained by the inconsistent supply and poor access to good quality maize seed. The formal public seed sectors lack adequate resources to produce and supply good quality seeds. This called for an urgency to identify and adapt an innovative and a sustainable seed production approach to service the subsistence needs of Bhutanese farmers in a cross-pollinated crop, like maize. The community based seed production （CBSP） approach was introduced and evaluated under the Bhutanese maize production system as an alternative farmer based seed production model. A total of seven farmers CBSP groups were formed and promoted as a smallholder seed enterprise. The technical skills of these CBSP group members on maize seed production were improved through practical demonstrations and trainings. The CBSP groups were supplied with high quality source seed of new maize varieties by the national maize program. For long term, the sustainability of CBSP groups were linked to the formal seed sector in the country for marketing the seeds. The CBSP approach has proven to be a successful small scale maize seed production model under highland maize production ecosystem that has improved the production and supply of good quality maize seeds. The Bhutanese experiences with CBSP in maize, its merits for small holder Bhutanese maize farmers and lessons learnt from the CBSP model are discussed in this paper.展开更多
文摘Bhutan is a small landlocked country located in the eastern Himalayas. Over 69% of the population is engaged in agriculture. Rice, maize, wheat, barley, buckwheat and millets are the major cereal crops cultivated. Rice is the most preferred food crop of the Bhutanese. Maize is a primary food crop after rice and it ranks first among food crops in production. The cultivation ranges from less than 300 m asl （metres above sea level） nearly up to 2,800 m asl. In 2007, a new, extremely serious problem of GLS （gray leaf spot） in maize that was previously never reported in Bhutan was confirmed. This disease spread rapidly in the highland maize growing areas causing production losses of over 50% to 70%. All the maize varieties cultivated in the country were found to be highly susceptible to the disease. In order to contain this devastating disease, the national maize program drew short and long term strategies with the help of a CIMMYT Expert. As an immediate short term action to contain GLS, systemic fungicide Tilt 25 EC （active ingredient propiconazole） was supplied free of cost to the farmers. A longer term strategy pursued was the introduction, e＇valuation and selection of GLS tolerant genotypes for the highland ecosystem. Over 100 GLS tolerant genotypes vcere introduced from CIMMYT Colombia, Mexico, Zimbabwe and Nepal. These materials were initially evaluated in a disease hotspot sites and then further tested in multi-location trials in GLS affected areas across the country. Farmers were engaged for Participatory Variety Selection by organizing farmer＇s field days at the trial sites. Finally, in 2011 considering the need of GLS tolerant varieties for farmers, two GLS tolerant genotypes ICAV305 and S03TLYQAB05 were provisionally released. In the 2011 season, these two provisionally released genotypes were put under large scale demonstration in the GLS affected areas in nine districts across the country. In 2012, the two genotypes were formally released by the Technology Release Committee of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forest. Rapid seed increase of the new varieties was initiated through farmers from Community Based Seed Production groups and so far 75% seed replacement of GLS affected farmers has been accomplished.
文摘Bhutanese maize farmers grow different open-pollinated traditional varieties and improved high yielding varieties recommended by the national maize program. All most every maize farmer uses the recycled seeds from their farms for planting in the next season. Farmers traditional or informal seed system was found to be poorly organized and unscientific that has resulted in the deterioration and contamination of seed quality. Bhutanese maize farmers living in remote areas are highly constrained by the inconsistent supply and poor access to good quality maize seed. The formal public seed sectors lack adequate resources to produce and supply good quality seeds. This called for an urgency to identify and adapt an innovative and a sustainable seed production approach to service the subsistence needs of Bhutanese farmers in a cross-pollinated crop, like maize. The community based seed production （CBSP） approach was introduced and evaluated under the Bhutanese maize production system as an alternative farmer based seed production model. A total of seven farmers CBSP groups were formed and promoted as a smallholder seed enterprise. The technical skills of these CBSP group members on maize seed production were improved through practical demonstrations and trainings. The CBSP groups were supplied with high quality source seed of new maize varieties by the national maize program. For long term, the sustainability of CBSP groups were linked to the formal seed sector in the country for marketing the seeds. The CBSP approach has proven to be a successful small scale maize seed production model under highland maize production ecosystem that has improved the production and supply of good quality maize seeds. The Bhutanese experiences with CBSP in maize, its merits for small holder Bhutanese maize farmers and lessons learnt from the CBSP model are discussed in this paper.
