Genetic resources
Improved metrics for better decisions
Capacity development
National breeding programs prepped to measure – and boost – genetic gains.
Best of 2020: Editors’ picks
Innovations
This year, we published more than 250 stories related to maize and wheat science around the world. Here are some of our favorites.
Best of 2020: Our favorite videos
Innovations
Kick back, press play and enjoy some of our favorite videos of the year.
Building networks and capacity
Capacity development
AGG partners meet to launch regional networks for eastern and southern Africa and assess capacity development needs.
Scientific opportunities and challenges
Capacity development
First meetings of the AGG Science and Technical Steering Committees generate insights and recommendations for optimizing breeding schemes.
Faster results at a lower cost
Innovations
Innovative tools and technologies help CIMMYT maize breeders in Africa accelerate the delivery of high-quality seed.
International Whole Grain Day 2020
Nutrition, health and food security
Celebrating whole grains as an integral part of healthy, sustainable — and delicious — diets.
What can the last 30 years of research tell us?
Climate adaptation and mitigation
An expansive new review seeks out the key drivers of climate-resilient crop adoption to mobilize decades of scientific and development research towards the eradication of hunger by 2030.
CIMMYT releases its first ever maize genetic resource lines
Nutrition, health and food security
The nine new maize lines are especially valuable for breeders seeking drought tolerance or tar spot complex disease resistance.
World Food Day 2020: Nourishing food systems
Climate adaptation and mitigation
We need to make sure our food systems grow a variety of food to nourish a growing population and sustain the planet.
Seed Seekers, Seed Keepers, Seed Growers
Nutrition, health and food security
Source: Seed World (1 Oct 2020)
CIMMYT’s seed bank preserves the genetic diversity of maize and wheat so the crops can adapt to a changing production environment.
Retrospective quantitative genetic analysis and genomic prediction of global wheat yields
Innovations
A new quantitative genetics study makes a strong case for the yield testing strategies CIMMYT uses in its wheat breeding program.
CGIAR breeding programs need more than just tech upgrades — they need change management
Innovations
The status quo anchors our minds to the past. Good change management can shake this up. Here are four ways plant breeding programs can ready themselves for the big changes we need to make.
East Africa partners welcome “new era” in wheat breeding collaboration
Gender equality, youth and social inclusion
Experts from Ethiopia and Kenya join CIMMYT and other partners to renew a long-standing collaboration under the auspices of the new AGG project.
Massive-scale genomic study reveals wheat diversity for crop improvement
Innovations
Source: Phys.org (11 Sep 2020)
Scientists complete one of the largest genetic analyses ever done of an agricultural crop to find desirable traits in wheat’s extensive and unexplored diversity.