Environmental health and biodiversity
The world needs better management of water, soil, nutrients, and biodiversity in crop, livestock, and fisheries systems, coupled with higher-order landscape considerations as well as circular economy and agroecological approaches.
CIMMYT and CGIAR use modern digital tools to bring together state-of-the-art Earth system observation and big data analysis to inform co-design of global solutions and national policies.
Our maize and wheat genebanks preserve the legacy of biodiversity, while breeders and researchers look at ways to reduce the environmental footprint of agriculture.
Ultimately, our work helps stay within planetary boundaries and limit water use, nutrient use, pollution, undesirable land use change, and biodiversity loss.
Two approaches better than one: identifying spot blotch resistance in wheat varieties
Environmental health and biodiversity
Genomic selection is a promising tool to select for spot blotch resistance and index-based selection to select for spot blotch resistance, heading and plant height.
CIMMYT scientists identify novel genomic regions associated with spot blotch resistance
Environmental health and biodiversity
Researchers use genome-wide association mapping approach to identify new regions with resistance to the disease.
Protecting plant health for food and nutritional security
Environmental health and biodiversity
Global networks present unified and transdisciplinary strategy to protect key crops from devastating pests and diseases.
Q&A: Regenerative agriculture for soil health
Environmental health and biodiversity
Farming system harnesses the power of biology to rebuild soil organic matter, diversify crop systems, and improve water retention and nutrient uptake.
A new seed policy ushers in a new era of hybrid seed business in Nepal
Capacity development
Source: Agrilinks (26 Apr 2022)
A change in policy by the Nepalese government in February 2022 opens up space for private seed companies to be involved in seed variety development, evaluation and distribution to farmers.
Our food system isn’t ready for the climate crisis
Environmental health and biodiversity
Source: The Guardian (14 Apr 2022)
“We’ll never get back all the diversity we had before, but the diversity we need is out there,” says Matthew Reynolds, head of wheat physiology at CIMMYT.
Seed banks: the last line of defense against a threatening global food crisis
Environmental health and biodiversity
Source: The Guardian (15 Apr 2022)
As climate breakdown and worldwide conflict continue to place the food system at risk, seed banks from the Arctic to Lebanon try to safeguard biodiversity.
MAIZE partners announce a new manual for effectively managing maize lethal necrosis (MLN) disease
Environmental health and biodiversity
The manual builds on the lessons of a decade of work on MLN management in sub-Saharan Africa by CIMMYT and its partners.
CIMMYT scientist receives award for weed research
Environmental health and biodiversity
Ram Kanwar Malik named Honorary Member by the Weed Science Society of America for research on herbicide-resistant weed Phalaris minor affecting wheat crops.
Plant breeding innovations
Climate adaptation and mitigation
Over millennia, natural selection and humans have systematically adapted the plant species that provide food and other vital products, changing their physical and genetic makeup for enhanced productivity, nutrition and resilience. Plant breeders apply science to continue improving crop varieties, making them more productive and better adapted to climate extremes, insects, drought and diseases.
New publications: Genome-wide breeding to curtail wheat blast
Environmental health and biodiversity
Researchers evaluate the use of genomic selection in wheat breeding against deadly fungal disease.
How interactions among hidden enemies and drought effects grain yield and disease severity in bread wheat
Environmental health and biodiversity
CIMMYT scientists in Turkey investigated the effect of soil borne diseases individually and in combination with drought on morphological and physiological traits in wheat germplasm.