Date of Report: April
2002
Name and Address of Organization:
Cornell University, 245 Roberts Hall, Ithaca, NY
14853
Name and Title of the Contact
Person: Dr. Ronnie Coffman, Chairman Executive Committee,
Associate Dean for Research Director of Ag Expt. Station
Name and Title of Person Preparing
Report: Dr. K.V. Raman, Executive Director
Time period covered
in report: July 1, 2001 to April 15, 2002
________________________________________________________________
1. Progress July 1, 2001–April
15, 2002 - Narrative description of goals met;
problems; changes made:
The Cornell-Eastern Europe-Mexico International Collaborative
Project in Potato Late Blight Control (CEEM) will complete
its first phase of the project in December 2002. In this first
phase, CEEM’s role as a facilitator has been instrumental
in bringing together scientists from the U.S.A., Mexico, Peru,
Poland, Ireland, and Russia to conduct research on potato
late blight from different perspectives. These research projects
facilitated the development of useful components for integrated
late blight management, in an effort to manage what is now
considered the world’s worst agricultural disease affecting
potato and tomato production world-wide. Furthermore, research
conducted contributed to the existing knowledge and understanding
of potato late blight leading CEEM and its collaborators to
publish important research findings in several scientific
journals.
An external review committee evaluated the progress and impact
of the first phase of the CEEM project, and indicated that
there is a compelling need to continue the CEEM project to
a final phase of six more years (August 2002–August
2008), to promote high priority late blight projects in the
Russian Federation, and a few selected countries in Eastern
Europe.
From July 1, 2001 to April 15, 2002, significant
accomplishments were made in:
1) project accomplishments;
2) proposals/agreements for partnerships for research and technology
transfer; 3) conferences/field days; 4) publications, and 5)
future work.
Back to Top
________________________________________________________________
1.1 Dr. Walter De Jong and Dr. Robert L. Plaisted, and their
research group continue to develop improved potato varieties
with high yield and resistance to late blight. During the
Potato Show and Tell Field day organized in November 2001,
participants reviewed all promising materials. A private seed
producing company in Moscow, Russia has been identified to
multiply and make available Cornell’s promising late
blight resistant potato varieties. This company uses a novel
hydroponics system to reduce the time of multiplication. Arrangements
are underway to transfer the materials following appropriate
quarantine and material transfer agreements.
1.2 Dr. William E. Fry and his research group,
in collaboration with scientists in Mexico, and Russia contributed
significantly to the basic understanding of the epidemiology
and management of late blight. Research was conducted in Ithaca,
NY, in Toluca, Mexico, and in Russia. Research was also conducted
on analyzing the resistance in breeding lines and segregating
populations of potatoes. Data from these experiments is being
used to develop appropriate integrated control programs with
minimum use of fungicides for late blight management.
Eastern Europe
1.3 Drs. Ewa Zimnoch-Guzowska, and her co-workers from the
Potato Research Center, IHAR, Poland, identified potato varieties
with tuber resistance to late blight. Tuber rot due to late
blight infection is of major concern in many countries in
Eastern Europe. In collaboration with Russian scientists,
IHAR screened many wild potato species maintained at the N.I.Vavilov
Institute of Plant Industry (VIR), St. Petersburg, Russia.
Several new sources of resistance were identified, and are
being made available to potato breeders world-wide for use
in potato breeding.
1.4 Dr. Nadezhda Zoteyeva of the N. I. Vavilov Institute
of Plant Research (VIR), Russia, evaluated many segregating
potato populations representing wild potato species. Five
promising inter-specific hybrids were selected for high level
of resistance to late blight. In other research funded by
CEEM, researchers Drs. Elena Rogozina and Maria Patrickeeva
conducted five kitchen garden trials using promising late
blight resistant potato varieties around the St. Petersburg
region in Russia. The newly developed potato hybrid (Hybrid
7) demonstrated good late blight resistance in these trials.
90% of Russian potatoes are grown in kitchen gardens and it
is essential that any promising material be first tested under
these conditions before its release.
1.5 Dr. Alexey V. Filippov and his collaborators worked with
Cornell University scientists on basic and applied research
on the population structure of late blight pathogen. Potato
growing regions such as Murmansk in Russia had a high level
of late blight infection. Resistance frequency in late blight
isolates from this region was equal to 100% with a considerable
percentage of blighted tubers after harvest, and in the first
month of storage. The determination of mating types of isolates
collected in 2001 is underway. The results, so far, indicate
that P. infestans isolates collected in different regions
of Russia vary considerably in their tuber infection aggressiveness.
U.S.A./Ireland
1.6 Drs. Leslie J. Dowley of Oak Park Research Center, Carlow,
Ireland, and William E. Fry, Cornell University are collaborating
on a newly funded project supported by the U.S.A./Ireland
Co-operation Program in Agricultural Science and Technology.
The main aim of the project is to assess the risk of resistance
development in new and established fungicides in a sexually
and asexually reproducing population of P. infestans, the
cause of potato late blight.
Mexico
1.7 Dr. Niklaus J. Grünwald and colleagues in Toluca,
Mexico, and at Cornell University proposed new work to be
supported by USDA-FAS on basic research focusing on all aspects
of oospore biology at the Toluca experiment station in Mexico.
Oospores are formed naturally at this location; hence, this
site is ideal for oospore related work. This project builds
on the previous work done in Toluca.
1.8 The importance of the Toluca site in Mexico for developing
potato varieties with resistance to late blight has been demonstrated
through CEEM stimulated research projects conducted by Dr.
Charles Brown of USDA-ARS, Prosser, Washington, U.S.A., and
Dr. Héctor Lozoya-Saldaña, PICTIPAPA, Toluca,
Mexico. An international screening site for late blight breeders,
and a state of the art laboratory facility for work on P.
infestans continues to address the needs of many potato programs
world-wide.
1.9 The Toluca field site in Mexico enabled the field screening
of 3621 new accessions from six breeding programs. It also
facilitated other basic research on fungicide assessment,
pathogen biology, forecasting and training.
1.10 The progress made in all potato late
blight collaborative research projects was discussed in the
workshop organized by CEEM, USDA-FAS, IHAR, and GILB in Warsaw,
Poland. Details of the work done in several projects are reported
in the publication titled: “Collaborative research on
potato late blight: Building strategies and synergies”
November 2001.
Back to Top
________________________________________________________________
2.1 A proposal to create a Potato Late Blight Network for
Europe was developed by researchers at the Scottish Crop Research
Institute (SCRI) following the Warsaw, Poland workshop. A
total funding of US$1.28 million, for three years (beginning
2002) was approved by the European Union. Work proposed in
this project will be highly complementary to the work proposed
by CEEM in phase II. CEEM and SCRI have agreed to work closely
in this project to develop sustainable late blight control
methods in a global and East European context.
2.2 With CEEM’s help, the USDA-ARS approved a total
US$150,000 for a three-year project (2001-2003) to develop
potato varieties with resistance to late blight. This work
will be done in Toluca, Mexico. Upon completion of this project,
USDA-ARS pledged an additional $250,000 beginning 2003 to
continue this work.
2.3 CEEM and the USDA-FAS finalized and implemented the collaborative
workshop on late blight in Warsaw, Poland.
2.4 The terms for material transfer agreement for use of
Cornell’s potato varieties in Russia have been developed
with a private seed company (Dokagene) in Moscow, Russia.
2.5 CEEM and a private firm finalized an agreement to test
proprietary potato germplasm in Toluca, Mexico. The trials
are from May to September 2002.
2.6 Dr. Patrick Russo, formerly with the
Department of Plant Pathology, Cornell University now with ISTC-Moscow,
Russia facilitated the arrangements with VIR for implementation
of all field trials.
Back to Top ________________________________________________________________
3. Conferences/Field Days
3.1 A total of over 150 participants representing 11 countries
participated in workshops and field days organized at Cornell
University (November 2001); Warsaw-Poland (June 2001) and
Toluca, Mexico (August-September 2001)
3.2 CEEM researchers participated in several
scientific meetings held in Europe, Russia, Poland, Mexico,
and the U.S.A. Several important publications were presented
in these meetings. Participation in these meetings enables sharing
of knowledge and determining new ways to control late blight.
Back to Top
________________________________________________________________
4.1 A total of 23 scientific publications were published.
Scientists at Cornell University published 9 articles. Collaborating
scientists in Eastern Europe published 5 articles, and scientists
in Mexico published 9 articles. The findings in these publications
continue to be used by many potato programs worldwide to develop
integrated approaches to control late blight.
4.2 The CEEM home page continues to be updated frequently.
The site continues to be a major source of information.
4.3 CEEM continues to get media coverage.
Late blight research and specific project work was covered by
Cornell News Service, and other newspapers, and magazines.
Back to Top ________________________________________________________________
5. Future Work-Narrative description
of goals to be met, anticipated results and impact
5.1 The research leading to the development of a series of
effective integrated late blight disease management practices
and the development of stable disease resistant potato varieties
in this project represent an outstanding accomplishment. This
is particularly so when considered in terms of its scientific
value, and scale of actual and potential impact on resource
poor farmers and low-income people, on sustainability of potato
production systems, and on the environment. Please refer to
the 11 points listed in the January 1997 Grant Report for
anticipated results and impact (these have not changed).
5.2 Upon approval of phase II funding, CEEM will organize
a planning workshop on September 2002 in Moscow, Russia to
develop specific work plans, training activities, and other
research that needs to be continued within all projects in
the United States of America, Ireland, Mexico, Poland, and
Russia. CEEM will continue to identify additional sources
of funding to promote research and technology transfer to
reduce the problem of late blight.
5.3 Based on the external review findings,
specific high priority projects that will be implemented during
the second phase of the CEEM project have been developed for
consideration by donors.
Back to Top
