Date of Report: July
1997
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
and 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:
January 1, 1997 to June 30, 1997
Estimated Date of Project Completion:
December 30, 2002
1. Progress
January 1 - June 30, 1997
Narrative
description of goals met; problems; changes made:
The Cornell-Eastern Europe-Mexico (CEEM)
International Collaborative Project in Potato Late Blight
Control is now firmly established. The general objective of
CEEM is to lessen the problem of Late Blight through selected
activities in eastern Europe, Mexico and the USA. During the
last six months (January 1 - June 30, 1997) significant accomplishments
were made in: 1) project implementation; 2) finalizing
new agreements for strategic partnerships for research and
technology transfer; 3) staffing; 4) publications, including
the development of a home page on the World Wide Web (WWW).
1.1 A complementary collaborative project
to promote work on "Safety duplication of the N.I. Vavilov
Potato Collection and its evaluation for resistance to Late
Blight" has been prepared between the Vavilov Institute
for Research (VIR), the International Plant Genetic Resources
Institute (IPGRI) in Rome-Italy, the International Potato
Center (CIP), Lima, Peru and CEEM. This project is budgeted
at US $ 440,000 for three years, and was submitted by IPGRI,
May 1997 for funding by the United States Agency For International
Development (USAID), special division for Russia. If approved,
it will promote major activities to strengthen the existing
potato collection at the Vavilov Institute through ex-situ
conservation, in-vitro collection and virus indexing research.
It will also enable evaluation of the Vavilov potato germplasm
collection for resistance to Late Blight, and allow for training
of Vavilov scientists at Cornell, CIP, and Poland.
1.2 Other projects which are under
consideration include: 1) a National Effort for Research and
Technology Transfer on Potato Late Blight. This project was
submitted to the Fund For Rural America for a Center Planning
Grant. The requested budget of US $ 24,958, if approved, will
allow Cornell to have a planning conference involving 15 key
collaborators to develop the main proposal for funding on
a five year basis to establish at Cornell a national initiative
on Late Blight in the USA. The two grant applications submitted
by our Japanese collaborator at Kinki University for work
in Eastern Europe are: 1) Nakajima Peace Foundation for $70,000;
and 2) the Ministry of Education for $100,000. A decision
on final approval of these funds is pending.
1.3 Research and technology transfer
projects facilitated at Cornell University include field testing
for resistance and breeding. During the summer of 1997 Prof.
Plaisted will make crosses involving 8 Polish clones obtained
from the Potato Research Institute in Poland through the USDA-FAS
project. There will also be at least 3290 transplants from
6 promising families; 1297 potato clones with 4 hill plots;
and about 469 potato clones with 2 hill plots. These materials
will be selected for resistance, and yield. Further crosses
to improve the populations will be made with the best selections.
Similarly Prof. Fry has several field trials on resistance
and use of effective fungicides and novel proteins for Late
Blight control. In the lab, studies on ecology, characterization
of genetic structure and identification of novel genes, and
gene products for Late Blight control are being evaluated.
1.4 In Mexico; Dr. Nik Grünwald
is collaborating with several institutions to characterize
the genetic structure of populations of the Late Blight fungus
in different geographic regions. A good understanding of the
population structure is of practical importance in managing
Potato Late Blight.
1.5 In Russia, Dr.
Yuri T. Dyakov of Moscow State University is currently organizing
the collecting activity in key potato growing areas. The races/strains
of Late Blight fungus collected will be analyzed both in Moscow
and Cornell University.
1.6 In Poland, Dr. Ewa Zimnoch Guzowska,
from the Potato Research Institute at Mlochow has sent promising
potato families as true potato seed to collaborators at USDA-Prosser,
Washington, and to Cornell University. These materials will
now be evaluated to increase the gene pool for resistance.
1.7 In Mexico, several
field trials are underway. A field day for August 15, 1997 will
show results on field screening of 2000 or more potato clones
for resistance to the Late Blight disease as well as fungicide
trials. CEEM and PICTIPAPA have contacted over 60 key scientists,
growers, and donor representatives to attend the field day.
1.8 Research in Mexico will be further
strengthened through Dutch support. Wilbert Flier from Wageningen,
The Netherlands is expected to arrive in Toluca in July. He
will be based in Toluca five months/year, for a total of 3
years, and will collaborate with the CEEM Research Associate,
PICTIPAPA and other Mexican institutions in Toluca and elsewhere
on all aspects of Late Blight research.
1.9 CEEM/PICTIPAPA collaboration has
promoted increased interest in Ireland which contributed US
$24,000 for support of field work in Mexico. Similarly USDA-FAS
has recently approved a grant of $70,000 for two years (1997
and 1998) for support of travel and research of US investigators
to Toluca, Mexico. Several potato clones from Wisconsin, Prosser,
and Idaho are now in field tests in Toluca, Mexico. The Center
for Vegetable Breeding in Italy, and the Potato Research Institute
in Poland have also sent their promising potato clones to
Toluca, for field trials. CEEM has been instrumental in helping
all collaborators in facilitating the entry of these materials
to Mexico by providing the essential details on regulatory
guidelines and coordinating with PICTIPAPA the necessary logistics
for clearing materials from customs and helping with field
trials and providing technical support.
Back to
top
________________________________________________________________
1.10 A land mark partnership agreement
was signed January 30, 1997 between Pulsar International -Fondo
Terra, S.C of Mexico, CEEM and PICTIPAPA A.C. in Mexico (Spanish
acronym for International Cooperative Program for Potato Late
Blight), to form a new strategic alliance to promote international
collaboration in research and development for the control
of Potato Late Blight. Pulsar International agreed to provide
financial support for PICTIPAPA, A.C. with an annual grant
of US $ 300,000 for the two fiscal years of 1997 and 1998.
This matching support for work in Mexico unites CEEM and PICTIPAPA,
A.C. in a confederation to conduct research and technology
transfer projects of mutual interest and to make the programs
more productive and cost effective.
1.11 During February 1997, a memorandum
of understanding between the International Maize and Wheat
Improvement Center-CIMMYT (a member international center of
the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research
[CGIAR]) and CEEM to facilitate the appointment of a Cornell
appointed Research Associate to work in Toluca, Mexico. This
agreement facilitated an appropriate visa and other privileges
such as opening a bank account, importation of essential house-hold
materials, and purchase of important research equipment for
work in Toluca. Cornell and CIMMYT have had long standing
collaborations with several faculty. This agreement further
promotes Cornell's past interactions with this International
Center which played a significant role in the Green Revolution
in Asia through the release of high yielding wheat varieties.
1.12 Other agreements which CEEM facilitated
during January 1997 include: 1) Poland, a memorandum of understanding
between August Cieszkowski Agricultural University of Poznan,
Adam Mickiewicz University and Cornell University; and 2)
A memorandum of understanding between the Komarov Botanical
Institute of Russian Academy of Sciences, Saint-Petersburg,
Russia and the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS),
Cornell University. These two agreements are now expected
to promote research and technology transfer projects related
to Potato Late Blight and other research of interest to CALS.
1.13 To promote private-public partnerships,
CEEM is currently working on with several private companies
for collaborative work in Mexico.
1.14 CEEM and PICTIPAPA have had regular
joint meetings to coordinate research and fund raising. CEEM
staff (Bill Fry, K.V. Raman, Chris Smart) have traveled to
Mexico; and CEEM Research Associate Nik Grünwald, based
in Toluca, has visited Cornell to finalize research plans
and learn new techniques. To better coordinate research and
funding CEEM invited PICTIPAPA to host its annual board meeting
at Cornell University from April 21-25, 1997. PICTIPAPA Board
members from Mexico, USA, Canada, Poland, China, and Peru
including CEEM participants from Cornell and Mexico participated
in this meeting. Collaborative research and funding plans
were finalized.
________________________________________________________________
1.15 Staffing arrangements to locate
Dr. Niklaus J. Grünwald as Research Associate, Plant
Pathology Department, Cornell University at Toluca, Mexico
were completed and he started work March 1997. Dr. Grünwald
completed his Ph.D. from the University of California, Davis
and comes highly recommended. His research experience, language
capabilities and sensitivity to foreign culture make him an
ideal candidate for work in Mexico.
1.16 Another position filled was that
of an Executive Staff Associate. Dr. Richard Tenney was hired
for this position. Richard has good experience in International
Agriculture and is responsible for coordination of donor relations,
reports and publications, conferences, travel, office support,
computer operations and the development of the WWW home page
on CEEM.
________________________________________________________________
1.17 A home page on CEEM using the
World Wide Web has now been developed. Several important publications
related to research and training are included. There is also
information related to the Irish potato famine and other related
web sites on Potato Late Blight in USA, Peru, and Europe.
This home page can be accessed by our collaborators in Russia
Poland and Mexico. Other scientists from Asia, Latin America
and Africa can also access this information via the Internet.
Several scientists and potato councils including some growers
are now regularly visiting this web site.
1.18 CEEM supported
the publication of an article titled " Resurgence of the
Irish Potato Famine Fungus" written by William E. Fry and
Stephen B. Goodwin which was published as a feature article
in Bioscience, Vol. 47, No. 6, June 1997 issue. Several copies
of this article have been mailed to collaborators in the private
and public sectors around the world. This publication is now
creating renewed global interest in Potato Late Blight control.
________________________________________________________________
Future Work
- Narrative description of goals to be met, anticipated
results and impact
3.1 By August 1997 we hope to have
completed the work plans for implementation of collaborative
work in Russia through the support of the Potato Research
Institute in Poland. This will include specific work at the
Vavilov Institute in Russia.
3.2 Training programs involving Russian,
Polish and Mexican scientists will be implemented during 1997
and 1998. A Polish scientist will participate in field trials
at Cornell during the summer of 1997. A Russian scientist
will be trained in Mexico and another at Cornell. Mexican
scientists will participate in the field trials and field
days.
3.3 The home page on
CEEM will be continuously updated and advertised for use by
the general public and interested Late Blight workers.
3.4 Efforts for bringing in additional
financial support will be expanded by a more vigorous fund
raising effort. We will try to bring a closure on agreements
with two new donors: Zeneca and DuPont.
3.5 Specific work plans within the
projects funded for Cornell-Russia and Poland will be implemented
during 1997 and 1998. This may include collecting expeditions
in Russia and the training of Russian scientists in Poland.
In the event the planning grant for the Fund for Rural America
is funded there will be a major planning conference at Cornell
to work on the main Center proposal.
3.6 Project participants will continue
to publish their important findings in reputed international
journals. Such publications are expected to create increased
public awareness and support for Late Blight research.
3.7 All other pending agreements for
work with collaborators will be finalized by second semester
1997-1998.
3.8 Logistics related to purchase of
equipment, the transfer of funds to Mexico, including finalization
of combined work plans of the CEEM Research Associate in Mexico
with the Dutch plant pathologist and other Mexican collaborators,
will be launched by the end of 1998.
3.9 CEEM will continue to assist facilitating
communications and reporting for the CRDF Cornell-Russia collaborative
project.
3.10 Please refer to
the 11 points listed in the January 1997 Grant Report for anticipated
results and impact (which have not changed).
