Challenges and opportunities for maize research in East Timor — results of variety identification during the 2000 and 2001 cropping seasons

摘要

The Seeds of Life — East Timor project funded by ACIAR with the Ministry of Agriculture Forestry and Fisheries of East Timor was initiated in 2000 with the main goal to improve food security in East Timor through the introduction, testing and distribution to farmers of improved germplasm of major food crops. CIMMYT supplied improved, stress tolerant, high yielding maize varieties for testing in different agro-climatic conditions of East Timor. Testing during two growing seasons resulted in the identification of several varieties of different maturity and grain color with good adaptation to different regions in the country. During the first growing season (2000-2001), despite the difficulties of establishing and conducting research in the country, it was possible to obtain preliminary results from one early and one late-maturity variety trial, evaluated at Maliana and Aileu. In the early-maturity group, S97D145 and Lamuru varieties were 54 and 67% higher yielding than the local check, respectively. In the late-maturity group, LYDMR and SW5 varieties surpassed the local check by 66 and 87%, respectively on average. During 2001-2002, one trial, containing early and late maturity varieties, was conducted at four locations. Among the late varieties, SW5 confirmed its good adaptation and yield potential, exceeding by 125% the best local check on average. Similarly, S97D145 surpassed the best local check by 106%. In addition, the three full-season varieties SWS00351-1, SWS00352-2 and S99TLWQ-HG AB produced over 1.5 t/ha more than the local check. S99TLWQ-HG AB is a white QPM (Quality Protein Maize) variety with added nutritional value. The new, early yellow variety SWS001Y-3 was also in the top-performing group at each location with an average yield of 3.76 t/ha. Varieties SW5, S97D145 and the new varieties identified in 2001-2002 are proposed for multilocation testing and initial seed multiplication. Stresses identified during these two years include low fertility, drought, northern leaf blight and post-harvest pests. Main challenges for future activities include identifying the best variety for such a diverse climate and soil conditions, establishing a system for screening and releasing varieties on a continuous basis, establishing a good seed multiplication and delivery system and reducing post-harvest losses. Despite all the challenges, the current situation offers a unique opportunity to increase overall productivity by replacing the low-yielding local varieties with the improved germplasm that meets the yield and other qualitative traits required by farmers.