Presentation at the March 2013 dialogue workshop of the Biosciences for Farming in Africa media fellowship programme in Accra, Ghana. Please see www.sti4d.com/b4fa for more information

1. Breeding rice varieties in
Ghana
Maxwell Darko Asante
CSIR-Crops Research Institute
mdasante@gmail.com

2.  Road to becoming a plant breeder
 What does plant breeding entail
 Rice breeding at CSIR-CRI
 My present work
 Concluding remarks
 Acknowledgement
Outline

3.  “O” level @ Okuapemman school: 1985-1990
 Best student in Agriculture
 “A” @ Presec-Legon:1990-1992
 BSc Agriculture @ UCC: 1993-1998
 Work @ CSIR-Crops Research Institute: 1998 to date
 MSc Plant breeding @KNUST: 2002-2004
 PhD Plant breeding @WACCI, UG: 2008-2012
My background

4.  Selecting a desired plant from a population
 The breeder will usually have to create the desired plant by
combining valuable characters from two or more plants
 A group of diverse plants (germplasm) showing variation for
various characters is therefore the greatest resource of the
breeder
Plant breeding

5. Genetic diversity
Genetic diversity of sorghum (left) and millet (right)Different kinds of rice grains
Without genetic diversity within a species, breeding
becomes seriously handicapped

6. Making crosses
 Two parents are crossed to combine the desired characters of
both plants into one plant
Cutting flower open
Removing male portion
of flowers
Adding pollen from
another plant
F1 seed

7. F1
F2
F3
F4
F5
F6
F7
F8
F9
F10
Parents
Pedigree Selection vs. Bulk Selection
Pedigree Method Bulk Method
PhaseIPhaseIIPhaseIII
Testing
experimental
varieties
Creating
variation
Developing,
testing &
selecting
potential
cultivars

8. Rice breeding@ CSIR-Crops
Research Institute

9. Variety Year of Release Ecology
CRI-Amankwatia 2010 lowland
Wakatsuki 2010 lowland
Bodia 2010 lowland
Sakai 2010 lowland
Emo teaa 2009 Upland
Otoo mmo 2009 Upland
Sikamo 1997 Lowland/
Upland
Rice Varieties Released by CRI

10. CRI-Amankwatia
•Species: Oryza sativa
•Varietal type: Indica
•Year released: 2010
•Growing ecology: Lowland
•Days to 50% flowering: 80 – 85
•Maturity: 115 – 120 days
•Potential yield: 8.0 t/ha
•Resistance to blast: Tolerant
•Resistance to lodging: Good
•Grain shape: Long and slender
•Caryopsis color: White
•Milling yield (% White rice ) : 70.4%
•Cooking quality: Good
•Aroma: Present

11. Wakatsuki
• Species: Oryza sativa
• Varietal type: Indica
• Year release: 2010
• Growing ecology: Lowland
• Days to 50% following: 93-98
• Maturity: 125 – 130 days
• Potential yield: 8.0 t/ha
• Resistance to leaf blast: Tolerant
• Resistance to lodging: Good
• Grain shape: Long and slender
• Caryopsis color: White
• Milling yield (%White rice ): 66%
• Cooking quality: Good
• Aroma: Absent

12. Bodia
• Species: Oryza sativa
• Varietal type: Indica
• Year released: 2010
• Growing ecology: Lowland
• Days to 50% flowering: 90 – 95
• Maturity: 120 – 125 days
• Potential yield: 8.0 t/ha
• Resistance to leaf blast: Tolerant
• Resistance to lodging: Good
• Grain shape: long and bold
• Caryopsis color: White
• Milling yield (%White rice ): 66%
• Cooking quality: Good
• Aroma: Absent

13. Sakai
Species: Oryza sativa
Varietal type: Indica
Growing ecology: Lowland
Year released: 2010
Days to 50% flowering: 95 – 100
Maturity: 135 – 140 days
Potential yield: 8 t/ha
Resistance to leaf blast: Tolerant
Resistance to lodging: Good
Grain shape: Long and slender
Caryopsis color: White
Milling yield (%White rice): 66%
Cooking quality: Good
Aroma: Absent

14. Otoo mmo
• Species: Oryza sativa
• Varietal type: Japonica
• Year released: 2009
• Growing ecology: Upland
• Days to 50% flowering: 80 – 85
• Maturity: 115 – 120 days
• Potential yield: 5.6 t/ha
• Resistance to blast: Resistant
• Resistance to lodging: Good
• Grain shape: Long and slender
• Caryopsis color: White
• Milling yield (%white rice): 66%
• Cooking quality: Good
• Aroma: Absent

15. Emo teaa
• Species: Oryza sativa
• Varietal type: Japonica
• Year released: 2009
• Growing ecology: Upland
• Days to 50% flowering: 75-80
• Maturity: 110 – 115
• Potential yield: 4.8 t/ha
• Resistance to blast: Resistant
• Resistance to lodging: Good
• Grain shape: Long and slender
• Caryopsis color: White
• Milling yield (%white rice): 65.6 %
• Cooking quality: Good
• Aroma: Absent

16. Sikamo
• Species: Oryza sativa
• Varietal type: Indica
• Year released: 1997
• Growing ecology: Lowland / Upland
• Days to 50% heading: 90 – 95
• Maturity: 120 – 125 days
• Potential yield: 6.0 t/ha
• Resistance to blast: Tolerant
• Response to drought: Tolerant
• Nitrogen use: High N use efficiency
• Grain shape: Long and slender
• Milling yield (white rice%): 68.4%
• Cooking quality: Good, high
expansion ratio

17. My work@ CSIR-Crops
Research Institute

18. Interactions with farmers’ on varietal
preference

19. Maintaining and studying different
rice types (germplasm)
Diversity within rice populations at CRI:
Indica (green), tropical japonica (red),
aromatics (yellow) and aus (blue)
Various rice types (accessions)
growing in the field

20. Research on aroma
Allele specific marker(bad2.1) for aroma segregating in an F2 population
Aroma in Nerica 1 originates from WAB638-1
and not from its original parents, (WAB56-104
and CG14) which are both non-aromatic
N F HF F F FNNN N N N H H
The bad2.1 marker efficiently predicts for aroma
in my crosses and most of my germplasm
Asante et al. (2010). Molecular Breeding, 26, 419-424.

21. Research on cooking quality
 Cooking quality of rice is
controlled by starch properties
 Starch properties are influenced
by the waxy gene
 Functional SNPs found in the
waxy gene
 In 1 G→T
 Ex 6 A→C
 Ex 10 C→T
 Four waxy SNP haplotypes:
 TAC- low amylose(AC)
 GCC- intermediateAC
 GAC-highAC
 GAT-highAC & RVA
0
5
10
15
20
25
TAC GCC GAC GAT
No.ofaccessions
Waxy SNP-haplotype
GH
US
Distribution of waxy SNP haplotypes in my germplasm

22. Combining stress tolerance of
Digang (RYMV, blast) with grain
quality of Jasmine(aroma,taste)
F1
Digang x Jasmine 85
60 BC1F1
480 BC1F2
used SNPs to select for
the background of Digang
XDigang
Parents and F1
BC1F2 population

23. Selection of individuals from
BC1F2 population
 Grain quality loci (aroma & AC) of Jasmine 85
selected using starch properties and marker data
 Seven plants selected based on the criteria:
 >70% Digang background
 presence of aroma (bad 2.1 allele)
 amylose content 16-22%
 Selected plants will be backcrossed to
Digang 2X

24. Development of varieties thro’ Single
Seed Descent and pedigree selection
 Crosses
 Sikamo/Jasmine85
 Digang/ IR70445-146-3-3(5)
 IR71137-184-3-2-3-3(7)/
Sikamo
 Bouake 189/ IR71137-184-3-2-
3-3(7)
 IET 6279 /IR70445-146-3-3(5)
 Viowonor short/Jasmine 85

25.  Rice has become very important in the last two decades and
consumption is overtaking more tradition crops
 The research at CRI is aimed at releasing high yielding rice
varieties that are tolerant to the stresses in our environment
and also have the preferred grain quality
 Modern molecular tools are being applied to improve the
efficiency of breeding
Conclusions

26. Acknowledgements
CRI Rice Team
Mr. Ralph Bam
Mr. Henry Doku
Mr. George Acheampong
Dr. Kofi Dartey
Dr. E. Annan-Afful
Collaborators @ Cornell University
Dr. Susan McCouch
Jennifer Spindel
Financial support
AGRA/ WACCI

27. Domo arigato gozaimashita