Makerere University’s Regional Centre for Crop Improvement (MaRCCI) has initiated two breeding programmes on cowpea and sorghum not only for research but also to address the issue of nutritional security and increasing income for farmers.

A seven (7) acre cowpea research and demonstration field under MaRCCI has been established at the Makerere University Agricultural Research Institute Kabanyolo (MUARIK) where most students admitted on the cowpea breeding programme are based.
 
Dr. Dramatri Onziga explained that MaRCCI’s breeding program is focusing mainly on cowpea and sorghum because they are drought-tolerant semi-arid crops that can be bred for Northern Uganda and other areas prone to drought.

“We are also filling a gap in the National Agricultural Research Systems (NARS). We are trying to complement and be part of NARS to make it more collaborative,” he said.

A global collection of 360 different cowpea lines referred to as “a Minicore” and the Multi-parent Advanced Generation InterCross (MAGIC) population of 260 cowpea traits and 250 Ugandan collections and crosses are being evaluated on this site.

The cowpea project is addressing the issues of cowpea pests and diseases like thrips and scab, fusarium virus, cerospora, leafspot, bacterial blight, pod borer, pod sucking bugs and others.

“We are evaluating a lot of materials for different traits. The Minicore and the MAGIC populations were obtained from University of Riverside Califonia, some came from IITA, and we also have 250 Ugandan collections and crosses.

“From all those unique crosses; 1000 lines, the one of California are all genotyped (have molecular data) available” Dr. Patrick Ongom said.

Several similar cowpea experiments are being conducted in Serere, Arua and Ngetta. Another 8 acre cowpea site is located at Kyentume, Kabanyolo.

Another research and demonstration field on Sorghum has been established on 5 acres of land at MUARIK where the MAGIC population of sorghum obtained from Perdue University USA and the cold-tolerant populations are under evaluation.

In addition, the program is testing potential sorghum hybrids for the commercial beer production industry and other high yielding sorghum lines that can tolerate cold in mountainous areas like Kisoro and Elgon.

“The idea is that we want to see if sorghum adopted to cold can be grown in the cold areas of Uganda like Kisoro, Mt. Elgon area etc. So we are testing lines that can tolerate cold and give high yields. The programme is also testing the potential of hybrids which are popular in maize, targeting the beer industry” explained Dr. Onziga.

Value Addition

The programme is also looking at value added products from leaves and seeds of cowpea. The cowpea flour can be used for making porridge which is highly nutritious and this is the centre’s future prospect. The programme intends to work with the School of Food Technology, Nutrition and Bioengineering to come up with these complementary products.

The programme’s focus on sorghum is in line with the beer industry’s high demand for the raw material. Besides food, the sorghum can be processed into local bushera for commercial household income.

“We are trying value addition potential for better products and how to combine sorghum and cowpea with other crop products.” Dr. Dramatri said.

Report compiled by;
Jane Anyango,
Principal Communication Officer, CAES