MLN Screening Facility – KALRO-Naivasha, Kenya

KALRO / CIMMYT – MLN Screening facility, Naivasha, Kenya

The KALRO / CIMMYT MLN screening facility was established in 2013 at the KALRO Naivasha research station in Kenya’s Rift Valley, with support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the Syngenta Foundation. This is the first, and only, dedicated MLN screening facility in East Africa.

The KALRO / CIMMYT MLN screening facility covers 20 ha, of which 17 hectares are used for field screening of germplasm. This permits a maximum of 51,000 plots in any single cycle. Dedicated laboratories and screen houses cover the remaining 3 ha.

Naivasha screenining site mapTo date, over 100,000 accessions have been screened under artificial inoculation with MLN. The facility operates as a regional resource with both public and private sector partners submitting germplasm for testing. Ten private seed companies (multi-national and national) and seven public sector partners from 5 East African countries are currently testing materials at Naivasha.

Optimized inoculum generation, field application and disease phenotyping are undertaken at the Naivasha screening facility. The site is fully irrigated, permitting two testing cycles per year. High quality phenotyping data are returned to all partners using the site in a timely manner.

The screening facility operates under strict quarantine regulations, closely monitored and approved by the Kenyan Plant Health Inspection Service (KEPHIS).

For more information contact:

Dr. Suresh, L.M.  | Maize Pathologist – Sub Saharan Africa, Global Maize Program &

Manager – MLN Screening facility

International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT)

World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF), United Nations Avenue, Gigiri. P.O.Box 1041–00621, Nairobi, Kenya

tel: +254 (20) 7224069  skype: suresh.lm   cel: +254 702392664 Tweeter : _lmsuresh

Location Map of KALRO / CIMMYT MLN Screening facility, Naivasha, Kenya