MLN Phenotyping Services for Partners

KALRO and CIMMYT have been screening germplasm against MLN in Kenya since Nov 2012. The dedicated screening facility at KALRO Naivasha was established in 2013. This facility now represents a high-quality phenotyping platform, permitting large-scale screening of germplasm from regional partners (both public and private sectors).

The following table shows the number of entries and rows screened for National Research System (NRS) partners and seed companies since 2014. Partners using the Naivasha screening site in 2015-2021 include:

Year	CIMMYT		NARS				Total
	CIMMYT		NARS		Private Seed companies		Total
	Entries	Rows	Entries	Rows	Entries	Rows	Entries	Rows
2014	25715	52854	5133	10627	10421	17102	41,269	80,583
2015	7022	10284	3372	5077	3263	4038	13,657	19,399
2016	23789	33537	10913	12791	10217	12739	44,919	59,067
2017	16174	24066	4580	5867	4162	6878	24,916	36,811
2018	29816	31954	8548	8165	8332	8735	46,696	48,854
2019	21563	35891	1047	2094	3169	5774	25,779	43,759
2020	4123	9680	939	3604	2397	6316	7,459	19,600
2021	3611	8343	1165	2330	1561	2873	6,337	13,546
Total	131,813	206,609	35,697	50,555	43,522	64,455	211,032	321,619

MLN Screening is done free of charge for NARS within an established limited number of rows.

** MLN Screening is done on a cost-recovery basis for private sector partners

Summary of MLN phenotyping done at MLN screening facility, Naivasha:

Partner Type	Entries	Rows	% Rows
CIMMYT	131,813	206,609	64.24
NARS	35,697	50,555	15.72
Private Partners	43,522	64,455	20.04
Total	211,032	321,619

To date, close to 90% of materials screened at Naivasha is susceptible under artificial inoculation. However, resistant / tolerant materials have been identified. Four first generation MLN tolerant /resistant hybrids have been released in East Africa and a further 15-17 second-generation hybrids are at advanced stages of testing.