Maize & Wheat Genebanks
The race against time to breed a wheat to survive the climate crisis
Climate adaptation and mitigation
Source: The Guardian (12 Jun 2022)
CIMMYT scientists are using the biodiversity of forgotten wheat varieties from across the world to find those with heat- and drought-tolerant traits.
Mining Useful Alleles for Climate Change Adaptation from CGIAR Genebanks
Climate adaptation and mitigation
Celebrating the life of Rosalind Morris, trailblazer for women in agriculture
Gender equality, youth and social inclusion
An outstanding wheat cytogeneticist and professor, she peacefully passed away a few weeks shy of her 102nd birthday.
Our food system isn’t ready for the climate crisis
Environmental health and biodiversity
Source: The Guardian (14 Apr 2022)
“We’ll never get back all the diversity we had before, but the diversity we need is out there,” says Matthew Reynolds, head of wheat physiology at CIMMYT.
Seed banks: the last line of defense against a threatening global food crisis
Environmental health and biodiversity
Source: The Guardian (15 Apr 2022)
As climate breakdown and worldwide conflict continue to place the food system at risk, seed banks from the Arctic to Lebanon try to safeguard biodiversity.
New endeavor fast-tracks the power of crop diversity for climate resilience
Climate adaptation and mitigation
Researchers will source useful gene variations from CGIAR genebanks to develop climate-smart crops.
Bringing wild wheat’s untapped diversity into elite lines
Environmental health and biodiversity
Researchers hypothesized that many wild wheat accessions in genebanks feature useful traits that can help diversify breeding programs.
Four questions with CIMMYT’s Maize Genebank Curator
Environmental health and biodiversity
How to preserve and share the genetic biodiversity of maize.
A conservation conversation
Environmental health and biodiversity
In a Q&A, Thomas Payne reflects on how CIMMYT’s wheat genebank can be a model for maintaining biodiversity in agricultural systems.
CIMMYT releases 12 new maize lines
Innovations
CIMMYT maize lines CML604A to CML615A are adapted to tropical maize production environments.
Consider the seed
Environmental health and biodiversity
The second installment in the CGIAR International Year of Plant Health Webinar Series tackles the often-overlooked issue of germplasm health.
Costich retires, but her odyssey continues
Capacity development
The head of the Maize Germplasm Bank, who retired in September, modernized the bank’s data curation and promoted outreach to maize landrace farming communities in the Americas.
The many colors of maize, the material of life
Environmental health and biodiversity
The use of corn husk as veneer has helped a town to preserve maize biodiversity, protect the environment and reduce migration.
Preserving the legacy of biodiversity
Climate adaptation and mitigation
Maize and wheat seeds from all over the world are preserved at the CIMMYT genebank, used to bring new varieties to farmers, and backed up at the Global Seed Vault.
