Återupplivad taroproduktion i västra Afrika: storskalig fenotypning och omics-metoder för att kontrollera tarosjukdomar

About this project

Taro (Colocasia esculenta) is an important staple crop in the tropics, especially in Western Africa. The emergence of taro blight, caused by Phytophthora colocasiae, outbreak in West Arica in 2010 devastated taro production in the region, almost wiping out production and eliminating valuable landraces. Nigeria and Benin are among the top producers of taro in Africa. We aim to initiate a revival of West African taro production by understanding the epidemiology of the invasive pathogen, including development of tools for detection, monitoring and diagnosis of P. colocasiae. The project will explore alternative hosts to P. colocasiae that may be playing a key role in pathogen survival in the absence of the main host. We also aim to improve phenotyping methods for screening taro germplasm for resistance. This knowledge will be used to educate farmers on better management methods and develop new strategies for disease control. We will train one PhD student in high-throughput phenotyping and remote sensing for disease assessment and diagnostics in Benin and Nigeria. Penseq on field isolates of P. colocasiae will identify effectors (pathogenicity determinants produced by the pathogen) and target genes for chemical control. This project represents a first step towards understanding pathogenicity determinants in this pathogen and to design specific management strategies to control the disease.

Published by

Sweden · Government

Countries

Benin

Sectors

Agricultural researchIII.1.a. Agriculture

Funded by

Sweden

Passes funds through

The Swedish Research Council

Published by Sweden to the International Aid Transparency Initiative (IATI), last updated 1 Nov 2026 and imported automatically. IATI identifier: SE-0-SE-29-2019-04270.

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