The Toluca Experiment Station (Mexico) was the site where the scientist from the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), Norman Borlaug, received the famous news about his Nobel Peace Prize in 1970. Now, the Toluca station will become CIMMYT's new test site for rapid generation advancement and accelerated improvement in wheat, a method that streamlines the advancement of crop generations and shortens the improvement cycle using tools such as continuous lighting and control Of temperature.

The Toluca Wheat Experiment Station is one of five CIMMYT Experiment Stations in Mexico, located in the state of Toluca in a picturesque town on the outskirts of Mexico's fifth largest city, about 60 kilometers southwest of the City. from Mexico. The station was strategically chosen for its cool and humid conditions in summer. These conditions have made it an ideal place to study wheat resistance to deadly diseases such as yellow rust and septoria.

Since its formal establishment in 1970, the Toluca station has played a key role in CIMMYT's wheat improvement program. The site is also of great historical significance due to its origins as a testing ground for CIMMYT scientist Norman Borlaug's alternate breeding concept in the 1940s, along with testing at Ciudad Obregón in northern Sonora state. Mexico. This breeding method allowed breeders to plant in two locations to advance generations and half the crop improvement cycle.

By applying this unorthodox method, Borlaug was able to advance wheat generations twice as fast as standard breeding programs. Planting in contrasting environments and the length of the day, from the cold temperatures and high rainfall in Toluca to the desert heat of Ciudad Obregón, allowed Borlaug and his colleagues to develop varieties that were more widely adapted to a variety of conditions. Their alternate breeding program was so successful that it provided the foundation for the Green Revolution.

Toluca was also the site where the first spread of the destructive plant pathogen Phytophthora infestans was reported. The deadly pathogen is known to cause potato late blight disease that triggered the Great Irish Famine.

A new life for the historic station

After more than 50 years of its establishment, the station will once again host cutting-edge innovations in wheat research as the testing ground for a new accelerated breeding program led by scientists and wheat breeders from the Acceleration of Genetic Gains in Corn project and Wheat (AGG).

Funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Ministry of International Development (DFID), the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research (FFAR), AGG has as aim to accelerate the development and delivery of more productive, climate-resistant, market-demanded, and nutritious corn and wheat varieties.

While most breeding programs generally take 7-8 years before plants are ready for performance testing, alternating breeding has allowed CIMMYT to cut the duration of its breeding programs in half, by only 4 years for testing. Now AGG wheat breeders are looking to shorten the breeding cycle even further, through generation advancements and accelerated breeding.

"The AGG team will use a low-cost operation to grow up to 4 generations of wheat per year and develop new performance-ready germplasm in just 2 years," said Ravi Singh, CIMMYT senior scientist and chief wheat breeding officer. "This should not only save costs but also help accelerate genetic gain due to a significant reduction in the time required to recycle the best relatives."

Construction of the new facility is made possible by support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and DFID through DGGW, a 4-year project led by Cornell University, which ends this year. The installations are expected to be completed in September.

The concept of accelerated improvement is not new. Inspired by NASA's efforts to cultivate in space, scientists from the University of Sydney, the University of Queensland (UQ) and the John Innes Center developed the technique to accelerate the development of crops and improve their quality. The breeding method has been used successfully for crops such as spring wheat, barley, peas, chickpeas, radishes, and canola.