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Joint FAO/IAEA Programme
About the Programme

Facts about the Joint FAO/IAEA Programme

General
Q: 'Nuclear' in what sense?
Animal Production and Health (APH)
Q: Which nuclear techniques can be used in animal production research for enhancing livestock productivity?
Q: Which molecular techniques can be used in animal production research for enhancing livestock productivity?
» On Avian Influenza (Bird Flu)
Plant Breeding and Genetics (PBG)
Q: To which extent is radiation used in plant breeding today?
Q: How do induced mutants compare to spontaneous mutants in crop improvement?
Q: What's the role of marker-aided selection (MAS) in crop improvement in LIFDCs?
Q: What are the current and future trends in Plant Breeding?
There is no universality yet in strategies being used to enhance the efficiency of crop improvement schemes, especially the estimation of breeding values of new variants. In Asia, for instance, induced mutations are used routinely and account for a lot of the officially released crop varieties. It is catching on in Africa, has been used in Europe and the Americas for over 50 years. Also, the use of marker assisted selection (MAS) is becoming routine but more so in the private sector but the data are not very easily accessible. It promises to be a technique of choice for a very long time to come though the marker types will continue to evolve. Currently, most researchers would use the polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based locus specific markers like simple sequence repeats (SSR) or the non-specific types especially the amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP). The prognosis is that as capacity increases, there will be a shift to the use of more high throughput amenable assays such as single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). Micropropagation, and other in vitro culture techniques provide uniform planting material (clones) with identical attributes and disease-free. These techniques are paramount, if not mandatory for vegetatively propagated crops and large scale farming.
Insect Pest Control (IPC)
Q: Are Sterile Insects that have been Irradiated Radioactive?
Q: Is the SIT a stand-alone technology?
Q: Is Eradication Necessary when Using the Sterile Insect Technique?
Soil and Water Management & Crop Nutrition (SWMCN)
Q: What isotopic and nuclear techniques are commonly used to study soil and water management and crop nutrition?
Q: I would be interested in receiving training in the use of nuclear techniques to evaluate water management and crop nutrition. How should I proceed?