MAize LAndraces traits phenomic prediction using Near InfraRed Spectra
Activity Coordinator: Stéphane Nicolas
The MALANIRS Activity, submitted by the Maize Working Group for funding under the First Call of the Phase XI ECPGR Activity Grant Scheme, was selected by the Executive Committee and approved in May 2024.
- Activity proposal (583,3 KB)
Implementation
February 2026
A webinar presentation of ThaliaDB database for storing genotyping and phenotyping was jointly organized by EVA Maize and MALANIRs in January 2026. Two sets of 176 and 100 landrace accessions from the MineLandDiv panel have been evaluated during the summer of 2025 for various traits in two field trials at MRIZP and University of Zagreb, respectively. All traits have been recorded according to EVA Maize protocols and MineLandDiv templates. Targeted sequencing of 12K genomic regions of 440 MALANIRS landraces among 543 received from 9 genebanks has been completed by EPGV (INRAE) in January 2026. All landrace seeds have been exchanged by genebanks through the signature of SMTAs. NIRs analysis of about 2,000 samples representing 1,416 landrace accessions was carried out at AGAP Institute. Next steps will include the analysis of genotypic and phenotypic data and the evaluation of different methods for standardizing NIRs spectra from different devices.
October 2025
A joint ECPGR Maize Working Group, MALANIRS and EVA Maize meeting took place on 2 October 2025 in Zemun Polje, Serbia, hosted and organized by MRIZP in connection with the 80th anniversary conference of MRIZP and supported by the institute.
Stéphane Nicolas and partners updated on the progress of the MALANIRS Activity, where the genotyping of 500 maize landraces is under way with a 12k SNP panel that was defined in the FACCE-JPI SusCrop ERA-NET project MineLandDiv. Field trials were conducted in 2025 in Zagreb (University of Zagreb) and Belgrade (MRIZP) on a subset of the landrace accessions panel from MineLandDiv project according to phenotyping protocols defined in the EVA Maize project. Collected phenotypic data will be uploaded to the EURISCO–EVA intranet, and harvested kernels from these two fields will be analyzed by NIRs in order to calibrate the phenomics prediction model. The NIRS experiment on seeds from genebanks is planned to be completed by the end of 2025, and a ring test between different labs is planned on a subset of the material. [More info | Report]
February 2025
The MALANIRS Grant Scheme activity held its kick-off meeting jointly with the EVA Maize network meeting on 26-27 February 2025 in Bergamo, Italy [Meeting report | Meeting summary | Presentations]
MALANIRS kick-off meeting
27 February 2025, Bergamo, Italy
Presentations
| Country | Presenter |
|---|---|
| Albania (811,4 KB) (Agricultural University of Tirana) | N. Kadiasi |
| Austria (489,8 KB) (AGES) | S. Vogl, L. Achathaler |
| Croatia (934,1 KB) (Agricultural Institute Osijek) | D. Šimić |
| Croatia (2,8 MB) (University of Zagreb) | H. Šarčević |
| Italy (3,5 MB) (CREA) | C. Balconi |
| Montenegro (535,6 KB) (University of Montenegro) | Z. Jovović |
| Portugal (3,6 MB)(BPGV/INIAV) | A. M. Barata |
| Portugal (6,9 MB) (ESAC) | P. Mendes-Moreira, A. Pereira |
| Romania (1,4 MB) (Suceava Genebank) | D. Murariu |
| Serbia (903,7 KB) (Maize Research Institute Zemun Polje) | N. Kravic, V. Andjelkovic |
| Spain (830,9 KB) (MBG-CSIC) | P. Revilla and R. A. Malvar |
| Switzerland (2,0 MB) (Agroscope) | B. Schierscher |
| Turkey (9,8 MB) (DATAEM-Doğu Akdeniz) | G. Cömertpay |