September 29, 2025
The release of the new Local Cream variety of cauliflower is the culmination of a decade of close collaboration between IAEA, FAO and Mauritian experts. (Photo: FAREI).
Nuclear scientists have developed a new cauliflower variety resistant to the destructive Black Rot disease, to help reduce pesticide use and boost food security in Mauritius.
The IAEA, through the Joint FAO/IAEA Centre of Nuclear Techniques in Food and Agriculture supported Mauritian scientists in developing the new variety using radiation-induced plant breeding techniques.
Dubbed ‘Local Cream’ for its compact, cream-coloured head – or curd -this variety of the staple crop shows enhanced tolerance to Black Rot, a plant disease which has historically devastated cauliflower harvests in the country or rendered them unfit for consumption or export due to heavy leaf spotting.
“This new variety promises to help Mauritian farmers reduce their reliance on chemical pesticides, lower their production costs and ensure a stable supply of cauliflower,” said Rita Nowbiuth, Principal Research Scientist at the Food and Agriculture Research and Extension Institute (FAREI) of Mauritius.
For over a decade, IAEA and FAO experts have supported their counterparts at FAREI through the IAEA’s technical cooperation programme, delivering hands-on training, organizing fellowships and providing expert guidance to strengthen national capacities in mutation induction, detection and breeding using advanced nuclear technologies. These efforts and other vital support from the laboratories have now culminated in the July 2025 release of Local Cream seeds to selected farmers, at a high-level ceremony presided over by Arvin Kumar Boolell, Minister of Agro-industry, Food Security, Blue Economy and Fisheries of Mauritius.
“Our collaboration has brought advanced nuclear and related biotechnologies to the heart of national breeding programmes,” said Dongxin Feng, Director of the Joint FAO/IAEA Centre. “Through mutation induction, advanced screening techniques, and modern breeding approaches, Mauritius now possesses the tools and expertise to develop resilient crop varieties for generations to come, as exemplified by the Black Rot–tolerant cauliflower”
“Agriculture is essential to life, for it produces food and nutrients. Here in Mauritius, it is important that we adopt a smart, green and healthy approach to agriculture,” said Minister Boolell during the launch ceremony. “Research on the new variety of cauliflower by FAREI spanned close to eight years and benefitted from the technical assistance of the IAEA. This research, innovation and development in the agriculture sector is key to propelling development.”
Battling a Persistent Threat
For decades, Mauritian farmers have grappled with Black Rot, which can severely damage leaves and, in extreme cases, lead to a total crop loss. The disease has become more aggressive in recent years.
“Black Rot causes v-shaped lesions on the leaves of cauliflower,” said Ravi Seewoogoolam, a research scientist at FAREI. “The bacterial disease is transmitted from infected plants to healthy leaves through water droplets, but Black Rot can also be transmitted by animals and humans.”
The traditional local variety of cauliflower is celebrated for its taste and cooking quality, but it is particularly vulnerable to the pathogen. This has forced Mauritian farmers to switch to expensive, imported hybrid varieties or to rely heavily on copper-based pesticides to protect their crops.
According to a 2023 Agricultural Digest, cauliflower is a key crop in Mauritius. Ensuring and expanding the production of cauliflower has been identified as vital for food security, local markets and the export economy of Mauritius.
A Decade of Scientific Partnership
The journey towards the release of the Local Cream variety began in 2016 with the launch of an IAEA technical cooperation project designed to develop a new, open-pollinated cauliflower variety that would not only exhibit resistance to Black Rot, but would also possess the desirable traits of the traditional local variety — including its nutritional value — and allow farmers to cultivate their own seeds and reduce dependency on costly imports. In 2016, with IAEA support, FAREI established its cauliflower, cabbage and carrot mutation breeding programme.
To produce the desired traits, experts at FAREI exposed the local cauliflower variety to gamma rays. Selected lines were then screened based on their yield volume and their disease resistance. The best performing candidates then advanced to the next stage: field trials in multiple locations designed to verify their yield and production output. After eight years of rigorous work, the top performing mutant line was identified and released to farmers. Local Cream is ready for harvest just 60 to 65 days after transplantation.
Farmer Feedback
The new variety has already proven its worth in the field: two highly experienced cauliflower farmers, Vikash Caleechurn and Seewan Coonjul, were involved in an on-farm evaluation and confirmed that the Local Cream variety is highly tolerant to the disease and produces a high-quality product.
"The benefits of Local Cream are clear,” explained Gashaw Wolde, IAEA Director of the TC Division for Africa, during the launch of the new variety. “The farmers cultivating this variety no longer incur heavy costs for chemical controls; consumers enjoy safer produce; and, as an open-pollinated variety, Local Cream empowers smallholders to save and exchange seed, fostering self-reliance and reducing dependency on imports."
The launch of Local Cream is expected to bring significant benefits to the agricultural community. The availability of a disease-tolerant, open-pollinated variety of cauliflower will help farmers cut pesticide costs and improve their income, while providing consumers with a safer, high-quality, tasty product. This collaborative effort between the IAEA and Mauritian experts represents a major step forward in building a more resilient and sustainable agricultural sector for the island nation.
The national IAEA technical cooperation programme for Mauritius will continue to support the work of FAREI and Mauritian experts as they work towards the development of new local cabbage and carrot varieties with tolerance for various plant diseases and with high nutritional value.
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