Anthropometric Somatotype of Indian Combat Sports and Track and Field Athletes: A Systematic Review

Introduction: The utilization of anthropometric somatotyping is prevalent in sports. Recognizing a shared physical prototype and its link to athletic performance in athletes is widely accepted. Therefore, it is crucial to explore this aspect among Indian athletes. The study attempted to systematically collect and analyse existing published literature covering the timeframe from 2003 to June 2023, particularly emphasizing the somatotyping of Indian athletes engaged in combat sports and track and field events. Additionally, efforts were made to assess the prominent accomplishments and constraints evident in the published works during the specified period. Methods: Published studies were collected from various academic databases viz., Google Scholar, PubMed, Scopus, SCISPASE, and Semantic Scholar. Appropriate inclusion and exclusion criteria were drafted, and the studies were selected accordingly. Somatotype categories of individual studies were computed and plotted in the somatocharts following Carter’s method. Results: Sixteen studies comprising 887 athletes (746 males and 141 females) were deemed suitable for inclusion in this review. The combat sports subgroup constituted 361 athletes, and the track and field subgroup comprised 526 athletes. Wrestlers exhibited the highest levels of endomorphy and mesomorphy in combat sports, while junior boxers displayed the highest ectomorphy. In track and field, hammer throwers demonstrated the highest endomorphy, shot putters exhibited the greatest mesomorphy, and the highest ectomorphy characterized high jumpers. Conclusion: The somatocharts highlight a shared physical prototype among athletes within the same sport, notably evident in wrestling, hammer throw, shot put, and jump events. However, research on combat sports trails behind studies in track and field. The scarcity of research on somatotyping among Indian elite athletes and female athletes, coupled with a deficiency in interdisciplinary approaches in kinanthropometry studies in India, underscores the need for heightened integrative investigations.Introducción: La utilización del somatotipo antropométrico es prevalente en el deporte. Es ampliamente aceptado el reconocimiento de un prototipo físico compartido y su vínculo con el rendimiento deportivo en los deportistas. Por lo tanto, es crucial explorar este aspecto entre los atletas indios. El estudio intentó recopilar y analizar sistemáticamente la literatura publicada existente que cubre el período comprendido entre 2003 y junio de 2023, enfatizando particularmente la somatotipificación de los atletas indios que participan en deportes de combate y eventos de atletismo. Además, se hicieron esfuerzos para evaluar los logros destacados y las limitaciones evidentes en los trabajos publicados durante el período especificado. Métodos: Los estudios publicados se recopilaron de varias bases de datos académicas, a saber, Google Scholar, PubMed, Scopus, SCISPASE y Semantic Scholar. Se redactaron criterios de inclusión y exclusión apropiados y los estudios se seleccionaron en consecuencia. Las categorías de somatotipo de los estudios individuales se calcularon y representaron en los diagramas de somatograma siguiendo el método de Carter. Resultados: Se consideraron adecuados para su inclusión en esta revisión dieciséis estudios que incluyeron a 887 atletas (746 hombres y 141 mujeres). El subgrupo de deportes de combate estuvo integrado por 361 atletas y el subgrupo de atletismo, por 526 atletas. Los luchadores exhibieron los niveles más altos de endomorfia y mesomorfia en los deportes de combate, mientras que los boxeadores junior mostraron la ectomorfia más alta. En atletismo, los lanzadores de martillo demostraron la mayor endomorfia, los lanzadores de peso exhibieron la mayor mesomorfia y la mayor ectomorfia caracterizó a los saltadores de altura. Conclusión: Las cartas somatográficas resaltan un prototipo físico compartido entre atletas dentro del mismo deporte, particularmente evidente en las pruebas de lucha libre, lanzamiento de martillo, lanzamiento de peso y salto. Sin embargo, la investigación sobre deportes de combate respalda los estudios en atletismo. La escasez de investigaciones sobre somatotipado entre atletas de élite y atletas femeninas de la India, junto con una deficiencia en los enfoques interdisciplinarios en los estudios de cineantropometría en la India, subraya la necesidad de intensificar las investigaciones integradoras

Genetic diversity for yield and its component traits in pearlmillet [Pennisetum glaucum (L.) R. Br.]

Pearlmillet is an important cereal crop of the semi arid-tropical region. As a result the crop productivity is challenged in most cultivable regions. In order to enhance the productivity in dry regions, breeders need access to diverse material in their breeding programmes. In the present study, an attempt was made to assess the genetic divergence among the 243 germplasm lines using Mahalanobis D² statistic. Based on the genetic distance (D2 value), the 243 genotypes were grouped into 16 different clusters indicating diverse nature of material studied. Cluster I was the largest with 129 genotypes followed by cluster III (49 genotypes) and cluster V (24 genotypes) while clusters II and VI, VII, VIII and X to XVI were solitary indicating the grouping of exotic collections in definite groups. Among the various characters, seed yield (27.45%), panicle girth (18.16 %), leaf length (12.20 %) contributed maximum towards the divergence. Cluster IX (9 genotypes) showed the maximum mean value for seed yield. The intra and inter cluster divergence among the genotypes were varying in magnitude. The intra-cluster distance was maximum in cluster IX followed by clusters IV and V. The widest inter cluster distance was noted between cluster V and XVI giving scope for hybridization programme for improvement of Pearl millet genotypes. The distance between clusters II and V was minimal indicating close relationship between those clusters

Development of High Yielding Disease Resistant Hybrid in Pearl Millet [Pennisetum glaucum (L.) R.Br.] for Northern Karnataka

Pear Millet [Pennisetum glaucum (L.) R. Br.] isanimportant nutri-cereal as it contains higher level of micronutrients especially Fe and Zn compared to other cereal crops like maize, wheat, rice, sorghum etcand is one of the important sources of staple food to the large masses of the people across the globe. Heterosis is the superiority of F1 over its parents and it has been extensively studied in pearl millet. Due to its protogynous nature, it is highly cross pollinated and well amenable to exploit heterosis, further, availability of cytoplasmic-nuclear male-sterile sources in the crop gives scope for development of hybrids in turn enhance the crop productivity. Among various biotic and abiotic stresses which impact the productivity, Blast disease caused by Pyriculariagrisea (Cooke) Sacc., is emerging as a major disease of concern resulting into yield loss to the tune of 62 per cent.Looking into the importance of the disease, it necessitates to breed for stable and durable disease resistant hybrids. In this context, disease resistance breeding programme was initiated at All India Co-ordinated Research Project (Millets) at Regional Agricultural Research Station, Vijayapur with the aim to develop disease resistant hybrid with high productivity. After several generations of screening, evaluation and selection of parents and crosscombinations, new hybrid, VPMH-7, was identified by crossinga good combiner and an early flowering A1 cytoplasm based malesterile line ICMA 94555 with good restorer CPRT 112. The hybrid identified has recorded significantly higher mean yield of 24.50 percent over National Check, GHB 558, in Zone 3 of Karnataka. Due to its encouraging performance, the hybrid was promoted and tested underFarm Trials andLarge Scale Demonstrations, wherein, the said hybrid recorded 12.60 and 24.80 per cent superiority over GHB 558 respectively. The hybrid is promising for blast disease resistance under field condition as compared to GHB-558, and matures early (80-85 days), making it suitable for late planting and multiple cropping system. Considering all these attributes, this disease resistant hybrid, VPMH-7, having high yield potential is released (2019) and notified (2020) for commercial cultivation in Zone 3 of Karnataka

Performance and Stability of Pearl Millet Varieties for Grain Yield and Micronutrients in Arid and Semi-Arid Regions of India

Pearl millet [Pennisetum glaucum (L.) R. Br.] is grown under both arid and semi-arid conditions in India, where other cereals are hard to grow. Pearl millet cultivars, hybrids, and OPVs (open pollinated varieties) are tested and released by the All India Coordinated Research Project on Pearl Millet (AICRP-PM) across three zones (A1, A, and B) that are classified based on rainfall pattern. Except in locations with extreme weather conditions, hybrids dominate pearl millet growing areas, which can be attributed to hybrid vigor and the active role of the private sector. The importance of OPVs cannot be ruled out, owing to wider adaptation, lower input cost, and timely seed availability to subsidiary farmers cultivating this crop. This study was conducted to scrutinize the presently used test locations for evaluation of pearl millet OPVs across India, identify the best OPVs across locations, and determine the variation in grain Fe and Zn contents across locations in these regions. Six varieties were evaluated across 20 locations in A1 and A (pooled as A) and B zones along with three common checks and additional three zonal adapted checks in the respective zones during the 2019 rainy season. Recorded data on yield and quality traits were analyzed using genotype main effects and genotype × environment interaction biplot method. The genotype × environment (G × E) interaction was found to be highly significant for all the grain yield and agronomic traits and for both micronutrients (iron and zinc). However, genotypic effect (G) was four (productive tillers) to 49 (grain Fe content) times that of G × E interaction effect for various traits across zones that show the flexibility of OPVs. Ananthapuramu is the ideal test site for selecting pearl millet cultivars effectively for adaptation across India, while Ananthapuramu, Perumallapalle, and Gurugram can also be used as initial testing locations. OPVs MP 599 and MP 600 are identified as ideal genotypes, because they showed higher grain and fodder yields and stability compared with other cultivars. Iron and zinc concentration showed highly significant positive correlation (across environment = 0.83; p < 0.01), indicating possibility of simultaneous effective selection for both traits. Three common checks were found to be significantly low yielders than the test entries or zonal checks in individual zones and across India, indicating the potential of genetic improvement through OPVs