Long-term application of fertilizers on chemical and biological properties of an Alfisol

A long term fertilizer experiment (30 years) at Bengaluru had been started during 1986 with eleven treat-ments and four replications in an Alfisol on finger millet (Elusine coracana) maize (Zea mays) cropping sequence. The results of the ongoing experiment after 27 cycles of finger millet and maize on changes in soil chemical proper-ties revealed that application of inorganics alone resulted in impaired soil fertility status (soil pH, organic carbon con-tent and available nutrients in soil were decreased) over balanced fertilizer application. There was a decline in soil reaction over the initial status and the maximum decrease was observed in 100 % NP (-1.46), 100 % N (-1.20) and other treatments. Application of 100 % NPK+FYM+lime maintained the soil pH (6.2) compared to all the other treat-ments. Organic carbon content of soil in all the treatments was higher (6.46 g kg-1) compared to the initial status; however, maximum increase in organic carbon content was registered on application of NPK+FYM. Application of 10 t ha-1 along with recommended dose of fertilizers and lime was found promising in term of sustaining crop and soil productivity

Morphological characterization and genetic barcoding of kuttiatoor mango accessions

A survey conducted during 2013-14 to collect and characterize the Kuttiattoor mango accessions from Kerala, revealed large unique variability in morphological, biochemical and DNA barcode data. All the accessions were polyembryonic with fruit maturity during February-March. The mature fruit length (cm), width (cm) and leaf length (cm) ranged from 5.10 – 9.60 (cm), 4.60 – 8.40 (cm) and 12.47- 30.40 (cm) respectively

Asian Region Groundnut Scientists Meeting

The meeting was organised by International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics(ICRISAT) in cooperation with the Indonesian Agency for Agricultural Research and Development(AARD), at the Malang Resaerch Institute for Food crops(MARIF) .......................The meeting was organised to bring together scientist from national regional and international research institution concerned with groundnut production in India....

The Asian Grain·Legumes Network - an update

The Asian Grain Legumes Network(AGLN) was initiated in 1986 to fascilitate exchange of plant material and appropriate technology to increase production of the network's mandate crops groundnut chickpea and pigeonpea in Asian countries.............

Declining Agricultural Productivity and Global Food Security

It is imperative that the world’s farmlands become the frontline for the battle to feed the projected 9 billion population globally. The detrimental effects of climate change on food security can be counteracted by broad-based economic development—particularly enhanced agricultural investment for improved land, water, and nutrient use. Improved crop, soil, and water management practices and stress-tolerant varieties that will overcome the detrimental impacts of climate change will lead to benefits like improved food security, livelihoods, and environmental security. Among the agricultural systems at greater risk of climate change are the dryland tropics, where the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) has its mandate. ICRISAT’s new Strategy to 2020 lays emphasis on inclusive market-oriented development (IMOD) as a pathway out of poverty by linking farmers to markets to increase incomes, enabled through a systems perspective and purposeful partnerships

Evolution of Cereals and Legumes Asia Network to Meet Regional Challenges in Asia

The Cereals and Legumes Asia Network (CLAN) was formed in 1992 by merging the erstwhile Asian Grain Legumes Network (AGLN) and the Cooperative Cereals Research Network (CCRN). CLAN’s overall goal is to improve the well-being of Asian farmers and consumers by improving the productivity and sustainable production of sorghum, pearl millet, chickpea, pigeonpea and groundnut. The sixth CLAN Steering Committee Meeting held in December 1999, marked the termination of the 12-year period of funding support from the Asian Development Bank. At that meeting, member countries agreed to continue network research and development activities with funding from national programs. APAARI and ICRISAT were requested to provide support funding for coordination, capacity building and exchange of genetic materials and information. APAARI has provided limited funding support, augmenting ICRISAT’s contribution, which is derived both from core funding and from bilateral and multilateral projects

Enhancing Utilization of Plant Genetic Resources in Crop Improvement

Crop plant genetic resources (PGR) including landraces, old and new cultivars, mutant etc., are vital to crop improvement. These were used in research to develop improved cultivars that has resulted in increase of productivity and production considerably of various crops. The need for collecting and conserving germplasm was realized during 1960s, when there was threat of loss of landraces due to large adoption of improved varieties. Currently over six million-germplasm accessions are held in over 1300 genebanks across the world. This paper discusses assembly and management of genetic resources of sorghum, pearl millet, chickpea, pigeonpea, groundnut and six small millets at the Rajendra S Paroda Genebank at ICRISAT-Patancheru, India and means to further enhance their utilization for sustainable agriculture globally. Various institutes and organizations worldwide have donated germplasm to the ICRISAT genebank. In addition, two hundred and thirteen germplasm collection missions were organized in 62 countries securing 33,194 germplasm accessions. The entire holding is over 118,800 accessions of the above crops from 130 countries. The germplasm accessions receive high priority for regeneration, characterization, conservation and distribution. The focus of research is on diversity assessment and on developing representative core, mini-core and composite collections to enhance utilization by the breeders. Molecular characterization of diverse germplasm sets is pursued for value addition and to enhance their utilization. Most of the accessions have been characterized. Germplasm seeds are conserved under very precise (cool and dry) conditions. Adequate seed of each accession is conserved to meet the requests of researchers and for posterity. The ICRISAT genebank has been supplying over 21,000 germplasm samples annually to scientists across the countries. ICRISAT has restored crop germplasm to several countries including India. From the basic germplasm supplied from ICRISAT genebank, 66 varieties were released for cultivation in 44 countrie

Strategy for conservation and enhanced use of crop genetic resources

The plant genetic resources (PGR) are finite and vulnerable for loss due to introduction of new crop cultivars in agriculture, urbanization, and natural hazards, etc. The realization of this fact led to the drafting of Convention on Biological Diversity at the Earth Summit in Rio in 1992. The PGR contribute enormously towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals of food security, poverty alleviation, environmental protection, and sustainable development. PGR are critical components of crop improvement efforts aimed at increasing food security - both for short-term gains as well as for long-term increase in productivity. Over the years, genebanks have been established in a number of countries and the number of accessions conserved in genebanks now exceeds the six million mark (FAO 1998)

Managing and Enhancing the Use of Germplasm – Strategies and Methodologies

Genebanks conserve a large number of ex situ collections that form the backbone of crop improvement programs. The technical manual of procedures and operations of the genebank is an essential document that provides the practices and procedures for various genebank operations. In the first such attempt at ICRISAT, a “Manual of Genebank Operations and Procedures” was published in 2000. The manual was edited by N Kameswara Rao and PJ Bramel. Since then, significant progress has been made globally, and at ICRISAT particularly in research on enhancing use of genetic resources in crop improvement. The concept of mini core collection, postulated by ICRISAT scientists, is now part of the International Public Goods and serves as a gateway for increasing germplasm use. The areas of assessment of diversity using both phenotypic and molecular characterization and identification of trait-specific germplasm for use by crop improvement programs are now a major focus of research at ICRISAT. The changes occurring at the global level, particularly since the implementation of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture, which came into force in June 2004, and meant for enhancing the sharing of germplasm and related information, has added a new dimension to the paradigm. All these, and the recommendations by the Internal Audit of ICRISAT, prompted us to revise the genebank manual and present it in its current form. We do hope that this publication will be helpful to the people dealing with the genetic resources of our five mandate crops and six small millets and to numerous other people who work on other crops. We sincerely acknowledge the contributions of the editors of the earlier version of the manual, and other genetic resources’ staff, past and present