Inheritance studies through generation mean analysis for quantitative traits in soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merrill.)

Most of the economically important traits in soybean are quantitatively inherited. The generation mean analysis involving a five-parameter model was carried out in four crosses, viz., Pratap Soya- 2 × LP 5-2, Co 3 × LP 5-2, Co 3 × LP 5-1 and Co 3 × LP 13-1 to investigate additive, dominance and epistatic variance. Therefore, F1, F2 and F3 generations of the above four crosses were evaluated along with their respective parents to estimate the gene action for eleven quantitative traits through generation mean analysis, which provides information about all the gene interactions. The crosses Co 3 × LP 5-1 and Co 3 × LP 13-1 for plant height, Pratap Soya-2 × LP 5-2 for protein content and Co 3 × LP 5-2 for both oil content and seed yield per plant exhibited the adequacy of the additive dominance model. The remaining crosses exhibited epistatic interactions with all other traits. Hence simple recurrent selection can be followed to increase the frequency of desirable genes in the population and the resulted improved population can be used to develop superior lines with desirable genes by pedigree breeding. The crosses Co 3 × LP 5-1 and Pratap Soya - 2 × LP 5-2 were best for further selection programmes with regard to seed yield and quality improvement

Assessment of stableness for male sterility in newly developed CMS lines in sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.)

Diversification of parental lines both CMS and restorer inbreds are the absolute necessities in sunflower heterosis breeding programme for developing hybrids with high yield, high oil content as well as biotic and abiotic stress resistance. A total of 11 inbred lines with high oil content and high yield from TNHSF 239 population and also promising inbreds from a three way cross (TNHSF 239 x Wild 1-3-2) x Morden derivatives were utilized in conversion programme for developing new CMS lines in sunflower. Eleven newly developed CMS lines from BC6 back cross population were evaluated for their stability across three locations namely Coimbatore, Vamban and Chettinad. All the CMS lines except COSF8A and COSF 9A exhibited stable sterility across the locations and all the maintainers showed 100% fertility at all the three locations. Three CMS lines namely COSF 6A, COSF 7A and COSF 12A were identified for their high oil content (40-43%). Hybrids of these CMS lines showed positive heterosis for yield and yield attributing traits. Therefore, newly developed promising CMS lines can be effectively utilized in hybrid breeding programme for developing high yielding and high oil hybrids in sunflower

Calcium-Rich Pigeonpea Seed Coat: A Potential Byproduct for Food and Pharmaceutical Industries

Pigeonpea is a protein-rich legume which is consumed worldwide in a variety of forms (whole seed, dhal, and as a green vegetable). In India, pigeonpea is milled to yield dhal (cotyledon) and this process generates 25–35% waste byproducts. The hull (seed coat) which accounts for 10% of the byproduct is disposed of either as waste or low-cost cattle feed. To recycle the waste byproducts into the food value chain, this study was conducted with the objectives: (i) to estimate nutrient accumulation in the major seed fractions (cotyledon and seed coat), (ii) to estimate the percentage of nutrient contribution by major seed fractions, (iii) to assess the percentage of nutrient loss due to dehulling, and (iv) to determine the scope of seed coat in nutritional value addition. For this, a subset of 60 diverse pigeonpea accessions selected from 600 pigeonpea accessions raised during the 2019 and 2020 rainy seasons at ICRISAT, Patancheru, India, was subjected to a cotyledon and seed coat nutrient analysis. The three-way analysis of variance revealed the significant influence of cropping years, seed fractions, genotypes, and their interactions on nutrient accumulation. The nutrients, namely protein (32.28 ± 2.29%), P (476.51 ± 39.05 mg/100 g), K (1557.73 ± 66.82 mg/100 g), Fe (4.42 ± 0.41 mg/100 g), Zn (2.25 ± 0.21 mg/100 g), and Cu (0.95 ± 0.07 mg/100 g) were enriched in cotyledon. Mn was equally enriched in both the cotyledon and seed coat (1.02 ± 0.12 mg/100 g and 0.97 ± 0.34 mg/100 g, respectively). The seed coat had a high concentration of Ca (652.02 ± 114.82 mg/100 g), and Mg (249.19 ± 34.12 mg/100 g) with wide variability for Fe (2.74–5.61 mg/100 g), Zn (0.88–3.95 mg/100 g), Cu (0.38–1.44 mg/100 g), and Mn (0.58–2.18 mg/100 g). It is noteworthy that the protein and P contents in the cotyledon were 7 and 18 times higher than that in the seed coat, respectively, and the Ca content in the seed coat was 12 times higher than that in the cotyledon. A correlation study revealed that for overall nutrient improvement in dhal, selection for a small seed size was desirable. On an average, the percentage of nutrient contribution by major seed fractions revealed that the cotyledon portion contributed around 95% protein and P; 90% K and Zn; 85% Fe, Cu, and Mn; and 75% Mg, while the seed coat portion contributed nearly 65% Ca to the whole grain. The findings of high Fe and protein concentrations in the cotyledon and high Ca accumulation in the seed coat can serve as a new guide for improved technological fractionation of these components to serve as a novel functional food ingredient and as a dietary supplement that can address malnutrition

A record on the insect pests of wild relatives of pigeonpea, mungbean and urdbean

Integrated approaches are being followed for the management of pests in the present world. One of the components in IPM is the use of host plant resistance, which can be easily adopted by the farmers with a cheaper cost. For the identification and development of resistance sources, wild relatives of different cultivated species are being employed. This kind of approaches are being followed in the legume improvement programme also. One of the major limiting factors in pulse production is the pest complex, which inflicts heavy yield loss. The major legume insect pests are the gram pod borer Helicoverpa armigera Hubtter, pod fly Melanagromyza obtusa, spotted pod borer Maruca vitrata Geyer and pod bugs Clavigralla gibbosa Spinola, Riptortus spp. and blister beetle, Mylabris sp. (Durairaj 1999). The gram pod borer is the most devastating pest of pigeonpea, which cause worldwide yield loss of more than $317 million annually (Shanower et al. 1999). As there was low level of resistance in cultivated types of pigeonpea, the search for resistance sources has been included on non-cultivated Cajanus sp. also (Lateef et al. 1981)

Evaluation of Genetic Diversity in Sodic Soil-grown Barnyard Millet (Echinochloa frumentacea (Roxb.) Link) Germplasm

Aims: Barnyard millet (Echinochloa frumentacea) is a significant tiny millet crop characterized by because of its high nutritional value, exceptional ability to withstand extremes of climate, and short duration. Globally, the area under salt affected soil is expanding. Therefore, genetic diversity analysis was conducted to identify genetically diverse genotypes for yield improvement under sodic condition. Study Design: Randomised block design. Place and Duration of Study: An experiment was carried under sodic soil condition at Anbil Dharmalingam Agricultural College and Research Institute, Trichy, Tamil Nadu. Methodology:  Ninety two genotypes of barnyard millet, including two commercial check varieties, MDU1 and CO (KV) 2. Plant height (cm), inflorescence length (cm), inflorescence width (cm), lower raceme length (cm), flag leaf length (cm), flag leaf width (cm), number of leaves on main tiller, number of productive tillers per plant, and grain yield per plant (g) were the nine quantitative traits that were recorded. GENRES software version 3.11 was used for analysing the data. Results: For all of the analysed attributes, the genotypes showed significant differences based on the analysis of variance. Ninety two genotypes were divided into nine groups according to nine quantitative features using Mahalanobis D2-Statistics. Cluster II was the one with the greatest number with 25 genotypes, followed by cluster V with 22 genotypes, Cluster VI with 17 genotypes, Cluster IV with 11 genotypes, Cluster I with 8 genotypes, Cluster VIII with 4 genotypes, Cluster III and VII with only 2 genotypes per cluster, and Cluster IX with just 1 genotype. Cluster IV was second in terms of intra-cluster distance, after Cluster VIII. The largest inter-cluster distance was observed between clusters I (TNAUF01000021 - EF 37, TNAUF01000022 - EF 38, TNAUF01000022 - EF 39, etc.) and IX (MDU1). Conclusion: Choosing these genotypes as parents from genetically diverse clusters for breeding programmes might produce heterotic hybrids that produce enough genetic diversity in barnyard millet genotypes under sodic soil conditions

IPH 732 - The First Pigeonpea Hybrid for Tamil Nadu, India

Pigeon pea (Cajanus cajan) hybrid IPH732, developed from a cross between male sterile T21 and ICPL87109, was evaluated in multilocational trials during 1990/91 and in adaptive research trials (ART) during the rainy season of 1992. Overall in multilocational trials, ART, station and national trials, IPH732 had a mean yield of 0.94 t/ha, which was 49 and 41% more than ICPH8 and ICPL87, respectively. IPH732 has an indeterminate growth habit, matures in 115-120 days, and is suitable for irrigated and rainfed conditions. It has good cooking quality and seeds contain 22.3% protein. It was released for cultivation in Tamil Nadu as CoH1

Grain Nutrients Variability in Pigeonpea Genebank Collection and Its Potential for Promoting Nutritional Security in Dryland Ecologies

Pigeonpea, a climate-resilient legume, is nutritionally rich and of great value in Asia, Africa, and Caribbean regions to alleviate malnutrition. Assessing the grain nutrient variability in genebank collections can identify potential sources for biofortification. This study aimed to assess the genetic variability for grain nutrients in a set of 600 pigeonpea germplasms conserved at the RS Paroda Genebank, ICRISAT, India. The field trials conducted during the 2019 and 2020 rainy seasons in augmented design with four checks revealed significant differences among genotypes for all the agronomic traits and grain nutrients studied. The germplasm had a wider variation for agronomic traits like days to 50% flowering (67-166 days), days to maturity (112-213 days), 100-seed weight (1.69-22.17 g), and grain yield per plant (16.54-57.93 g). A good variability was observed for grain nutrients, namely, protein (23.35-29.50%), P (0.36-0.50%), K (1.43-1.63%), Ca (1,042.36-2,099.76 mg/kg), Mg (1,311.01-1,865.65 mg/kg), Fe (29.23-40.98 mg/kg), Zn (24.14-35.68 mg/kg), Mn (8.56-14.01 mg/kg), and Cu (7.72-14.20 mg/kg). The germplasm from the Asian region varied widely for grain nutrients, and the ones from African region had high nutrient density. The significant genotype x environment interaction for most of the grain nutrients (except for P, K, and Ca) indicated the sensitivity of nutrient accumulation to the environment. Days to 50% flowering and days to maturity had significant negative correlation with most of the grain nutrients, while grain yield per plant had significant positive correlation with protein and magnesium, which can benefit simultaneous improvement of agronomic traits with grain nutrients. Clustering of germplasms based on Ward.D2 clustering algorithm revealed the co-clustering of germplasm from different regions. The identified top 10 nutrient-specific and 15 multi-nutrient dense landraces can serve as promising sources for the development of biofortified lines in a superior agronomic background with a broad genetic base to fit the drylands. Furthermore, the large phenotypic data generated in this study can serve as a raw material for conducting SNP/haplotype-based GWAS to identify genetic variants that can accelerate genetic gains in grain nutrient improvement