Pigeonpea perspective in India

Pigeonpea occupies a prominent place in Indian rainfed agriculture. It is an integral component of in various agro ecologies of the country mainly inter cropped with cereals, pulses and oilseeds and millets. It is the second most important pulse crop next to chickpea, covering an area of around 4.42 m ha (occupying about 14.5% of area under pulses) and production of 2.86 MT (contributing to 16% of total pulse production) and productivity of about 707 kg/ha. It is mainly consumed as dry split dhal throughout the country besides several other uses of various parts of pigeonpea plant. Enhancing the productivity of the crop assumes specific significance in India mainly to combat protein malnutrition as it is the main source of protein to the predominant vegetarian population. Based on the crop duration and climatic condition the crop is grouped under four agro ecological zones with varied plant type requirements and location specific constraints for each zone. Systematic crop improvement efforts were launched at ICRSIAT since its inception in 1972. It focused during first decade (1972 to 1980) on collection, evaluation, maintenance and sharing of germplasm and yield enhancement research. During 1980 to 2000 ICRISAT research priorities were development of stable sources of resistance for wilt and Sterility Mosaic Diseases which are highly devastating and endemic in India in almost all the agro ecologies of pigeonpea cultivation. From 2000, concerted efforts are in progress on CGMS based hybrid development. Spectacular achievement by ICRISAT in recent past in the crop is deciphering its genome sequence and it has ushered pigeonpea in to genomic era. Subsequently lot of genomic information is in the process of development through molecular approaches like Genome Wide Association Studies (GWAS), Nested Association Mapping (NAM). Multiparent Advance Generation Inter Crosses (MAGIC) and Introgression Libraries (IL) etc. These approaches are under process of utilization for crop improvement

Recent Advances in Pigeonpea [Cajanus cajan (l.) Millspaugh) Research

Pigeonpea or red gram [Cajanus cajan (L.) Millspaugh] is an important food legume of the semi-arid tropics of Asia and Africa. It occupies a prime niche in sustainable farming systems of smallholder rainfed farmers. It occupies a prominent place in Indian rainfed agriculture. It is an integral component in various agro ecologies of the country mainly inter cropped with cereals, pulses, oilseeds and millets. It is the second most important pulse crop next to chickpea, covering an area of around 4.42 m ha (occupying about 14.5% of area under pulses) and production of 2.86 MT (contributing to 16% of total pulse production) and productivity of about 707 kg/ha. It is mainly consumed as dry split dhal throughout the country besides several other uses of various parts of pigeonpea plant. Enhancing the productivity of the crop assumes specific significance in India mainly to combat protein malnutrition as it is the main source of protein to the predominant vegetarian population. The productivity of pigeonpea has remained low and stagnant over the last few decades thus this prompted scientists to search for novel ways of crop improvement. To tackle this challenge, ICRISAT and IIPR are working on number of innovative ideas like, genome sequencing (Varshney et al. 2012), development of CGMS hybrids with 30 to 40 % yield advantage over traditional varieties, development of photo insensitive super early maturing lines, introgression of cleistogamous flower structure to maintain genetic purity of elite lines, use of obcordate leaf shape as NEP to assess genetic purity of hybrid parental lines and development of disease resistant hybrids and elite breeding lines. These aspects are described briefly below

Pigeonpea seed systems in Asia

Pigeonpea seed systems consist of the formal and informal seed sector. However, the informal seed sector dominates the seed production system. Majority of rainfed farmers who grow pigeonpea (about 80% - 90%) save a part of their produce as seed requirement. In the formal seed sector, government agencies and private companies are involved in production and distribution of quality seeds of improved varieties and hybrids. Role of private sector diffusion in pigeonpea market is not encouraging owing to lack of commercial perspective in the crop and other factors. The integrated approach that takes into cognizance the formal and informal seed sector in breeding, seed production and distribution has shown to have promising potential for improving seed supply to smallholder farmers. Moreover, any seed system, for that matter, requires a regulatory framework as well as a seed policy that considers regulations of an expanding and diversifying seed sector for the benefit of the farmers engaged in the seed production system

Pigeonpea - A unique jewel in rainfed cropping systems

Pigeonpea is a crop for rainfed environments endowed with several features to thrive harsh climate. It adapts well in sole crop and inter cropped conditions (with cereals, millets, oils seeds and pulses) by enhancing the system productivity and net income to the small and marginal farmers across the globe. The range of maturity duration in the crop allows it to grow in diversified cropping systems and patterns in varied ecoregions of the world. Development of cytoplasmic male sterility based hybrids provided an opportunity for enhancing the yields under marginal environments. With recent interventions in addressing the photo sensitivity and maturity have led to evolving super early varieties with less than 100 days duration, provided a scope for horizontal expansion of the crop in different agro ecological systems

Recent Advances in Pigeonpea [Cajanus cajan (l.) Millspaugh) Research

Pigeonpea or red gram [Cajanus cajan (L.) Millspaugh] is an important food legume of the semi-arid tropics of Asia and Africa. It occupies a prime niche in sustainable farming systems of smallholder rainfed farmers. It occupies a prominent place in Indian rainfed agriculture. It is an integral component in various agro ecologies of the country mainly inter cropped with cereals, pulses, oilseeds and millets. It is the second most important pulse crop next to chickpea, covering an area of around 4.42 m ha (occupying about 14.5% of area under pulses) and production of 2.86 MT (contributing to 16% of total pulse production) and productivity of about 707 kg/ha. It is mainly consumed as dry split dhal throughout the country besides several other uses of various parts of pigeonpea plant. Enhancing the productivity of the crop assumes specific significance in India mainly to combat protein malnutrition as it is the main source of protein to the predominant vegetarian population. The productivity of pigeonpea has remained low and stagnant over the last few decades thus this prompted scientists to search for novel ways of crop improvement. To tackle this challenge, ICRISAT and IIPR are working on number of innovative ideas like, genome sequencing (Varshney et al. 2012), development of CGMS hybrids with 30 to 40 % yield advantage over traditional varieties, development of photo insensitive super early maturing lines, introgression of cleistogamous flower structure to maintain genetic purity of elite lines, use of obcordate leaf shape as NEP to assess genetic purity of hybrid parental lines and development of disease resistant hybrids and elite breeding lines. These aspects are described briefly below

A unique hybrid parental line identification system using obcordate leaf shape marker in Pigeonpea

Pigeonpea has been ushered in to the group of cultivated crops where heterosis has been commercially exploited through hybrid development. The male sterile parental lines derived through CGMS technology transmuted the crop from often cross pollinated nature to completely cross pollinated. Maintenance of purity by following principles of seed production is a prerequisite in commercial hybrid seed production. To enhance efficacy of hybrid seed production and for easy identification of off types in the parental lines obcordate trait (single gene recessive) has been introgressed in male sterile line. The hybrids derived from crosses involving obcordate leaf A-lines and normal leaf fertility restorers (R-lines) were fully fertile and had normal lanceolate leaves; thus the difference between A-line and hybrids was clear. The use of obcordate leaf as a NEP (naked eye polymorphic) marker in pigeonpea would contribute to preserve parental line purity and confirm hybrid status. Heterotic hybrid combinations are developed by using the female parent with this NEP trait exhibited 30 to 40 per cent superiority in yield over high yielding ruling varieties. Among male sterile (A) lines, ICPA 2204 and ICPA 2203 were the best general combiners and among testers, ICPL 20116 and ICPL 20108 were the best general combiners. Obcordate female parent based hybrids ICPH 4563, ICPH 4567 and ICPH 4564, were the best with positive significant SCA effect and higher mean performance for grain yield, 100-seed mass, number of seeds/pod and resistance to wilt disease

Efficacy and safety of pharmacotherapy in cancer-related psychiatric disorders across the trajectory of cancer care: a review

At least 25 – 30% of patients with cancer and an even higher percentage of patients in an advanced phase of illness meet the criteria for a psychiatric diagnosis, including depression, anxiety, stress-related syndromes, adjustment disorders, sleep disorders and delirium. A number of studies have accumulated over the last 35 years on the use of psychotropic drugs as a pillar in the treatment of psychiatric disorders. Major advances in psycho-oncology research have also shown the effi cacy of psychotropic drugs as adjuvant treatment of cancer-related symptoms, such as pain, hot fl ushes, pruritus, nausea and vomiting, fatigue, and cognitive impairment. The knowledge about pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics, clinical use, safety, side effects and effi cacy of psychotropic drugs in cancer care is essential for an integrated and multidimensional approach to patients treated in different settings, including community-based centres, oncology, and palliative care. A search of the major databases (MEDLINE, Embase, PsycLIT, PsycINFO, the Cochrane Library) was conducted in order to summarize relevant data concerning the effi cacy and safet