Genetic Analysis of Some Morphological Traits in Egyptian Clover (\u3cem\u3eTrifolium alexandrinum\u3c/em\u3e L.)

Trifolium alexandrinum, commonly known as Berseem or Egyptian clover (2n=2x=16) is an important winter forage legume in India, Pakistan, Turkey, Egypt and Mediterranean region. It is characterized by three ecotypes viz; Mescavi, Fahli and Saidi. Amongst these, Mescavi type is most popular. In India it is cultivated in about 2 million hectare area. The major impediment in genetic improvement of berseem is the lack of appreciable genetic variability (Verma and Mishra, 1995; Roy et al., 2004; Malaviya et al., 2005). Although limited, variability for desirable traits at intraspecific (T. alexandrinum var Fahli and var Saidi) has been reported, considerable variability exists at interspecific level. Affinity of T. alexandrinum was tested with different wild Trifolium species (Malaviya et al., 2005) and was successfully hybridized with T. apertum for transfer of desirable traits such as late maturity and root rot resistance (Malaviya et al., 2004). In the segregating population of the cross, novel morphological traits such as black seed coat colour were also observed (Malaviya et al., 2012). T. alexandrinum var Fahli is single cut type and has several desirable characteristics like self compatibility (even not requiring tripping), good plant height, better seed yield, apical branching, etc. For incorporation of desirable genes in the improved genepool of beseem, the study of inheritance pattern of traits under consideration is a prerequisite. Therefore, present study was undertaken to study the inheritance pattern of pentafoliate leaf, dark green colour of leaf, black seed coat colour and regeneration capacity

Breeding Strategies to Improve Fodder Legumes with Special Emphasis on Clover and Medics

In India, Forage has a unique integration of agriculture and animal industry in diversified rich cultural environment. Greater part of rural economy in India relies much upon mixed farming system, a well-knit combination of crop production and livestock rearing. In India, grazing-based livestock husbandry plays an important role in the rural economy as around 50% of animals depend on grazing. Pasturelands over an area of 12 Mha constitute the main grazing resources that are available. Nearly 30 pastoral communities in hilly or arid/semi-arid regions in northern and western parts of India, depend on grazing-based livestock production. Nomadic pastoralism, a traditional form of human-livestock-grassland interaction, is still predominant in the drylands of western India, the Deccan Plateau, and in the mountainous reaches of the Himalayas. (Roy and Singh, 2013)

Rejuvenation of Rangelands – Role of Diversity and Improvement Strategies of Range Grasses

In India, a major part of the rural economy is dependent on the grazing-based livestock husbandry which is unique integration of agriculture and livestock coupled with rich traditional knowledge. Ecosystems of common property resources had been a mainstay in rural economy and livelihood. The traditional grazing forage resources in arid and semi-arid regions have deteriorated a lot due to various factors including heavy grazing pressure, climate change and dominance of invasive species, thus, needs rejuvenation. Additionally, these are causing serious economic and ecological problems such as poor productivity, soil and water erosion and reduced carbon sequestration. The genetic improvement of these grasses encounters various problems such as polyploidy, apomixis, seed shedding and shattering and poor seed to ovule ratio. Transfer of desirable traits from donor germplasm becomes difficult due to the existence of apomixis. The breeding objectives are also multifold including herbage yield, forage nutritional quality, abiotic stress tolerance etc. Identification of sexual lines is prerequisite for transfer of traits. Mutation attempts are also not effective due to polyploidy. ICAR- Indian Grassland and Fodder Research Institute, Jhansi has collected rich genetic diversity in these range grasses especially Dichanthium-Bothriochloa complex, Heteropogon, Chrysopogon, Sehima, Panicum, Cenchrus, Pennisetum etc. from different parts of the country as well as procurement from gene banks of the world. These germplasm were evaluated for morphological traits which indicated the existence of wide variation for various morpho-agronomic traits. The paper deals with reporting the extent of variability among the potential range grasses; with prospects of utilizing the diversity in rejuvenating the degraded rangelands of India and other places with isoclimatic conditions

Conservation of Grassland Plant Genetic Resources through People Participation

Agrobiodiversity provides the foundation of all food and feed production. Hence, need of the time is to collect, evaluate and utilize the biodiversity globally available. Indian sub-continent is one of the world’s mega centers of crop origins. India possesses 166 species of agri-horticultural crops and 324 species of wild relatives. India is reported to have five grass covers identified. There have been almost nil human interference in terms of selection pressure; hence, the biodiversity is well conserved in these grazing lands. There is need of a system approach to understanding biodiversity that moves significantly beyond taxonomy and species observations. In addition to forage value, many grasses hold the medicinal value. Duplication in the collected germplasm is a serious issue. Hence, molecular tools need to be employed. Indian Grassland and Fodder Research Institute, Jhansi is maintaining \u3e 8500 germplasm of many fodder crops. For thousands of years farmers have been domesticating plant species thereby developing a wide range of crop varieties adapted to specific needs and environmental conditions and their rights have been protected through Indian Plant Variety Protection and Farmer’s Right Act. The use of diverse species and varieties by farmers enhances their adaptability and resilience capacity to changing environmental and economic conditions. Farmers in Manipur are conserving the biodiversity of the state by farming around 100 traditional varieties of paddy and rare medicinal plants. Old grasslands are very good place of conservation. Southern India forms the important genetic resource centre for many grass crops which includes cereals, millets, sugarcane, lemon grass, ginger grass etc. farmers in Maharastra are also conserving PGR and maintaining Biodiversity Register of the grassland species under guidance of Samvedana. “Community based conservation” and “peoples’ participation” have become part of the conventional rhetoric. Wealth of segregating breeding population also need to be conserved. The grasses or other species in grasslands are growing in highly diverse and harsh condition. These are harbouring genes for tolerance to many abiotic stresses such as light, heat and salinity/alkalinity. Hence, this wide variability, if conserved suitably, can prove to be resource to address climate change issue

Potential of C4 Tropical Grasses to Contribute in Carbon Sequestration, Environmental Security and Livelihood Opportunities through Increased Fodder Availability

The world grasslands/rangeland ecosystems comprise 26% of earth’s surface and have immense ecological and economic significance. Diversity of grasslands had been a key element for their sustainability. Grasslands in India have existed as natural ecosystems for millions of years. It is a major source of income, employment and livelihood to the rural families. Owing to heavy grazing pressure, coupled with other social/anthropogenic factors, the grazing resources have fast deteriorated. The country has many old and natural grasslands with ethnic and economic value. Comprehensive ecological studies including floristic compositions, dominant species, grazing pressure and the climax/sub-climax stages of ecological succession will surely provide prescriptions for developing and rejuvenating these grazing resources. Grasslands face challenges in arid, semiarid and the moist lowlands with trees, shrubs and many invasive species including alien trees and shrubs introduced intentionally or unintentionally. Fast degrading rangelands in dry areas is causing a threat to huge amount of carbon stored in the top soil on earth in addition to threat to global hotspots for biodiversity. In the context of fast changing climate, the grazing lands can play a significant role. High water use efficiency and productivity of most C4 tropical grasses make them suitable for coping with climate change along with quality fodder

Performance of Dual Purpose Maize Line for Grain, Green Fodder, Stover Yield under the Semi-Arid Condition

Maize is the third most important cereal crop of the world and so also in India (Nadagoud et al., 2012). The diverse use of maize is rapidly increasing the demand of the crop and is replacing crops such as rice, sorghum, legumes and wheat in some areas (CIMMYT, 2013). Maize is largely treated as a single-purpose crop grown for grain, ignoring its potential for stover. Utilization of maize as dual purpose can meet the demand of both the poultry industry for grain and good quality stover for cattle feed. Maize stover the part of the crop left over after grain harvest, provides a promising option for feeding livestock in India (CIMMYT, 2013). The performance of line may not be same under different environments or years. But, a line may be said to be good if its performance is consistence. The newer maize lines/ hybrids have higher buffering capacity as well as disease tolerance than the older one. Keeping this in view, the present investigation was carried out to evaluate the maize lines for dual purpose

Innovative Technologies for Enhanced Availability of Bajra-Napier Hybrid Rooted Slips

Livestock occupies a crucial position in Indian agriculture and directly contributing 4.1% of total GDP of the country. India, with 2.29% of the world land area, is maintaining about 10.71% of the world’s livestock population. To sustain the present milk growth rate of 4.04% and for further expansion to meet the demands of ever growing human population, livestock needs sustainable supply of feed material. The area under fodder cultivation is estimated to be about 4% of the gross cropped area which remained static for the last four decades.The traditional grazing lands are gradually diminishing because of urbanization, expansion of cultivable area, grazing pressure and industrialization etc. These factors resulted in severe shortage of feed and fodder to the extent of 26% in dry-crop residues, 35.6% in green fodder and 41% of concentrates (Anon, 2013). To reduce the demand and supply gap, the production and productivity of fodder crops needs to be enhanced. The utilization of non-cultivable space viz., field bunds, common grazing lands, backyards apart from regular cultivation of high biomass species like Bajra-Napier hybrid (BN hybrid), guinea grass, Trispecific hybrid helps in enhanced production of green fodder. Bajra-Napier hybrid is one of the high biomass grasses with fodder potential of 300 tons/ha/year. However, this grass can be propagated only through rooted slips as it does not form any viable seed. Several varieties suitable to different agro-climatic zones were released for the successful cultivation of this grass throughout India. Due to increasing demand both from small and marginal farmers as well as well-structured large scale diary industry, there is severe shortage of rooted slips of this grass. The traditional uprooting of tussocks not only destructs the mother tussock but also highly labour intensive and difficult to transport to long distances. Keeping in view of all these constraints, two novel technologies were developed for the large scale multiplication of BN hybrid rooted slips

Stability Analysis in Dual Purpose Maize Line

Utilization of maize as dual purpose has increased the economic value of the crop. Dual purpose maize not only meets the demand of grain but also the stover for cattle. The genetic improvement in dual purpose maize should combine breeding for grain with specific needs of forage [Barrière et al., 2005]. Stability in dual purpose maize production is an essential component for sustainable production. The selection of dual type maize should be based on the genotype × environment interaction (GEI) and stability/ adaptability. Parametric models, such as Eberhart and Russell (1966) based on simple linear regression analysis are among cultivars, which explain the variance of the regression deviations as to detect cultivar stability and the linear regression coefficient to detect cultivar adaptability. Genotype × environment interactions (GEI) are of major importance for identification and development of superior cultivars. Keeping this in mind, the present study was undertaken with the objective to (i) to quantify the effects of the environmental and genetic variation for grain yield, green fodder yield and stover yield (ii) to identify the consistence performing lines under environmental changes

Anthesis Dynamics, Pollen Availability and Enhancement of Seed to Ovule Ratio in \u3cem\u3eChrysopogon fulvus\u3c/em\u3e

Under the present scenario of severe green fodder shortage (64%) in India, grassland offers an opportunity to enhance fodder availability. To revitalize the existing denuded grasslands, seed is the best propagating material. Availability of quality seed in forage grasses is less than 20% of actual requirement/ demand. Hence, there is a need to enhance the production and productivity of grass seeds. Even the available grass seeds have very low germination percentage, which is mainly due to the absence of a caryopsis inside the fluffy seed material. Chrysopogon fulvus, commonly known as Guria grass or red false beard grass, is a tufted perennial tropical grassland species, with good palatability and green fodder potential of \u3e20 t/ha. With its ability to grow under annual rainfall of 300-1200 mm it is well suited for the rainfed situation of Indian grasslands. As per Indian minimum seed certification standards (IMSCS), the germination percentage of C. fulvus is only 15%. The low germination coincides with the low seed setting (14-18%) as recorded in bulk harvested sample by Bahukhandi et al. (2011). Enhancement of seed to ovule ratio not only increases germination percent but enhances productivity per se. With this background, the present study was undertaken to understand the reproductive morphology, pollen availability and effect of exogenous application of chemicals for enhancement of seed to ovule ratio in C. fulvus