A Pictorial Guide to the Identification of Seedborne Fungi of Sorghum,Pearl Millet, Finger Millet, Chickpea,Pigeonpea, and Groundnut.Information Bulletin no. 34.

Seeds of sorghum, pearl millet, finger millet, chickpea, plgeonpea, and groundnut are known to harbor over 62 seed borne fungi belonging to 37 genera. In thiS bulletin, an attempt has been made to help agncultural sCientists and students Identify seedborne fungi, usually observed dunng the seed health tests conducted for phytosanltary certification of the SIX ICRISAT mandate crops ThIS bulletin proVides descnptlons and Illustrations of 45 s.eedborne methods of seed transmiSSion, detection, symptoms on the seed, morphological charactenstlcs of the fungi, quarantine Importance, and control measures to eradicate seedborne Inoculum and to prevent Inadvertent Introductions. Microphotographs are Included to help Identify the fungi. A world list of seedborne dISeases IS also given to help regulatory agencies formulate poliCies InvolVing seedborne fungi, so that unnecessary restnctlons on the movement of disease-free germ plasm can be aVOide

Innovative use of sweet sorghum juice and syrup in food industry

Sugar is one of the vital ingredients in all types of processed foods. Sugar is also extensively used in the pharmaceutical industry. The price of sugar has been rising during last five years. World trade in sugar is expected to decline by 5%, constrained by reduced export availabilities in several sugar producing countries. As a result, and given a strong global demand, international sugar prices may well remain relatively high and volatile in the coming years1. This is attributed to low cane availability and increased sugar intake in several emerging and developing countries. Hence, the need for suitable sugar alternatives. Sweet sorghum juice, obtained from low water consuming, drought resistant, short duration and seed propagated sweet sorghum, is thus a suitable source to obtain syrup. This syrup can replace sugar in food and pharmaceutical industry applications, thereby reducing its dependence on sugar

Increased adoption of seed treatment for groundnut disease management through farmer participatory evaluation: A micro study in Kurnool District of Andhra Pradesh

Semi-arid tropics mainly constitute rainfed dry areas where 57% of total global dry land areas are in Asian countries of which 65% of arable land is rainfed in India. Most of the farmers living in the dry regions are resource poor and the poorest of poor live in dry tropics of Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa. Conventional agricultural practices in these areas have led to soil degradation and pest and disease problems. To top this situation rainfall is erratic with frequent dry spells that make crop production a risky proposition

SWOT analysis of sweet sorghum ethanol value chain

In recent years there is considerable debate on alternative feedstocks for bioethanol production to meet the mandated blending requirements with fossil fuels (petrol). Worldwide, a number of feedstocks ranging from cereal grains to sugarcane juice to molasses (obtained from conversion of cane juice to sugar) are commonly being used. However, these feedstocks are being critically examined for their role in increasing food costs and compromising on food security. Sweet sorghum has emerged as an alternative crop whose stalks are converted into juice for ethanol production. Two models for conversion of sweet sorghum into ethanol have been pilot tested, ie., a centralized model (stalks supplied directly to the distillery for ethanol production) and a decentralized model where the syrup produced at village level is supplied to distillery for ethanol production. A number issues and strengths in using sweet sorghum as an alternative feedstock have emerged

Sweet sorghum bagasse – An alternative feed resource for livestock

Livestock production in the developing countries has been one of the most important economic and social activities of human culture. Among the livestock, ruminants have served and will continue to serve a valuable role in sustainable agricultural systems. They are particularly useful in converting vast renewable resources from rangeland, pasture and crop residues into food edible for humans. India has a huge ruminant population comprising of 210.2 million of cattle, 111.3 million buffaloes, 74.0 million of sheep, 154 million of goats, producing 117.0 million tons of milk and 3.4 million tons of meat (FAOSTAT 2010). Since 1970, there has been a consistent rise in the production of milk (4.7%) and meat (3.4%). Growth in livestock output, with the exception of milk, has primarily been driven by an increase in animal numbers. Yield growth in meat has been negligible, more so in the case of sheep and goats. Nutrition remains by far the most critical constraint to increased animal productivity and more efficient performance across the developing countries (ILRI 1995) with the perpetual gap between the demand and supply of digestible crude protein (DCP) and total digestible nutrients (TDN); about 35 and 37 per cent (Ramachandra et al. 2005)

Medicinal and Aromatic Plants for Diversifying Semi-Arid Tropical (SAT) Systems: A Case of Public Private Partnership (PPP).Global Theme on Agroecosystems Report No. 44

In the community watersheds in Asia, with improved water availability farmers diversify their cropping systems with high-value crops for increasing the incomes through efficient use of water and other natural resources. International Crops Research Institute for Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) is developing sustainable and economically productive livelihood opportunities in rural areas through crop diversification. To help small scale farmers, promising strategies for crop iversification are taken up by linking up with reliable partners who could provide support with production technology and market high-value medicinal and aromatic plants (MAPs) through public-private partnership (PPP) mode. The lead crops selected by farmers that are the focus of this case study include lemongrass (Cymbopogan flexuosus), coleus (Coleus forskolii), and Aswagandha (Withinia sominifera). The farmers in the project area were resource poor, facing constraints such as, poor infrastructure, unscrupulous middlemen, and absence of production technology and reliable market for their crops to increase their farm income. By introduction of MAPs through technical backstopping, capacity building, and marketing support from private industries, the partnership was developed to benefit farmers. As a result of this innovative partnership with private sector, farmers increased their farm income as compared to their conventional crops. In addition, rural employment was generated due to the need of post-harvest handling and processing of their crops, more profitable crops were grown, adding product value through village level processing. This holistic participatory process-oriented approach includes new science tools, linking on-station research to on-farm watersheds, thematic and technical backstopping tested successfully on pilot scale in SAT districts of Andhra Pradesh, India, under APRLP-ICRISAT Project

Sweet sorghum ethanol value chain: Issues and the way forward

The ICRISAT-NAIP-ICAR sub-project on ‘Value Chain Model for Bioethanol Production from Sweet Sorghum in Rainfed Areas through Collective Action and Partnership’ focused on developing and establishing sustanable bioethanol value chain models by addressing issues involved along the value chain components. The sweet sorghum value chain encompasses sweet sorghum production and transportation of stalks distillery or crushing unit, crushing stalks for juice extraction, syrup production from juice, ethanol production from juice and or syrup, ethanol blending with gasoline and utilization of the by-products, bagasse, vinasse, etc. For successful implementation of the value chain models, based on the core competencies, a consortium of partners involving public sector research and development organizations (ICRISAT, DSR, IICT, CRIDA, ILRI and SVVU) and private sector ethanol distillery (Rusni Distilleries Ltd.) was formed with ICRISAT as consortium lead. Aakruthi Agricultural Associates of India (AAI), an NGO, was engaged to assist in implementation of the project activities that relate to mobilization of farmers and their capacity building in cluster villages. This unique consortium of private-public-people-partnership (PPPP) was in place to help reach the goals by harnessing the synergies of the partners. The information presented in the previous sections is based on the results obtained from implementation of the project work plans from 2008 to 2012. This chapter describes major issues encountered during implementation of the work plans, the issues related to sustaining the sweet sorghum based ethanol value chain in the state of Andhra Pradesh, India, and the way forwar