Rapid generation advance (RGA) in chickpea to produce up to seven generations per year and enable speed breeding

This study was aimed at developing a protocol for increasing the number of generation cycles per year in chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.). Six accessions, two each from early (JG 11 and JG 14), medium (ICCV 10 and JG 16), and late (CDC-Frontier and C 235) maturity groups, were used. The experiment was conducted for two years under glasshouse conditions. The photoperiod was extended to induce early flowering and immature seeds were germinated to further reduce generation cycle time. Compared to control, artificial light caused a reduction in flowering time by respectively 8–19, 7–16, and 11–27 days in early-, medium-, and late-maturing accessions. The earliest stage of immature seed able to germinate was 20–23 days after anthesis in accessions of different maturity groups. The time period between germination and the earliest stage of immature seed suitable for germination was considered one generation cycle and spanned respectively 43–60, 44–64, and 52–79 days in early-, medium-, and late-maturing accessions. However, the late-maturing accession CDCFrontier could not be advanced further after three generation cycles owing to the strong influence of photoperiod and temperature. The mean total number of generations produced per year were respectively 7, 6.2, and 6 in early-, medium-, and late-maturing accessions. These results have encouraging implications for breeding programs: rapid progression toward homozygosity, development of mapping populations, and reduction in time, space and resources in cultivar development (speed breeding)

Energy Efficient Network-on-Chip Architectures for Many-Core Near-Threshold Computing System

Near threshold computing has unraveled a promising design space for energy efficient computing. However, it is still plagued by sub-optimal system performance. Application characteristics and hardware non-idealities of conventional architectures (those optimized for nominal voltage) prevent us from fully leveraging the potential of NTC systems. Increasing the computational core count still forms the bedrock of a multitude of contemporary works that address the problem of performance degradation in NTC systems. However, these works do not categorically address the shortcomings of the conventional on-chip interconnect fabric in a many core environment. In this work, we quantitatively demonstrate the performance bottleneck created by a conventional NTC architecture in many-core NTC systems. To reclaim the performance lost due to a sub-optimal NoC in many-core NTC systems, we propose BoostNoC—a power efficient, multi-layered network-on-chip architecture. BoostNoC improves the system performance by nearly 2× over a conventional NTC system, while largely sustaining its energy benefits. Further, capitalizing on the application characteristics, we propose two BoostNoC derivative designs: (i) PG BoostNoC; and (ii) Drowsy BoostNoC; to improve the energy efficiency by 1.4× and 1.37×, respectively over conventional NTC system

Genetics and Characterization of an Open Flower Mutant in Chickpea

The chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) is a self-pollinated grain legume with cleistogamous flowers. A spontaneous open-flower mutant, designated OFM-3, was identified in which reproductive organs were not enclosed by the keel petals and thus remained exposed. All 10 stamens in this mutant were free, whereas these are in diadelphous (9 fused + 1 free) condition in normal chickpea flowers. A large number of pods (73%) remained unfilled (empty) in OFM-3, though its pollen fertility was as high as the standard cultivars. The open-flower trait was found to be recessive and controlled by a single gene. OFM-3 was crossed with earlier reported open-flower mutants, ICC 16341 and ICC 16129, to establish trait relationships of genes controlling open flower traits in these mutants. It was found that each of these mutants has a unique gene for open flower trait. The genes controlling open flower trait in ICC 16341, ICC 16129, and OFM-3 were designated ofl-1, ofl-2, and ofl-3, respectively. Breeding lines with open flower trait and higher percentage of filled pods have been developed from the progenies of the crosses of OFM-3 with normal-flowered lines. The open flower trait offers opportunity for exploring hybrid technology in the chickpea

Technologies for Intensification of Production and Uses of Grain Legumes for Nutrition Security

Malnutrition resulting from intake of food poor in nutritional value, particularly lacking in micronutrients, has been recognized as a serious health problem in developing countries including India. Nutritional security is a priority for India. Crop diversification in agriculture contributes to balanced diet and nutritional security. Production intensification of nutrient-dense crops, contributes to their increased production, and consequently enhances their accessibility at affordable prices to meet nutritional security. Grain legumes produce nutrient-dense grains rich in proteins, vitamins, minerals and micronutrients essential for growth and development. However, cultivation of grain legumes is often neglected resulting in poor production in the country, and consequently poor access to legumes at affordable prices. Pigeonpea or red gram (Cajanus cajan L.), chickpea or bengal gram (Cicer arietinum L.) and groundnut (Arachis hypogaea L.), the three nutritious grain legumes are grown widely across the country and are major constituents of Indian diets. They are climate- resilient crops adapted to water-limiting conditions making them choice crops for cultivation in adverse conditions. Policy options for promoting cultivation and increased production of pigeon pea, chickpea and groundnut are needed. Technology options for intensification of their cultivation include improved cultivars of grain legumes with enhanced adaptation and nutritional properties, their processing, plugging post-harvest and storage losses, and development of alternative food products. The chapter discusses the contribution of agriculture to nutritional security and the need to diversify cultivation of crops to include nutrient-dense grain legumes, and intensification of their cultivation to achieve their enhanced production and productivity. The scope to develop bio-fortified grain legumes is also discussed. Some countries have successfully harnessed the potential of processed grain legumes for use as food supplements for children and elderly, as well as to prepare ready-to-use-therapeutic-food products to treat acute malnutrition

Nitrogen fixation, plant growth and yield enhancements by diazotrophic growth-promoting bacteria in two cultivars of chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.)

A total of 11 rhizobia-like-bacteria, isolated from the nodules of chickpea, were characterized for nitrogen fixation potential and growth promoting ability. All the isolates nodulated chickpea, amplified nifH gene and fixed nitrogen but, four isolates (ICKM-9, ICKM-15, ICS-31 and ICS-32) were found to fix nitrogen more than 4.0 nmoles of ethylene g−1 fresh weight of nodules h−1. Under field conditions, seeds of chickpea varieties ICCV 2 and JG 11, when treated with the bacteria, enhanced the nodule number (up to 46% and 46%), nodule mass (up to 76% and 50%), shoot mass (up to 21% and 42%) and grain yield (up to 27% and 25%), respectively, over the un-inoculated control. At the harvest, organic carbon (up to 7% and 24%), total nitrogen (up to 11% and 19%) and available phosphorous (up to 14% and 29%) were found enhanced, respectively, in the rhizosphere of ICCV-2 and JG-11 treated with bacteria over the un-inoculated control. All the isolates produced plant growth-promoting traits including indole acetic acid, β-1,3-glucanase, hydro cyanic acid (except ICKM-17 and ICS-31) and siderophore (except ICS-31). The 16 S rDNA gene sequences of bacterial isolates of ICKM-1, ICKM-4, ICKM-7, ICKM-9, ICKM-12, ICKM-14, ICKM-15, ICKM-17, ICS-30, ICS-31 and ICS-32 showed maximum identity with Pantoea dispersa, Chryseobacterium indologenes, Pseudomonas geniculata, Stenotrophomonas pavanii, P. geniculata, P. geniculata, Stenotrophomonas maltophilia, Chryseobacterium sp., P. geniculata, Chryseobacterium indologenes and Stenotrophomonas acidaminiphila, respectively. This study indicates nodule-associated bacteria could be a valuable pool for improving nitrogen fixation and crop yields in chickpea

Botany of Chickpea

Chickpea is one of the important food legumes cultivated in several countries. It originated in the Middle East (area between south-eastern Turkey and adjoining Syria) and spread to European countries in the west to Myanmar in the east. It has several vernacular names in respective countries where it is cultivated or consumed. Taxonomically, chickpea belongs to the monogeneric tribe Cicereae of the family Fabaceae. There are nine annuals and 34 perennial species in the genus Cicer. The cultivated chickpea, Cicer arietinum, is a short annual herb with several growth habits ranging from prostrate to erect. Except the petals of the flower, all the plant parts are covered with glandular and non-glandular hairs. These hairs secrete a characteristic acid mixture which defends the plant against sucking pests. The stem bears primary, secondary and tertiary branches. The latter two branch types have leaves and flowers on them. Though single leaf also exists, compound leaf with 5–7 pairs of leaflets is a regular feature. The typical papilionaceous flower, with one big standard, two wings and two keel petals (boat shaped), has 9 + 1 diadelphous stamens and a stigma with 1–4 ovules. Anthers dehisce a day before the flower opens leading to self-pollination. In four weeks after pollination, pod matures with one to three seeds per pod. There is no dormancy in chickpea seed. Based on the colour of chickpea seed, it is desi type (dark-coloured seed) or kabuli type (beige-coloured seed). Upon sowing, germination takes a week time depending on the soil and moisture conditions

Plant growth-promotion and biofortification of chickpea and pigeonpea through inoculation of biocontrol potential bacteria, isolated from organic soils

Seven strains of bacteria [Pseudomonas plecoglossicida SRI-156, Brevibacterium antiquum SRI-158, Bacillus altitudinis SRI-178, Enterobacter ludwigii SRI-211, E. ludwigii SRI-229, Acinetobacter tandoii SRI-305 and Pseudomonas monteilii SRI-360; demonstrated previously for control of charcoal rot disease in sorghum and plant growth-promotion (PGP) in rice] were evaluated for their PGP and biofortification traits in chickpea and pigeonpea under field conditions. When treated on seed, the seven selected bacteria significantly enhanced the shoot height and root length of both chickpea and pigeonpea over the un-inoculated control. Under field conditions, in both chickpea and pigeonpea, the plots inoculated with test bacteria enhanced the nodule number, nodule weight, root and shoot weights, pod number, pod weight, leaf weight, leaf area and grain yield over the un-inoculated control plots. Among the seven bacteria, SRI-229 was found to significantly and consistently enhance all the studied PGP and yield traits including nodule number (24 and 36%), nodule weight (11 and 44%), shoot weight (22 and 20%), root weight (23 and 16%) and grain yield (19 and 26%) for both chickpea and pigeonpea, respectively. When the harvested grains were evaluated for their mineral contents, iron (up to 18 and 12%), zinc (up to 23 and 5%), copper (up to 19 and 8%), manganese (up to 2 and 39%) and calcium (up to 22 and 11%) contents in chickpea and pigeonpea, respectively, were found enhanced in test bacteria inoculated plots over the un-inoculated control plots. This study further confirms that the selected bacterial isolates not only have the potential for PGP in cereals and legumes but also have the potential for biofortification of mineral nutrients

Allelic relationship between spontaneous and induced mutant genes for stem fasciation in chickpea

Stem fasciation is a morphological abnormality observed in plants where the stem is widened and leaves and flowers or pods are clustered at the apex. Several spontaneous mutants and one induced mutant for stem fasciation are found in chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.). This study was aimed at determining allelic relationship between spontaneous and induced mutant genes controlling stem fasciation and effects of stem fasciation on grain yield. Two spontaneous (ICC 2042 and ICC 5645) and one induced (JGM 2) stem fasciation mutants were crossed in all combinations, excluding reciprocals. The F1 and F2 plants from a cross between the two spontaneous mutants had fasciated stem. This indicated the presence of a common gene (designated fas1) for stem fasciation in the two spontaneous mutants. The F1s of the crosses of the induced mutant JGM 2 with both spontaneous mutants had normal plants and segregated in a ratio of 9 normal:7 fasciated plants in F2. Thus, the gene for stem fasciation in the induced mutant JGM 2 (designated fas2) is not allelic to the common gene for stem fasciation in spontaneous mutants. The two genes in dominant condition produced normal non-fasciated stem. The fasciated and the non-fasciated F2 plants did not differ significantly for number of pods per plant, number of seeds per plant, grain yield per plant and seed size, suggesting that it is possible to exploit the fasciated trait in chickpea breeding without compromising on yield

An induced brachytic mutant of chickpea and its possible use in ideotype breeding

Mutations were induced in chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) cultivar 'JG 315' through treatment of seeds with ethyl methane sulphonate (EMS). One of the mutants, named JGM 1, had brachytic growth (compact growth), characterized by erect growth habit, thick and sturdy stem, short internodal and interleaflet distances and few tertiary and later order branches. It was isolated from M2 derived from seeds treated with 0.6% EMS for 6 h. Segregation analyses in F2 progenies of its crosses with normal chickpea genotypes (JG 315, ICC 4929, and ICC 10301) suggested that a single recessive gene controlled brachytic growth in JGM 1. This gene was not allelic to the br gene for brachytic growth in spontaneous brachytic mutant E100YM. Thus, the gene for brachytic growth in JGM 1 was designated br2 and the br gene of E100YM was redesignated br1. Efforts are being made to use JGM 1 in development of a plant type with short internodes and erect growth habit. Such plant type may resist excessive vegetative growth in high input (irrigation and fertility) conditions and accommodate more plants per unit area