Sustaining Viability of Informal Millet Seed Systems

The main purpose of alternative seed delivery system is to address the seed availability problems of smallholder farmers. Most of the community-based seed production models /schemes are initiated because farmers are concerned about the non-availability of quality seed at planting time. Many farmers don't have access to improved varieties; and wouldn't be able to afford them even if they were. So introduction of alternative seed systems models must impact farmers' access to seeds of improved varieties at affordable cost. The quality of seed produced by communitybased system or farmer seed systems is guaranteed only by its seller or village seed committee, because they are not processed and are uncertified seed. The seed so produced is low priced, and available at farmers' doorsteps at the right time, and provides access to all farmer groups in the village..

Sweet Sorghum for Biofuel Industry

Renewable sources of energy can help mitigate the negative effects associated with the use of fossil fuels and represent a growing share of the energy portfolio. Biofuels are the only source of liquid transportation fuel that is both renewable and compatible with the existing fleet of vehicles. Sweet sorghum as a biofuel crop has many attractive features that make it an excellent source of renewable energy. The diversion of crop land for cultivation of sweet sorghum does not arise with as it meets food, fuel, and fodder requirement. Sweet sorghum–based ethanol-producing distilleries have been established in China, India, and elsewhere. Besides ethanol, acetone, butanol, lactic acid, butyric acid, hydrogen, and methane are other fermentation products that can be produced. Sweet sorghum also produces several potential native products such as cellulose for paper production, waxes, proteins, and allelopathic compounds such as sorgoleone. In general, complementation of sweet sorghum with sugarcane is possible in those areas of the world where sugarcane is produced, as sweet sorghum is compatible with the infrastructure and the managerial expertise available in the sugarcane industry

Farmer eabled vllage seed banks as the edifice of integrated seed system for improved access, production and supply of groundnut seed in Andhra Pradesh - A Case Study

Non-availability of good quality seeds of high-yielding varieties in time is one of the major constraints contributing to stagnated yields of groundnut crop in Mahbubnagar district of Andhra Pradesh state. The crop is grown predominantly in postrainy season under irrigated conditions. The baseline studies carried out in the project area identified key problems related to groundnut seed supply system. Private seed sector is reluctant to produce and market seed of groundnut for economic consideration. The project devised an alternative seed delivery system, village seed banks; which ensure availability of quality seed of improved varieties at village level. It not only ensured timely availability of quality seed of farmer-preferred varieties at affordable price at local level but also enhanced crop productivity and community seed enterpris

Host plant resistance to grain mould in germplasm accessions of pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum [L.] R. Br.)

The paucity of information on the moulds in Indian pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum) led to the studies that were conducted at ICRISAT, India to evaluate (a) 447 germplasm accessions of 32 countries for mould reaction in rainy season, (b) threshed grain mould rating (TGMS) and mycoflora on grains of each accession, and (c) mould scores in field and in vitro. Post physiological maturity evaluation showed that 16% of the accessions secured a mould rating of 2. In TGMS, 18% were mould free and 57% secured a rating of 2 on a 1 – 9 scale. Assessment of twenty representative accessions in vitro against individual and mixed conidial suspensions (1610(6) conidia ml(71)) of Fusarium moniliforme, F. pallidoroseum and Curvularia pennisetti indicated significant correlation (r¼0.97) between the overall field and in vitro scores of mixed spores inoculations. The mycoflora for TGMS in blotter test revealed that Fusarium moniliforme, F. pallidoroseum, Curvularia pennisetti, Helminthosporium spp., Alternaria spp. and Colletotrichum spp. to be the major fungi affecting pearl millet grain. It is advisable to harvest panicles at the physiological maturity stage to obtain better quality grains. A strong negative correlation between TGMS and % GS (r¼0.4601) and positive correlation between TGMS and % UGS (r¼0.4654) indicated that, the lesser the threshed grain mould rating higher the % seed germination

Stay-green QTL Stg3B is the key QTL associated with improved grain and stover yield under post-rainy sorghum growing conditions

Stay-green is the best characterized trait contributing to the adaptation of sorghum to postflowering drought conditions. Using B35 as stay-green donor, QTL introgression lines (ILs) were generated in two genetic backgrounds (S35 and R16). These lines along with local checks, recurrent parent and staygreen donor were evaluated in two years during the post-rainy season under both well-watered (WW) and water-stressed (WS) conditions at four locations. Stay-green ILs had improvement in green leaf area retention at maturity (GLAM) in both genetic backgrounds under both WW and WS, and more so under WS condition. R16 was more responsive to the QTL introgression than S35 in terms of GLAM, suggesting that effect of individual stay-green QTL introgression interacted with genetic backgrounds. Stg3B was the key stay-green QTL in enhancing the GLAM, particularly under WS conditions. Under WS conditions, the introgressions with Stg3B improved grain yield (GY) and total dry matter (TDM) by 16% and 9%, respectively over recurrent parent. No improvement in GY and TDM was recorded in ILs compared to recurrent parent under WW conditions in S35 background, while 8% increase in both GY and TDM was recorded under WS conditions with Stg3B introgressions in S35 background. The recipient genetic background and soil moisture conditions during postflowering growth stages played an important role in the expression of stay-green QTLs. Our results, also clearly established the superiority of Stg3B in enhancing the GY and TDM accumulation over other individual QTLs or in combination under both the genetic backgrounds, particularly under WS conditions

Genetic and genomic resources, and breeding for accelerating improvement of small millets: current status and future interventions

Current agricultural and food systems encourage research and development on major crops, neglecting regionally important minor crops. Small millets include a group of small- seeded cereal crops of the grass family Poaceae. This includes finger millet, foxtail millet, proso millet, barnyard millet, kodo millet, little millet, teff, fonio, job’s tears, guinea millet, and browntop millet. Small millets are an excellent choice to supplement major staple foods for crop and dietary diversity because of their diverse adaptation on marginal lands, less water requirement, lesser susceptibility to stresses, and nutritional superiority compared to major cereal staples. Growing interest among consumers about healthy diets together with climate-resilient features of small millets underline the necessity of directing more research and development towards these crops. Except for finger millet and foxtail millet, and to some extent proso millet and teff, other small millets have received minimal research attention in terms of development of genetic and genomic resources and breeding for yield enhancement. Considerable breeding efforts were made in finger millet and foxtail millet in India and China, respectively, proso millet in the United States of America, and teff in Ethiopia. So far, five genomes, namely foxtail millet, finger millet, proso millet, teff, and Japanese barnyard millet, have been sequenced, and genome of foxtail millet is the smallest (423-510 Mb) while the largest one is finger millet (1.5 Gb). Recent advances in phenotyping and genomics technologies, together with available germplasm diversity, could be utilized in small millets improvement. This review provides a comprehensive insight into the importance of small millets, the global status of their germplasm, diversity, promising germplasm resources, and breeding approaches (conventional and genomic approaches) to accelerate climate-resilient and nutrient-dense small millets for sustainable agriculture, environment, and healthy food systems

Developing Post Rainy Sorghum Seed System in India

The crops grown under rainfed agriculture are described as farming practices that rely on rainfall for crop production and their seed systems describe, how farmers in these regions are sourcing seed for cultivating these crops. The objective of this chapter is to share information, experiences and some success stories of seed value chain models developed for production and supply of improved varieties to resource poor farmers to enhance production of rainfed crops. Majority of crop varieties grown under rainfed agriculture system are open pollinated varieties or self-pollinated crops especially food crops, cereals and legumes grown in semi-arid tropics of the globe. The importance of rainfed agriculture varies regionally but produces most food for poor communities in developing countries. In sub-Saharan Africa more than 95 per cent of the farmed land is rainfed, while the corresponding figure for Latin America is almost 90 per cent, for South Asia about 60 per cent, for East Asia 65 per cent and for the Near East and North Africa 75 per cent..

Village Based Seed Banks in Andhra Pradesh - a Case Study

The great majorities of the world's food crops are annual species for which see be sown each season to establish a new crop. Consequently, seeds are the fundal biological component of agricultural production. Agriculture in India is over years old. Farmers have been breed ing, selecting and collecting enough seeds, al years to meet their requirement. The very survival of Indian agriculture for centl a testimony to the sound wisdom on seed production and storage being nurtu the agrarian community. These systems have been variously called a farmer-m;; seed system (Bal and Douglas, 1992); Informal seed system (Cromwell et al traditional seed system and local seed system (Alniekinders et aI., 1994). But, c{ rising population increased pressure on food grain production, is a great task bef( agricultural scientists to achieve. In order to achieve the projected demand, qualit of improved cultivars is the pre-requisite. Improved seed is a catalyst for makin! inputs cost-effective. In spite of many efforts, seed supply particularly of food grair is a serious concern till today..............

Effect of seed moisture content and storage temperature on seed longevity of hemp (Cannabis sativa)

Hemp (Cannabis sativa L.) is one of the earliest domesticated plants grown for its protein and oil rich seed, fiber and psychoactive substances and it is one of the earliest known medicinal plants in human history. Studies were conducted on seed germinability (germination test) and viability (topographical tetrazoliun chloride test) in three seed lots to determine the seed quality. Studies conducted on effect of five seed moisture contents (5, 7, 8, 10 and 12 % on fresh weight basis), three storage temperature (ambient, 15°C and -20°C) and eight storage periods (0, 3, 6, 9, 12, 18, 24 and 36 months) on seed longevity revealed that the critical moisture content (moisture content required in seeds for retaining initial germination after storage of seeds up to 36 months) of seeds for ambient storage condition of Delhi was 5 %, which increased to 7 % in 15°C and 12 % at -20°C storage temperature. The seeds are desiccation as well as chilling tolerant, therefore, exhibit orthodox storage behavior and are ideal for ex-situ conservation of seeds in seed/gene banks