Increasing the grain yield and its stability in dry lands of the tropics of Asia

and Africa, as the horne to a vast impoverished humanity,'contipues to be a major

challenge for agricultural research and development Development of genetically

enhanced cultivars with high yield potential, appropriate maturity, an'd resistance to biotic and

abiotic stress factors is an effective approach to increasing and stabilizing the production in

these regions. Advances possible through this approach are illustrated with the impacts made in

pearl millet (Pelllliselul11 glaucum), a warm~season cereal; and chickpea (Cicer arielillum), a

cool-season legume, which are amongst the five mandate crops of the International Crops

Research Institute for the Semi-arid Tropics (ICRISAn. The research in this paper is

largely the work done by ICRISAT in partnership with the national agricultural research

systems and advanced research institutes. The convention,!l approach of enhancement

both in pearl millet ang chickpea has been highly successful. Progress has also been made in the

areas of molecular marker-assisted selection in both crops, and in wide hybridization and

transgenic technology in chickpea to improve those traits that are less amenable to genetic manipulation through conventional methods of genetic enhancement

Gaur, P M

Gowda, C L L

Hash, C T

Rai, K N

Serraj, R

Sharma, K K

ICRISAT Open Access Repository

Development of Crop Cultivars for Increased and Stable Production in Dry lands of the Semi-arid Tropics KN. RAJ, P.M. GAUR, C.T. HASH, KK SHARMA, C.L.L. GOWDA and R. SERRA] El *rP~~~~ rrP~~Jf~J ~ 14 ~ S 2004:f:F. 7JU ffiT Journal of Arid Land Studies Vol. 14, S, October 2004 rPitl{!uf~); 14S, 69-72 (2004) Journal of Al:id Land Studies -Special "Desert Technology VII" Refereed Paper Development of Crop Cultivars for Increased and Stable Production in Dry Lands of the Semi-arid Tropics K.N. RAt, P.M. GAUR*, C.T. HASH., K.11. SHARMA", C.L.L. GOWDA' and R. SERRAJ' Abstract-Increasing the grain yield and its stability in dry lands of the tropics of Asia and Africa, as the horne to a vast impoverished humanity,'contipues to be a major challenge for agricultural research and development Development of genetically enhanced cultivars with high yield potential, appropriate maturity, an'd resistance to biotic and abiotic stress factors is an effective approach to increasing and stabilizing the production in these regions. Advances possible through this approach are illustrated with the impacts made in pearl millet (Pelllliselul11 glaucum), a warm~season cereal; and chickpea (Cicer arielillum), a cool-season legume, which are amongst the five mandate crops of the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-arid Tropics (ICRISAn. The research in this paper is largely the work done by ICRISAT in partnership with the national agricultural research systems and advanced research institutes. The convention,!l approach of enhancement both in pearl millet ang chickpea has been highly successful. Progress has also been made in the areas of molecular marker-assisted selection in both crops, and in wide hybridization and transgenic technology in chickpea to improve those traits that are less amenable to ",,"'II"''''\'' manipulation through conventional methods of genetic enhancement. Key words: dry land, semi-arid tropics, pearl millet, chickpea, enhancement -Semi"arid_tropicaLregions-oLthLw.orld_are--11ome_to_abouL850-InillioILpeopleJargely_dependenLon_ agriculture as the major source of their ~ivelihood. The crop production environments of these regions are characterized by 'low fertility, low and erratic high temperatures, and negligible use of external inputs--all leading to low crop productivity. Improved management of water, soil and nutrients would play a major role in achieving increased and stable production in these regions. Improved crop cultivars can also playa significant role in this direction et al., 2003). For enhanced and stable crop production in the dry areas of the tropics, the three key elements of seed-based solutions are the choice' of crops to these environments, development of improved cultivars of these crops with higher grain yield and improved resi[stance to biotic and abiotic stresses, and production and distribution mechanisms. The International Crops Research for the Semi-arid Tropics (ICRISA T) has a mandate for improvement of some the most drought tolerant crops that include sorghum [Sorghum bieolor (L.) Moench] and pearl. millet [Pellllisetum glaueum (L'.) R. Br.] as cereals; pigeonpea [Cajanus Millsp.] and chickpea Qrietinum L.J as pulses; and groundnut [Arachis hypogaea 1.] as an oilseed crop. Significant progress has made in developing improved cultivars of these crops that perform better than the traditional ones due to a combination of factors that mC.IUd~~S improved yield potential, early maturity, resistance to biotic and abiotic stresses. This paper with past achievements and future prospects by illustrating the work on two contrasting crops---pearl millet (a warm season cereal) and chickpea (a cool season legume) using both the conventional and biotechnological research approaches that have been followed at ICRISAT genetic enhancement and cultivar development. 2. Conventional Breeding Approaches 2.1 Selection for Grain Yield and Adaptation: advances from direct for grain yield in drought-prone environments from genetic changes in yield potential, drought tolerance, and appropIiate maturity that helps escape Resistance to target and diseases is considered an integral part of this 1'1,. ... "1'1'''',, strategy. This has proved successful both in pearl millet and chickpea. instance, 8203, an open-pollinated variety COPY) of pearl millet was developed at ICRJSAT-Patancheru from Vl'>'"Ul\,,, derived from an inial'i (early-maturing) landrace from northern Togo that had been selected for high grain yield, acceptable agronomic traits (shorter plant height, early matulity, panicles, good vA~''''HJ'V'', and no tip sterility) high levels of to the most dreaded pearl disease--downy mildew (DM) caused by Sclerospora graminico/a (Sacc.) Sclu·oet. (Rai et al.,1990). This valiety, released in 1988 specifically for cultivation in Maharshtra state ofIndia, was rapidly adopted, covering about 0.8 million ha (about 50%) of the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-arid Tropics (ICRISAT), Patancheru 502 324, Andhra Pradesh, India. FAX: 91 4023241239, E-mail: k.l'ai@cl!iar.org, Phone: 91.40 23296]61 70 pearl millet area in this state at the of its popularity in 1995 (Fig. 1 ). Even in the face of stiff competition with hybrids. ICTP 8203 was estimated to be cultivated on 0.4-0.5 million ha in Maharashtra in and it still occupies about 0.3 million mostly in very areas with low soil fertility. ICRISAT-Patanchel1l developed ICMV 88908, another OPV of illiari background that was morphologically similar to 8203 but had about 10% grain yield advantage over 8203. This variety was released as Okashana 1 in Namibia where it rapidly spread, increasing from about of the total pearl millet area in 1990 to 49% in 1996 (Rohrbach et a\., 1999). Okashana I out yields locals 49% in fertilized field conditions (20 kg N and 15 kg P ha'l) under low and late rainfall, and by 87% under the similar fields when rainfall is moderate or timely. 100 '" 90 ; j 80 E 70 't: I 60 '0 50 g, l!l 40 c: ~ 30 If. 20 10 1989 1991 1993 1995 1997 1999 Year Fig.J: Percentage of pearl millet area The development of hybrid HHB 67 that matures in <65 days remains the greatest landmark in breeding early-maturing pearl millet cultivars. Table I. Effect of sowing time on yield Researchers from CCS Haryana Agricultural Pearl University (CCSHAU) observed that this hybrid, millet ___ ~ ____ ~ __ ~ ______ ~ ____________________ _ selected for high grain yield in a short growing Days to yield than the full-u,cu.u''''o in 75-80 days (Table 1). However, when sowing is delayed due to late arrival of monsoon rains, HHB 67 gives 45-72% 0.93 1.10 75 more yield than the full-season hybrids and farmers to clear their fields in time for the <o"r'<OP(1I1I"·nl winter season crops such as chickpea and mustard [Brassica juncea L.]. In the drier pearl millet zones, early maturity of HHB 67 allows it to escape terminal drought stress that will reduce yields of the full-season cultivars. HHB 67 has gained immense popularity with farmers and is currently estimated to cultivated on more than 0.4 million ha in some of the driest areas of Haryana and Rajasthan. Breeding for high yield combined with earliness and disease has been equally successful in chickpea. For cultivation of kabuli (large-seeded) chickpeas has been confined to cooler areas with longer growing season. ICRISAT developed an extra-early-maturing kllbuli variety, ICCV 2, that flowers in days and matures in 85 days at Patanchel1l (lSoN), India. It combines higher yield potential with and wilt resistance, thus making it adaptable to tropical environments. In the All India Coordinated trials conducted across 13 year x location envirQnments in the southern zone, ICCV 2 gave 25% more seed yield than the control variety L 550, matured 18 earlier, had 25% larger seed size and 12% wilt incidence against Patancheru isolate compared to in L (Table 2). ICCV 2, first in India in 1989 as Swelha, has wide adaptation as evidenced by its performance compared to local varieties and its consequent release as Wad Hamid in Sudan in 1998 and as Yezin 3 in Myanmar in 2000. A survey in 2003 showed that ICCV 2 had replaced 50% of the chickpea area in Myanmar within 3 years of its The success of ICCV 2 has led to the development of several early-maturing and large-seeded kabuli varieties such as ICCV 3, KAK 2, JGK 1, and Villar in A number of early-maturing desi (small-seeded) chickpea varieties have also been released in India. These early-maturing desi and lwbuli chickpea varieties have stimulated the expansion of chickpea area in southern India, with the total chickpea area in the two southern states (Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka) increasing from 189 000 ha to 532 000 ha during the past two decades. Early-maturing chickpea varieties have also made significant impacts in Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat states of India, and also led to significant spillover impacts in and Canada. ~L...JL!J!lli~~~~!!Q!!12r..!!rQ!!lghj~~!J!!~: Morpho-physiological trails have also been used to select lines to droughty environments, although the progress been slow compared to selection for earliness (permits drought escape) and yield per se. A pearl millet study evaluated the effectiveness of panicle harvest index (PNHI grain mass/panicle mass) as a selection in a bi-directional selection program combining ability for high and low PNHI in restorer and maintainer lines (Bidinger et al., 2000). In both selection experiments, the difference between the high and low PNHI selections for combining ability for PNHI and grain yield was generally small (1 % for PNHI and 2% for grain yield) and statistically non-significant when tested in the iIrigated (non-stress) environment, but generally significant and of (5-8% for PNHl and 9~I3% for yield) when tested under the managed stress environments. These results showed that KAK2 L550 1.46 1.15 91 106 37.6 20.8 10 43 71 selection for combining ability for PNHI under terminal stress had little effect on the combining ability of elite nJlrl"ntJlllines under non-stress conditions, but it resulted in a significant difference in their combining ability for PNHI itself and for grain yield under terminal stress. Application of this selection criterion led to the development of an open-pollinated variety rCMV 88904 (released as. ICMV 221 in India) that out yielded the popular open-pollinated variety ICTP 8203 by 15% across 21 trials in nine locations (Witcombe et ai., 1997). ICMV 221 has wider adaptation. on its superior performance for grain yield, especially drought conditions, and downy mildew this variety was later released as KA TIPM 3 in and as KO/1a in Eritrea, both in eastern In root mass was found to be involved in drought avoidance in ICC 4958, while smaller leaf area was the most important drought tolerance trait in ICC 10448 and 5680. Smaller leaf area in ICC 10448 is due to narrow pinnules. and that in ICC 5680 it is due to pinnules (Saxena. 2003). The root qf ICC 4958 was found to be effective in rapid and amount of soil water extraction during the early growth period of the crop coinciding with and early seed filling stages of the crop (Krishnamurthy et aI., 1996). The smaller leaf surface ~rea resulting from fewer pinnules in ICC 5680 effectively reduced transpirational water loss by 30% compared to (Saxena, 2003). Efforts to combine large root traits with smaller leaf area have ,lines (ICCV 98901 to 98907) with large roots and fewer pinnuJes derived from cross ICC 4958 x 5680 that show. greater degree of drought avoidance (Saxena, 2003). 3. Biotechnological Approaches 3.1 Molecular Marker-assisted Selection: Molecular marker-assisted selection is particularly useful for traits are more intractable and have low heritability (e.g., tolerance in pearl millet and chickpea), or for which heritability may be moderate to high but for which relevant selection environment'l may often be difficult to' create and reliably reproduce (DM of pearl millet). This technology is best suited to identify and locate different genes related to a trait and their pyramiding to erthance the level of character expression. Molecular markers for more than 60 quantitative trait' loci (QTL) affecting DM resistance in pearl millet have been identified. Some of these have been used in applied breediI;lg programs. For the vulnerability of hybrid HHB 67 to DM, a marker-assisted backcross succeeded in developing resistant versions of this hybrid and its parental lines that have yield and flowering comparable to HHB but greatly enhanced DM resisrance for the Jodhpur pathotype (Table 3). This breeding tool is now being successfully used at ICRISAT to pyramid DM resistance genes into parental lines of some of the other widely grown commercial hybrids. Molecular markers for terminal drought tolerance have been identified and marker·assisted breeding for drought tolerance in millet has just begun. Significant progress has been made in identifying molecular markers for Fusarium wilt and research is underway to identify such markers for root mass and pod borer (Helicoverpa armigel'll Hubner) resistance in chickpea. marker studies have helped develop a better understanding for Fusarium wilt For instance. it has been found that one of the three genes for to race 1. one of the two genes for resistance to race 4, and the gene for resistance to race 5 are located in the same linkage while the gene resistance to race 0 is not linked to these genes (Ratnaparkhe et aJ., 1998; Tekeoglu et 2000). ICRISAT has developed 257 recombinant inbred lines (RILs) from a cross involving ICC 4958, the avoidant line with high root volume and a highly adapted variety with low root volume. These have been extensively phenotyped for root traits and are now being genotyped with molecular markers to map QTL for root traits. RILs from one cross have been phenotyped for Helicoverpa resistance under unsprayed field conditions, where the leaf have varied from 2.0 to 7.5 (Sharma et aI., 2003). Table 3. Perfonnance of DM resistant versions of hybrid HHB 67 and their oarentallines Hybrid Pedigree (P j x Plt Hybrid perfonnance DM incidence .(%) Grain yield (t ha"l) 50% flower (days) Hybrid PI P ICMH 01107 ICMH 01 129 HHB67 LSD (P =: 0.05) 01027A x lCMR 01007 01027A x ICMR 01004 843A x H 77/833·2 2.6 2.3 1.9 0.76 39 40 41 2.5 4 5 79 24 24 93 54 32 98 3.2 Tissue Culture and Wide Hybridization: Wild species serve as excellent sources of germplasm for resistance to biotic and abiotic stresses. Amongst the problems most in dry areas where the use of wild germplasm can have a major impact on production is HelicoveI1}(/ resistance in as the resistance levels in landraces, breeding lines and varieties appear to low to those in the wild species. Results of a preliminary screening under natural infestation at Manali in Kullu district of Himachal Pradesh, India, showed that perennial wild species like C. microphyllum and C. canariense pod borer damage rating as low as 1, while C. judaicum, reported earlier as a source had a rating of 4, and cultivated chickpea genotypes hal! high leaf and pod of 8.5 and 9 (>70% leaf and/or pod damage). Thus, these two perennial species offer the sources of resistance to Helicoverpa. Wide hyblidization protocols involving annual wild have been developed and successfully used (Mallikarjuna, 1999). The challenge now to develop hybridization and tissue culture protocols to successfully transfer the ",;I,,,,lIllI"','" from these to cultivated chickpeas. The major thrust of this technology at ICRISAT is on including which efficient tissue cultllre regeneration' and genetic transformation protocols have been developed (Jayanand et aI., 2003). Successes have been achieved in plants with resistance to Helicoverpa by using genes derived from the bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt crylAb) and soybean trypsin inhibitor (SBTI). While the molecular characterization and insect are ongoing, the effectiveness of alternative sources of insecticidal genes, including those derived B. thuringiensis (Bt), is currently being evaluated at ICRISAT in collaboration with research partners from CIRAD, France. The first field trial of putative Helicoverpa resistant transgenic chickpea plants is likely to be in 2005. ICRISAT is also involved in developing transgenic chickpeas for tolerance to abiotic stresses such as drought and low temperatures. This is being attempted by llsing the gene a Vigna species that results in overproduction of proline and reduction of free radicals. In another the regulatory sequences from the Drought Responsive Elements (DRE) of Arabidopsis thaliallCl are introduced into chickpea that are presumed to induce native gene expression related to stress response. To make this approach effective, the DREBJA cDNA is driven by a stress-responsive promoter rd29A. Chandra, S. and Mahalakshmi, V. (2000): Genetic improvement of tolerance to terminal drought stress in pearl millet (Pennisetum giallcum (L.) R. Br.).ln Ribaut J-M and Poland, O. Molecular Approachesfor the Genetic Improvemellt of Cereals for Stable Production in Water-Limited Envirollments. Int. Maize and Wheat Improvement Center, Mexico, 59-63. Jayanand, Sudarsanam, G. and Sharma, K.K. (2003): An efficient protocol for the regeneration of whole plants of chickpea (C/cer arie/imrm L.) by using axillary meristem derived from in vitro germinated seedlings. In vitro Cellular & Developmental Biology-Plalll, 39: 171-179. Krishnamurthy, L., Ito, 0., and Johansen, C. (1996): Genotypic differences in root growth dynamics and its implications for drought resistance in chickpea. In Ito, 0., Johansen, C., Adu Gyamfi., J.J., Katayama, K., Kumar Rao, J.V.O.K. and Rego, T.J., DYllamics of Roots alld Nitrogen in Croppillg Systems of the Semi-arid Tropics. JIRCAS Agriculture Series no. 3, Japan International Centre for Agricultural Sciences, Tsukuba, Japan, 235-250. Mallikarjuna, N. (1999): Ovule and embryo culture to obtain hybrids from interspecific incompatible pollinations in chIckpea. Euphylica,110:1-6. Ratnaparkhe, M., A and Muehibauer, FJ. (1998): Inheritance of inter-simpJe-sequence-repeat polymorphism and with a fusarium wilt resistance gene in chickpea. Them: Appl. Genet., 96: 348-353. Rohrbach, D.O., W.R., Jpinge, S.A and Monyo, E.S. (1999): Impact from investments in crop the case of Okashana 1 in Namibia. series no. 4. ICRISAT. Patancheru, Andhra Pradesh, India. pp 43. Rai, K.N., Anand Kumar, Andrews, DJ., Rao, A.S., Raj, A.G.B. and Witcombe, J.R. (1990): Registration of ICTP 8203 pearl millet. Crop Sci. 30: 959. Saxena, N.P. (2003): Management of drought in chickpea-.a holistic ]n: N.P. ed., Management of AgricllllUral Drought-Agronomic alld Gelletic Opliolls. Oxford & IBH Co, Pvt. LId., N.Delhi, India, 103-122. Serraj, R .• Bidinger, F.R., Chauhan, Y.S., Seetharama, N., Nigam. S.N. and (2003): Management of drought in ICRISAt'g cereal and legume mandate crops. III: J.W., R. and Molden. D. eds., Water Productivity ill Agriculture: Limits alld Opportunities.for Improvement. Wallingford, UK: CABI, Sharma, H.C., Gowda, C.L.h, Shanna, K.K., Gaur, P.M .• Mallikarjuna. N., Buhariwalla, H.K. and Crouch, J.H. (2003): Host-plant resistance to pod borer, Helicoverpa armigera in chickpea. In Shanna, R.N., Shrivastava, G.K., Rathore, A.L., Shanna, M.L., and Khan. M.A.. Chickpea Research for tile Millennium: Proc. IntI. Chickpea Conf., 20-22 Jan. 2003, Indira Gandhi Chhatishgarh, India, 118-137. Tekeoglu, M., Tullu, A., Muehlbauer, FJ. (2000): Inheritance and linkage of two genes that confer resistance to fusarium wilt in chickpea. Crop Sci., 40: 1247-[251. Witcombe, J.R., Rao, M.N.V.R., Raj, AG.B. and Hash, C.T. (1997): Registration of 'rCMV 88904' pearl millet. Crop Sci .. 37: 1022-1023. 

Development of crop cultivars for increased and stable production in dry lands of the semi-arid tropics

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Development of crop cultivars for increased and stable production in dry lands of the semi-arid tropics

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