Program Highlights1
A brief update of recent program strategies, activities, and accomplishments
Genetic resources and enhancement
A lead genetic resources scientist was transferred to Zimbabwe to catalyze an initiative on conservation and on-farm management of agrobiodiversity in Africa. Regional genebanks holding landraces and improved breeding material adapted to the continent are being planned at Niamey for groundnut and pearl millet; at Bamako (or Kano) for sorghum in West and Central Africa; at Nairobi for pulses; and at Bulawayo for all mandate crops except chickpea. These banks will conserve, regenerate, distribute, evaluate, use, and document African genetic resources held in trust by ICRISAT.
An MOU was signed and a material transfer agreement format was defined to facilitate the exchange of germplasm between the USA and ICRISAT.
Core collections have now been defined for sorghum, chickpea and groundnut. Progress was also made in the development of a core collection of pearl millet.
Databases for descriptors of germplasm collections of sorghum, millet, chickpea, pigeonpea, and groundnuts were enhanced and added to the Systemwide Information Network for Genetic Resources (SINGER) initiative. An on-line crop information system was created, providing web access to agronomic trait data on over 36,000 accessions of sorghum and 17,000 accessions of chickpea. Systems for online pedigree management of elite parental lines, and a tutorial on sorghum improvement were created. An accelerated effort was agreed with the NARS of India, ICAR, to restore a copy of Indian FAO-designated germplasm to the new ICAR genebank in Delhi.
A new international staff position was created and filled to initiate an Applied Genomics Laboratory at Patancheru headquarters. New polymorphic markers were identified or mapped in groundnut, sorghum, and chickpea. Progress was made in characterizing genetic variability of pathogens and monitoring their virulence in diseases affecting pearl millet, pigeonpea, and chickpea. Downy mildew resistance gene candidates in pearl millet were isolated and mapped. Putative quantitative trait loci (QTL) for drought/heat tolerance and stover quality were also identified.
A protocol for producing transgenic “Spanish” type groundnuts was successfully tested. Several groundnut transformants carrying the coat protein gene of Indian peanut clump virus have been generated and are being tested in the glasshouse, where 40% of the putative transgenic plants have tested positive for the inserted genes. This frequency appears to be the highest reported in the groundnut crop. A transformation protocol for pigeonpea to incorporate novel genes is in the final stages of development. Considerable progress has been made in protocols for sorghum tissue culture and genetic transformation. New Bt toxins have been tested satisfactorily against cereal stem borers.
Construction of a P2-level quarantine greenhouse for testing of genetically transformed plants was completed. The facilities and procedures used in transgenic research at ICRISAT comply with international standards. All transactions such as the import, development and use of GMOs are cleared officially through the Government of India. Any field testing of these transgenic plants would only be attempted if permission is granted by the Government of India.
In pest/disease diagnostics and resistance breeding, resistances to head bug and midge insects of sorghum were combined. Components of resistance to pod borers in pulses were elucidated. New sources of disease and insect resistance were observed for cultivated chickpeas and groundnuts, and in wild Arachis, Cicer, and Sorghum species. Progress was made in resistance screening techniques for sorghum grain mold; in the quantification of resistance to late blight in groundnut; and in the development of a cost-effective diagnostic tool for aflatoxin contamination of groundnut. The causal virus of pigeonpea sterility mosaic, a disease causing in excess of US $ 90 million worldwide, was characterized after 25 years of research at ICRISAT.
In physiology research, selection criteria for terminal drought tolerance and seedling heat tolerance were tested in pearl millet. Research in crop residue quality (fodder value) was begun in pearl millet and sorghum in close collaboration with ILRI.
In developing adapted genepools, progress continued in broadening the genetic base of the mandate crops in both Asia and Africa. Over the past quarter century, nearly 400 improved plant cultivars derived from ICRISAT breeding populations have been released by national institutions worldwide, delivering significant benefits to the overwhelmingly poor smallholders that cultivate these under-researched crops.
Natural resources management
Simulation modeling was used to devise a range of potential treatments for participatory on-farm research in four agroclimatic areas in Zimbabwe and Malawi. It is focusing on combining soil fertility (integrated nutrient and soil organic management) with water conservation techniques.
ICRISAT research in both Southern and West Africa confirmed that hill placement of as little as 4 kg of P fertilizer can double yields of sorghum and millet farmers in the SAT and increase incomes by 30-50%.
Analyses of soil samples from a 16-year Vertisol (heavy black clay) watershed experiment at Patancheru, India suggested that pigeonpea-based systems sequester more carbon in the top 0-15 cm layer than other crop alternatives, improving biological, chemical, and physical properties of the soil.
An Asian Development Bank-funded watershed project in Asia was launched at five sites in India, Thailand, and Vietnam. Participatory watershed-scale development and crop research activities form the focus of the project. A simple, inexpensive terrain mapping tool for watershed development was successfully tested on-farm.
Boron (B) deficiency was identified as a major yield constraint for grain legumes in the inner Terai region of Nepal. On-farm trials confirmed large yield responses (40-360%) of chickpea and mustard to B-application.
An improved method for making rice straw compost suitable for a village-level enterprise was introduced in India. It significantly decreased composting time and increased yields by 19% after 3 years.
In the Kalakani region of Mali, large-scale
on-farm trials involving a disease-resistant groundnut variety, a limited use of fungicide
(2 applications), and a doubling of planting density multiplied pod yields by a factor of
four and improved animal feed quality (disease free haulm), resulting in at least 50% net
increase in income.
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1. Detailed Program annual reports are available online here. Hard
copies can be obtained upon request by writing to Distribution Services, Public Awareness
Unit, ICRISAT, Patancheru 502 324, Andhra Pradesh, India or by email request to imailist@cgiar.org. Please indicate the Program of
interest.
