Feb

Breeding must keep pace with emerging diseases in pulses

As climate variabilities increase, this has led to a change in the number and types of diseases that afflict pulses. To overcome the onslaught of diseases such as dry root rot in chickpea and phytophthora blight in pigeonpea, it is important to start breeding new varieties. Other gaps such as developing forecast models and ensuring the transfer of technology to poor farmers must also be filled.

By Dr Mamta Sharma, Senior Scientist – Legumes Pathology, Grain Legumes, International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), India.