International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics
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Technology, infrastructure and enterprise trade-off: Strengthening smallholder farming systems in Tamil Nadu State of India for sustainable income and food security
Get PDFThe complexities of smallholder farming systems pose a challenge in demonstrating the potential benefits or risks of new
technologies and policies. Using Integrated Analysis Tool, a rule-based dynamic simulation model, this study tried to
improve the performance of major farming systems in the Tamil Nadu State of India. Amongst the four major farming
systems viz. Black gram-based (BFS), Paddy-based (PFS), and Integrated Farming Systems (IFS) in Villupuram district
and Dryland Farming System (DFS) in Virudhunagar district, IFS was found to be the most profitable and resilient
based on their performance simulated for a 3-year rotation. Setting IFS as a benchmark, potential interventions were evaluated
under other farming systems to improve their relative performance. The analysis allowed understanding the interactions
in smallholder farming systems and the potential impact of interventions in a whole farm way considering the cash
flows, cost intensity, and input-output trade-offs. While multi-bloom technology in black gram increased the net profit of
BFS without much stress on input and labour, area expansion under rainfed groundnut incurred high expenditure.
Trading-off paddy with maize and groundnut significantly increased the net profit of PFS but replacing sugarcane with
tapioca and turmeric was not remunerative. Improved livestock management practices have substantially increased the
net profit of DFS wherein crop yield could not be enhanced substantially without the prospects of good irrigation infrastructure.
The irrigation endowed PFS has achieved 90% performance, whereas the water-starved BFS and DFS could
achieve only 65% performance of IFS. We conclude that agricultural policy must not only focus on potential interventions
that are profitable but also consider what is acceptable to the farmer, considering synergies and trade-offs between competing
resources at the farm level
Genetic variation for grain protein, Fe and Zn content traits in chickpea reference set
No full textChickpea is a cheap source of protein and micronutrients to the poor people living in arid and semi-arid regions of Southern Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa. Chickpea varieties with improved nutrient content contribute towards reducing malnutrition resulting from protein and micronutrient deficiency. The current study evaluated a diverse chickpea reference set of 280 accessions for grain protein, Fe and Zn contents traits to understand the genetic nature of these traits in relation to grain yield and other yield contributing traits for two years under normal crop season. Analysis of variance revealed highly significant differences among the accessions for grain nutrients and agronomic traits. Large variability for grain protein (16.3–26.2%), Fe (44.1–76.7 mg k
A superior gene allele involved in abscisic acid signaling enhances drought tolerance and yield in chickpea
Get PDFIdentifying potential molecular tags for drought tolerance is essential for achieving higher crop productivity under drought stress. We employed an integrated genomics-assisted breeding and functional genomics strategy involving association mapping, fine mapping, map-based cloning, molecular haplotyping and transcript profiling in the introgression lines (ILs)- and near isogenic lines (NILs)-based association panel and mapping population of chickpea (Cicer arietinum). This combinatorial approach delineated
a bHLH (basic helix–loop–helix) transcription factor, CabHLH10 (Cicer arietinum bHLH10) underlying a major QTL, along with its derived natural alleles/haplotypes governing yield traits under drought stress in chickpea. CabHLH10 binds to a cis-regulatory G-box promoter element to modulate the expression of RD22 (responsive to desiccation 22), a drought/abscisic acid (ABA)-responsive gene (via a trans-expression QTL), and two strong yield-enhancement photosynthetic efficiency (PE) genes. This, in turn, upregulates other downstream drought-responsive and ABA signaling genes, as well as yield-enhancing PE genes, thus increasing plant adaptation to drought with reduced yield penalty. We showed that a superior allele of CabHLH10 introgressed into the NILs improved root and shoot biomass and PE, thereby enhancing yield and productivity during drought without compromising agronomic performance. Furthermore, overexpression of CabHLH10 in chickpea and Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) conferred enhanced drought tolerance by improving root and shoot agro-morphological traits. These findings facilitate
translational genomics for crop improvement and the development of genetically tailored, climate-resilient, high-yielding chickpea cultivars
Assessment of Phenotypic and Genotypic Diversity in Elite Temperate and Tropical Sweet Sorghum Cultivars
No full textSweet sorghum is one of the many types of cultivated sorghums and is a promising multipurpose biofuel feedstock. The objective of this study was to assess phenotypic and genotypic diversity among 75 selected diverse sweet sorghum genotypes available at ICRISAT-Patancheru. Genotyping-by-sequencing generated 135,162 SNPs having minor allele frequencies > 0.20. Cluster analysis grouped the genotypes into three distinct clusters, with some of the sweet sorghum lines falling in distinct clusters. This grouping pattern was in conformity with available race and pedigree information. Mean performance and analysis of variance for sugar yield-related traits shows considerable variability. The results also revealed close genetic relationships between elite genotypes such as ICSV 25316, ICSV 25311, SSV 74 and ICSV 25300 that are superior for various sugar yield-associated traits like plant height, biomass, juice yield and sugar content. Not surprisingly given their pedigrees, these elite materials grouped together tightly in a single sub-cluster
Identifying potential zones for rainwater harvesting interventions for sustainable intensification in the semi‑arid tropics
Get PDFDecentralized rainwater harvesting (RWH) is a promising approach to mitigate drought in the drylands. However, an insufficient understanding of its impact on hydrological processes has resulted in poor resource planning in this area. This study is a meta-analysis of 25 agricultural watersheds representing a range of rainfall and soil types in the semi-arid tropics. Rainfall-runoff-soil loss
relationship was calculated at daily, monthly and yearly levels, and the impact of RWH interventions on surface runoff and soil loss was quantified. A linear relationship was observed between daily rainfall and surface runoff up to 120 mm of rainfall intensity, which subsequently saw an exponential increase. About 200–300 mm of cumulative rainfall is the threshold to initiate surface runoff in the Indian semi-arid tropics. Rainwater harvesting was effective in terms of enhancing groundwater availability (2.6–6.9 m), crop intensification (40–100%) and farmers’ incomes (50–200%) in different benchmark watersheds. An average of 40 mm of surface runoff was harvested annually and it reduced soil loss by 70% (3 ton/ha/year compared to 1 ton/ha/year in non-intervention stage. The study further quantified runoff at 25th, 50th and 75th percentiles, and found that more than 70% of the area in the Indian semi-arid tropics has high to medium potential for implementing RWH interventions
Managing Geographical Indications: Challenges and Opportunities
No full textThe Indian government has been making strenuous efforts recently to promote indigenous goods, encourage development and manufacturing of local products. Through initiatives like “Make in India” and “Vocal for Local”, Indian government has highlighted and brought in forefront the need for developing indigenous products, and this is where Geographical Indications can play an important role. There is a massive scope for our Indian Geographical Indications in making “Atmanirbhar Bharat”. This chapter emphasizes on the importance of geographical indications to showcase India’s potential in traditional knowledge and a plethora of cultural relics; challenges and opportunities in developing a framework for management of geographical indications post registration.
(a)
Existing system setup for management of GIs and challenges in existing system.
(b)
Challenges faced by the Indian GI holders and GI Authorised users to multiply the production quantities while maintaining required standard qualities.
(c)
Opportunities for various stakeholders in the GI ecosystem to nurture the GI communities, artisan groups, farmer groups and GI holders.
(d)
An overview of agricultural GIs in southern part of India.
(e)
Role of supporting entities such as government bodies and NGOs in making the GI system setup business conducive.
(f)
Initiatives and suggestions for the supporting entities to leverage the impact of GI Registration
The location of iron and zinc in grain of conventional and biofortified lines of sorghum
Get PDFSorghum is an important source of dietary iron (Fe) and zinc (Zn) in parts of Africa and India, but there is a need
to increase their concentrations to meet dietary requirements. Grains of a genetically biofortified sorghum line (Parbhani Shakti) had higher concentrations of Fe and Zn than a control line (M35-1). Analysis at the tissue level
by histochemical staining and at the cellular level using NanoSIMS showed that both minerals are concentrated in the aleurone layer and in the scutellum of the embryo, with Zn also being concentrated in the embryonic axis. However, NanoSIMS showed that “hot spots” of 56Fe+ and 64Zn+ were also present in the sub-aleurone and starchy endosperm cells. Most of these hot spots also contained 31P16O+ indicating that the Fe and Zn are present as phytates, as in the aleurone and scutellum cells. Low concentrations of 56Fe+ and 64Zn+ were also observed in the protein matrix of these cell
Genome-wide association mapping of nutritional traits for designing superior chickpea varieties
Get PDFMicronutrient malnutrition is a serious concern in many parts of the world; therefore, enhancing crop nutrient content is an important challenge. Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.), a major food legume crop worldwide, is a vital source of protein and minerals in the vegetarian diet. This study evaluated a diverse set of 258 chickpea germplasm accessions for 12 key nutritional traits. A significant variation was observed for several nutritional traits, including crude protein (16.56–24.64/100 g), β-Carotene (0.003–0.104 mg/100 g), calcium (60.69–176.55 mg/100 g), and folate (0.413–6.537 mg/kg). These data, combined with the available whole-genome sequencing data for 318,644 SNPs, were used in genome-wide association studies comprising single-locus and multi-locus models. We also explored the effect of varying the minor allele frequency (MAF) levels and heterozygosity. We identified 62 significant marker-trait associations (MTAs) explaining up to 28.63% of the phenotypic variance (PV), of which nine were localized within genes regulating G protein-coupled receptor signaling pathway, proteasome assembly, intracellular signal transduction, and oxidation–reduction process, among others. The significant effect MTAs were located primarily on Ca1, Ca3, Ca4, and Ca6. Importantly, varying the level of heterozygosity was found to significantly affect the detection of associations contributing to traits of interest. We further identified seven promising accessions (ICC10399, ICC1392, ICC1710, ICC2263, ICC1431, ICC4182, and ICC16915) with superior agronomic performance and high nutritional content as potential donors for developing nutrient-rich, high-yielding chickpea varieties. Validation of the significant MTAs with higher PV could identify factors controlling the nutrient acquisition and facilitate the design of biofortified chickpeas for the future
Genetic engineering approaches for insect resistance in major agricultural crops
No full textDue to rising population in emerging countries, where agriculture is the driving engine for broad-based economic growth, cropland availability is dwindling. In developing countries, this leads to food insecurity and malnutrition. Simultaneously, biotic stresses, namely pests, are substantial contributors to crop output losses. Because of the complicated genetic makeup and paucity of available resistant genes in essential crops, the use of biotechnology technologies in pest management is critical. This makes conventional breeding difficult, and pesticide use has the
potential to harm natural enemies, humans, and animals. To control insect pests, genetic engineering provides an alternative and effective technique. We cover how Bacillus thuringiensis Cry toxins, vegetative insecticidal proteins (Vip), proteinase inhibitors (PIs), plant lectins, RNAi, and CRISPR/Cas9 can be used to manage insect pests sustainably in this chapter
Assessing the impact of varietal resistance and planting dates on pest spectrum in chickpea
Get PDFThe cotton bollworm Helicoverpa armigera [Hübner (1808)] is one of the most widely spread pest which limits the chickpea production, while the beet armyworm, Spodoptera exigua (Hübner, 1808) has emerged as a serious pest in recent years, in southern India and parasitic wasp Campoletis
chlorideae Uchida, 1968 is an important larval parasitoid
which naturally manages both pests under field condition. Insecticides adoption leads to development of resistance in pod borer. In view of climate change scenario, the focus of the present studies was the identification of climate resilient cultivars of chickpea for pod borers and the results reveled, that there were significant variations in the level of eggs and larval population among the genotypes. Across seasons, the crop sown in October recorded the maximum number of eggs. ‘ICC 3137’ had the highest number of H. armigera eggs (11.6) across seasons. ‘JG 11’, (6.3) in 2012 and’ ICCV 10’ (3.6) in 2013 recorded the lowest number of H. armigera eggs. During 2014-15, the maximum(80.7) H. armigera larval incidence was observed in October sown crop and the lowest (21.1) in January crop. The number of S. exigua larvae were substantially higher in the December crop. For all seasons, the highest number of C. chlorideae
were found in October crop. Across seasons, multiple
regression analysis for both pest had a strong interaction with weather patterns