International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics
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Participatory mapping of irrigation schemes in Tanzania, Mozambique and Zimbabwe and their value for multi-level learning
Get PDFThis paper analyses the capacity of participatory mapping as a multi-level learning process to identify and overcome current barriers to productivity within small-scale irrigation schemes. The analysis is based on thirteen smallholder irrigation schemes in Tanzania, Mozambique, and Zimbabwe, where farmers, project officers and other key stakeholders participated in informal mapping teams to map the schemes. Critically, participatory mapping translated problems generally known by stakeholders into problems that were publicly known, making their resolution a shared responsibility. Hence, problems identified at both the scheme and plot levels led to immediate responses by the farmers, irrigator organizations, and government departments, boosting farmers’ agency and confidence and renewing their sense of scheme and plot ownership. It is important that irrigation agencies prioritize participatory processes and the use of informal networks to improve farmers’ understanding of their resource and management challenges and to build their sense of ownership and responsibility for effective management of irrigation schemes
Improved pearl millet genomes representing the global heterotic pool offer a framework for molecular breeding applications
Get PDFHigh-quality reference genome assemblies, representative of global heterotic patterns, offer an ideal platform to accurately characterize and utilize genetic variation in the primary gene pool of hybrid crops. Here we report three platinum grade de-novo, near gap-free, chromosome-level reference genome assemblies from the active breeding germplasm in pearl millet with a high degree of contiguity, completeness, and accuracy. An improved Tift genome (Tift23D2B1-P1-P5) assembly has a contig N50 ~ 7,000-fold (126 Mb) compared to the previous version and better alignment in centromeric regions. Comparative genome analyses of these three lines clearly demonstrate a high level of collinearity and multiple structural variations, including inversions greater than 1 Mb. Differential genes in improved Tift genome are enriched for serine O-acetyltransferase and glycerol-3-phosphate metabolic
process which play an important role in improving the nutritional quality of seed protein and disease resistance in plants, respectively. Multiple marker-trait associations are identified for a range of agronomic traits, including grain yield through genome-wide association study. Improved genome assemblies and marker resources developed in this study provide a comprehensive framework/platform for future applications such as marker-assisted selection of mono/oligogenic traits as well as whole-genome prediction and haplotype-based breeding of complex traits
Combining sub-surface fertigation with conservation agriculture in intensively irrigated rice under rice-wheat system can be an option for sustainably improving water and nitrogen use-efficiency
No full textContext: The rice-wheat cropping system in the Indo-Gangetic plains (IGP) of South Asia has been shown to have higher productivity. However, this benefit is offset by the unsustainable over-drafting of groundwater resources.
Given the growing scarcity of water, it is imperative to investigate alternative crop establishment and irrigation
methods that do not rely on the conventional puddled transplanting method (PTR). Objective: This study aims to assess the impact of combining conservation agriculture-CA with sub-surface drip irrigation-SSD referred to as CA+, at different nitrogen (N) doses on physiological performance, crop yield, irrigation and nitrogen use-efficiency, as well as farm profitability of rice in the north-western IGP of India. Method: A two-year field experiment was conducted to assess the effects of medium-term CA and the combination
of CA with SSD (CA+) at three levels of N (0%, 75%, and 100% of the recommended dose), in comparison to PTR using recommended dose of nitrogen-RDN (120 kg N ha-1). Indicators of crop growth (under CA, CA+), i.e., biomass, grain yield, water-use, water-use efficiency (WUE), nitrogen-use efficiency (NUE), and economic analysis of rice production were evaluated and compared with PTR. Result: The results revealed that the PTR plots produced 15% and 11% higher grain yield than CA and CA+ systems, respectively, even at 100%RDN, due to a significantly higher number of fertile tillers. However, the application of 100%RDN and irrigation through SSD resulted in a significant increase in nitrogen uptake (4.5%) and remobilization (7.5%) into the grain compared to PTR. The CA+ plots demonstrated a reduction in irrigation water usage by 1.5 and 2 times compared to the CA and PTR systems, leading to a respective increase in WUE by
1.6% and 1.8%. PTR exhibited highest net returns, while the CA+ treatment– SSD-N100 achieved the highest benefit-cost ratio. Conclusion: The combination of CA with SSD at 100%RDN offers significant benefits, including notable water
saving, improved WUE, NUE and crop yield. This integrated approach presents a promising solution to address the pressing issues of food security and sustainability arising from water scarcity and groundwater depletion in South Asia.
Future implication: There is a need to increase awareness among farmers about the benefits of CA coupled with
SSD i.e., CA+ , for water-intensive rice-based systems. Additionally, further research should focus on identifying ideal rice cultivars suitable for CA+ systems and determining the optimal specifications for drip lines and emitter discharge rates for diverse water-scarce agro-ecological conditions
Transforming tribal communities in Telangana, India, into strategic business enterprises — a paradigm for inclusive growth
Get PDFGlobal food systems are failing both people and the planet due to overarching interconnected challenges, including climate change, natural resource depletion, biodiversity loss, malnutrition, food insecurity, gender inequality and preventable ill-health, all of which are exacerbated by the fragmentation of food systems and policy incoherence. Here, we present innovative interventions that have addressed critical bottlenecks in the transformation of food systems, with a case study on linking entrepreneurship with agriculture and nutrition/health via a convergence model in a select tribal locale of India
Understanding Soil Carbon and Phosphorus Dynamics under Grass-Legume Intercropping in a Semi-Arid Region
Get PDFAn integrated forage-legume cropping system has immense potential to address the issue of land degradability. It provides a critical understanding of the capacity of diversified species mixes vs. monocultures to boost forage production and the dynamics of soil organic carbon (SOC) and phosphorus (P). In this study, we assessed the performance of Napier Bajra Hybrid (NBH) (Pennisetum glaucum × P. purpureum) + cowpea (Vigna unguiculata) and tri-specific hybrid (TSH) (P. glaucum × P. purpureum × P. squamulatum) + cluster bean (Cyamopsis tetragonoloba) as compared to monocultures of NBH and TSH. The legume equivalent yield of NBH + cowpea and TSH + cluster bean intercropping systems were found −31% and −23% higher than monoculture systems. The SOC increased by −5% in the NBH + cowpea system as compared to NBH monoculture. The carbon mineralization rates under NBH + cowpea and TSH + cluster bean were −32% and −38% lower than the NBH and TSH monoculture cropping systems, respectively. It was found that the legume intensification with the forage significantly improved the soil’s P status. The research suggested that coalescing diverse crops (e.g., grass and legume) poses enormous potential for sustaining soil health and productivity in semi-arid regions of India. This study advances the research on characterizing the crucial factors of grass-legume-based cropping systems and helps in assessing the impact of these factors on long-term sustainability
Copper removal capability and genomic insight into the lifestyle of copper mine inhabiting Micrococcus yunnanensis GKSM13
No full textHeavy metal pollution in mining areas is a serious environmental concern. The exploration of mine-inhabiting microbes, especially bacteria may use as an effective alternative for the remediation of mining hazards. A highly copper-tolerant strain GKSM13 was isolated from the soil of the Singhbhum copper mining area and characterized for significant copper (Cu) removal potential and tolerance to other heavy metals. The punctate, yellow-colored, coccoid strain GKSM13 was able to tolerate 500 mg L−1 Cu2+. Whole-genome sequencing identified strain GKSM13 as Micrococcus yunnanensis, which has a 2.44 Mb genome with 2176 protein-coding genes. The presence of putative Cu homeostasis genes and other heavy metal transporters/response regulators or transcription factors may responsible for multi-metal resistance. The maximum Cu2+ removal of 89.2% was achieved at a pH of 7.5, a temperature of 35.5 °C, and an initial Cu2+ ion concentration of 31.5 mg L−1. Alteration of the cell surface, deposition of Cu2+ in the bacterial cell, and the involvement of hydroxyl, carboxyl amide, and amine groups in Cu2+ removal were observed using microscopic and spectroscopic analysis. This study is the first to reveal a molecular-based approach for the multi-metal tolerance and copper homeostasis mechanism of M. yunnanensis GKSM13
Antixenosis & antibiosis mechanisms of resistance to the pod borer, Helicoverpa armigera in pigeonpea cultigens and hybrids
No full textThe noctuid pod borer, Helicoverpa armigera, is one of the most important pests of pigeonpea, and host plant resistance is an important component for minimizing the extent of losses caused by this pest. To develop insect resistant cultivars and hybrids, it is important to understand the contributions of different components of resistance, and therefore, we studied the antixenosis and antibiosis mechanisms of resistance to H. armigera in a diverse array of pigeonpea genotypes (prominent cultivars and hybrids) using leaf, flower, and pod bioassay’s, under no-choice and multi-choice conditions. Antixenosis for oviposition was observed in case of ICPH 3461, ICPL 332 WR, BSMR 853, ICPH 3762 under no-choice, and multi-choice conditions. Whereas, above-mentioned genotypes exhibited higher levels of antibiosis and can be used as sources of non-preference mechanism of resistance in pigeonpea improvement programs to breed for resistance to H. armigera
Farm to fork: An overview of millet supply chains in India
No full textIn the second post of the e-Symposium on ‘Carrying forward the promise of International Year of Millets’, Kumar, Das and Jat discuss the potential to increase cultivation of millets, and outline some of the factors contributing to low demand for millets, despite effects to increase awareness about their nutritional benefits, They highlight the need for coordinated efforts between various stakeholders to make millets affordable for consumers and economically viable for farmers, and suggest four strategies to promote production and create demand for millets
Molecular and Morphological Characterization of Introgression Lines with Resistance to Bacterial Leaf Blight and Blast in Rice
Get PDFThe present study evaluates marker assisted forward breeding (MAFB)-derived disease resistant introgression lines (ILs) which do not have the targeted resistance genes for bacterial blight (xa5 + xa13 + Xa21) and blast (Pi2 + Pi9 + Pi54). The ILs were derived in the background of two elite
rice cultivars, Krishna Hamsa [Recurrent Parent 1 (RP1)] and WGL 14 (RP2), involving multi-parent inter-crossing. Molecular characterization with gene specific markers for seven reported resistance genes each for bacterial blight (Xa33, Xa38, xa23, Xa4, xa8, Xa27 and Xa41) and blast (Pi1, Pi20, Pi38, Pib, Pitp, Pizt and Pi40) revealed the presence of xa8 and Xa38, in addition to the targeted xa5, xa13
and Xa21 for bacterial blight resistance and Pi1, Pi38, Pi40, Pi20, Pib and Pipt, in addition to the targeted Pi9 and Pi54, for blast resistance in various combinations. A maximum of nine resistance genes xa5 + Xa21 + Pi54 + xa8 + Pipt + Pi38 + Pi1 + Pi20 + Pib was observed in RP1-IL 19030 followed by eight genes xa5 + xa13 + Xa21 + xa8 + Pi9 + Pipt + Pi1 + Pi20 in two RP2-ILs, 19344 and 19347. ANOVA revealed the presence of significant variability for all the yield traits except “days to 50% flowering” (DFF). Box plots depicted the seasonal differences in the phenotypic expression of the yield traits. There was significant positive association of grain yield with days to flowering, tiller number and panicle number. Thousand grain weight is also significantly and positively correlated with grain yield. On the contrary, grain yield showed a significantly negative association with plant height. Multi-parent selective inter-crossing in the present study not only led to the development of high yielding disease resistant ILs but also enhanced recovery of the recurrent parent via selection for essential morphological features. More than 90.0% genetic similarity in the ILs based on SNPbased
background selection demonstrated the success of multi-parent selective intercrossing in the development of disease resistant NILs
Is there any relationship between gender inequality and nutrition? Experience from India
No full textPresently gender inequality and women's nutrition are the most concerning area of any development policy. Recent empirical evidence emphasizes that gender inequality decreases over time and the on the other hand percentage of overweight (OW) and obesity for women, especially in developing countries, increases over time. However, the relationship between these two phenomena (gender inequality and obesity) has rarely been investigated. Using time series yearly data (1990–2016) from the Nutrition Landscape Information Systems (NLiS) database of World Health Organisation (WHO) for India, we apply standard time series analysis including break test, stationarity test, cointegration test, and vector error correction model (VECM) to estimate the relationship between gender inequalities and percentage of females OW and obese. Our results show that there is a long-run relationship between these variables. Moreover, we also find that a decrease in gender inequality influences the increase in the number of females under OW and obese. In conclusion, the findings of this study reveal that, while elevating the position of women in society may be an important step toward combating the epidemic of OW and obesity, strategies must also tackle unhealthy habits that promote obesity