ICRISAT Global Planning Meeting 2019: Research Program – Asia by Dr Pooran Gaur and Team

Research Program - Asia
Pooran Gaur
on behalf of RP-Asia Team

Research Program - Asia
(1) Crop Improvement
(2) Integrated Crop Management
(3) Plant Quarantine Unit
(4) ICRISAT Development Centre
(5) Farm and Engineering Services
Pooran Gaur
Mamta Sharma
Rajan Sharma
Sreenath Dixit
Suresh Pillai

Chickpea Pigeonpea Groundnut
Legumes
Cereals
Sorghum Pearl millet Finger millet
Crop Improvement

Refining Product Concepts and ensuring alignment of Crop Breeding
efforts to Product Concepts
Consultations with multi-disciplinary teams of
stakeholders to refine Product Concepts

Modernization of crop improvement programs to accelerate genetic gain
Crop Asia South
Asia
India
Chickpea 2.32 2.53 2.50
Groundnuts 2.37 4.48 4.53
Millet 2.57 2.24 2.36
Pigeonpea 0.65 1.02 1.02
Sorghum -0.50 -2.91 -2.95
Estimating genetic gain……
Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR)
for yield during past 10 yrs (2008-2017)
0.75% genetic gain per annum in
pearl millet parents
2.14
2.44
2.23
2.36
3.08
1.47
0.00
0.50
1.00
1.50
2.00
2.50
3.00
3.50
MeanGrainyield(tha-1
Year of development
Sorghum B-lines for
Grain Yield
2.62
3.03
3.49
2.06
0.00
0.50
1.00
1.50
2.00
2.50
3.00
3.50
4.00
MeanGrainyield(tha-1)
Year of development
Sorghum SFR B-lines
for GY
Genetic gain of 1% per annum for grain yield
in Sorghum B-lines
0.75% genetic gain for pod
yield in Spanish Bunch
groundnut lines
We will work closely with
“ICAR-BMGF Project on modernization of
Indian Crop Breeding” for estimating
genetic gains

Crop
Number of generations
Field
Controlled
environment
Chickpea and groundnut 3 4
Sorghum, pearl millet and
Finger millet
2 4
Pigeonpea – Photo-thermo
sensitive
1 1
Pigeonpea – photo-thermo
insensitive (Super early)
2 3
Accelerating Genetic Gains through Rapid Generation Turnover (Speed Breeding)
Current status
Protocol developed for taking 6 generations per year in chickpea
Target
up to 6
generations
per year
+

Accelerating Genetic Gains by improving Selection Accuracy
Marker-assisted selection of traits for which validated markers
are available
 drought tolerance in chickpea
 FW and Sterility mosaic disease resistance in pigeonpea
 foliar disease resistance and high oleic acid in groundnut
 drought tolerance and shoot fly resistance in sorghum
 drought tolerance and downy mildew resistance in pearl
millet
Groundnut lines bred using markers for
high oleic and resistance to LLS and rust
are advanced stages of testing for release
in 2019Chickpea variety ICCV 10 with QTL-hotspot MABC line

Genomic Selection (GS)
 Chickpea: GS initiated in partnership with IARI
 Groundnut & Pearl millet: Genomic prediction
models developed
Prediction accuracies:
• Days to bloom: 0.88; Plant height: 0.72
• 100 grain weight: 0.74; Grain yield: 0.51
GS prediction accuracies for different traits
in pearl millet hybrid breeding program
Trait Prediction accuracy
Days to 50% flowering 0.562 to 0.851
Days to maturity 0.254 to 0.815
100-seed weight 0.792 to 0.912
Grain yield 0.138 to 0.606
GS prediction accuracies in chickpea from
different models and environments

• High throughput precision phenotyping
Managed environments
Near Infrared Reflectance Spectroscopy (NIRS)
and Energy-Dispersive X-ray Fluorescence
Spectrometry (XRF) for nutritional quality
traits.
• Efficient experimental designs and
statistical analysis
Spatial analysis, Partially replicated designs,
Multi-environment Trial (MET) analysis, Pedigree
BLUP, etc.

Making hybrid breeding program more efficient by exploiting
information on heterotic gene pools and quality control
Heterotic groups identified in
pearl millet
• Heterotic gene pools identified in pearl millet and pigeonpea
• The information is being used in development of new set of hybrid
parental lines and hybrids. In pearl millet, hybrids developed based
on heterotic gene pools gave 10% higher yield then the best hybrids.
• DNA fingerprinting of parental lines/hybrids for quality control

Vijayapura
Dharwad
Jaipur
Ludhiana
Sehore
Rahuri
Palanpur
Raniwada
Jodhpur
Bhubaneswar
Badnapur
Parbhani
Akola
Vizianagaram
Peddapuram
Ranichauri
Almora
Alwar
Early generation testing in Target Population of
Environments (TPEs)

Mainstreaming nutritional quality traits in crop breeding
 First biofortified Pearl Millet variety,
Dhanshakthi grown in ~50,000 ha.
 First biofortified Sorghum variety,
Parbhani Shakthi released in 2018 in
India
 Studies on seed localization of Fe
and Zn are in progress in sorghum.
Vice Chancellor of VNMKV-Parbhani and the DG-ICRISAT
releasing Parbhani Shakthi on 5th July 2018
R2 of 0.98 for phytates R2 of 0.94 for polyphenols
• Enhanced protein content in chickpea and
pigeonpea
• Enhanced iron and zinc content in all crops
• Required genetic variability available.
• High throughput phenotyping (XRF and NIRS)
standardized for pearl millet, sorghum and
groundnut and being standardized for the remaining
crops.
Phytate and polyphenols in grain strongly chelate minerals including Fe and Zn,
and thereby reducing their bioavailability

New traits in crop breeding pipelines
Water logging in pigeonpea Red grain sorghum Heat sensitive Heat tolerant
Machine harvestable chickpea
Herbicide tolerance in chickpea
• Labor-saving traits: Machine harvestability and herbicide
tolerance in chickpea
• Adaptation to climate change and new growing conditions:
Heat tolerance in chickpea; water logging tolerance in
pigeonpea; and lodging tolerance in pearl millet.
• Forage quality: In Vitro Organic Matter Digestibility (IVOMD)
in sorghum and pearl millet (partnership with ILRI).
• Market-preferred traits: Red gain sorghum for brewing and
animal feed.

Improving operational efficiencies
• Enhancing mechanization, automation and digitization
• Implementing Breeding Management System (BMS)
 already in use; historical data to be migrated
• Cold stores – refurbished
 Short-term Cold Stores (12-16 0C): 545 m2
 Medium-term Cold Stores (4 0C): 178 m2
• Establishing a Seed Processing Unit
• Implementing Seed Inventory Management System

Enhancing partnerships with private sector
• Hybrid Parent Reseach Consortium – several new members
• Food processing industries – MARS, PRAN Agro (Bangladesh),
FRYO Industries
• Service providers - Intertek (SNP), Rapid phenotyping (hand-
held NIRS with EiB), Waite lab (Australia).
• Modernizing Pearl millet breeding program – Corteva with EiB

Enhancing cross-regional collaborations in crop improvement
• Sharing knowledge and breeding materials
• Participation of scientists from all regions in Crop-wise
Scientists’ Meet/Field Days organized at Patancheru
• Developing and sharing standard operating procedures
for crop breeding and testing
• Technical backstopping in aflatoxin diagnostics
• Characterization of pest and pathogen population
• Sharing/establishing phenotyping facilities
• Developing joint research proposals in the areas of
common research priorities

Research Priority for ICM
Priority Chickpea Pigeonpea Groundnut Sorghum Pearl millet
Finger
millet
1 Dry root rot
Pod borer
Fusarium wilt
Pod borer
Aflatoxin
Leaf spots
Shoot fly
Fall army worm
Blast
Downy mildew Blast
2 Fusarium wilt Phytophthora blight
SMD
Maruca
Stem rot Grain mold
Charcoal rot
Stem borer
Rust
3 Ascochyta blight
Collar rot
Dry root rot
Pod fly
Collar rot Anthracnose
Leaf Blight
Ergot
Smut
4 Botrytis grey mold Rust
Integrated Crop Management (ICM)

Developing early detection systems for pests & diseases
F. oxysporum f sp. ciceris & R. bataticola in chickpea
• Monitoring and real time surveillance of pests & diseases
 Tracking prevalence & movement of insect pests & diseases
 Artificial intelligence and machine learning to increase the
large scale monitoring at farm-level
• Determining diagnostic wavelengths & development of aerial
sensors
• Loop mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) assay for visual
detection pathogens from infected plants & soil
• NGS based detection of viral pathogen
Fall armyworm affected area around
the Globe as on 31st Dec 2018

Climate change and plant protection
• Climate change facilities to study the effects of climate variability on host x pathogen
interactions
• Identification and mapping of risk zones for emerging diseases/insect-pests under
climate change scenarios
• Host–insect-pests/pathogens interactions in relation to simulated climate variables
• Weather-based prediction models for timely management of diseases/insect-pests
Center of Excellence on climate change research for plant protection to develop pest
and disease management for climate change adaptation
Climate change facility @ ICRISAT

Advances in host plant resistance
Precision phenotyping
• Identification of resistant sources for emerging diseases and
insect-pests
• Multi-location evaluation at hot spots to identify stable resistance
Effectromics
• Identify effectors and host gene functions in H×P interactions
Induced systemic resistance (ISR)
• Identify PGPR/ metabolites and chemicals to induce SAR
Mechanism of disease resistance
• Proteomics/metabolomics/transcriptomics to understand host x
pathogen/pest interactions
Wilt sick plot
DM screening

Wilt sick plot
Growth chamber
• Sequencing and re-sequencing of pathogens and beneficial microorganisms
• Allelic variation of candidate genes encoding effectors and pathogenicity
related proteins
• Mapping of soil microbiome (pathogenic and beneficial) and their
exploitation in sustainable plant health
• Development of genomic resources for plant pathogens
WGS-Fusarium oxysporum f sp ciceris
Microbial imprinting
Functional classification of differentially expressed transcripts of Foc.

Wilt sick plot
Growth chamber
Microbes for IPM, BNF and biofortification
• Designer microbial consortia for target pests/pathogens
• Emphasis on metabolite and semio-chemical based plant protection
• New bioagents with broad spectrum efficacy such as actinomycetes
• High nodulating and N2 fixing rhizobia and diazotrophic bacteria
• PGPR assisted biofortification Cyclo(Trp-Phe)
Citrinin
O
O
O
CH3O
O
O
HO
HO
RO
OHO
O
O
O
CH3O
HO
7
2
4
2' 4'
R=H, Judaicin-7-O-glucoside
Iso-flavonoids in wild chickpea Cicer judaicum
R= malonyl, Judaicin-7-O-malonylglucoside

Plant Quarantine Unit
Detection and Diagnostics
• Use of non-invasive techniques for seed-borne pest detection
(Videometer seed analyzer, Soft X-ray analysis)
• Nucleic acid based detection (NGS based detection of seed-
borne viral pathogens)
Quality Management System (QMS)
• Standard Operating Procedure (SOPs) - Eight SOPs for PQU
activities
• Working instructions for equipment
• Use of barcode for capturing the seed health test data
Salvaging
• Identify more effective fungicides for seed treatment
Capacity building
• Organize Phytosanitary awareness programs
• Impart training to National and International Plant Quarantine
staff in collaboration with NIPHM
Videometer seed analyzer
Healthy seeds
Insect infestation

ICRISAT Development Center (IDC)
- Undertaking large-scale uptake of science backed technologies

Current Research & Development Projects with IDC
Type of projects Number Target Indian states Interventions
Government funded
R&D projects
9 UP, Odisha, Karnataka,
AP
Soil-water-nutrient-crop
management;
Mechanization, M&E
CSR projects 12 Karnataka, Telangana,
MH, AP, Odisha
Rainwater harvesting &
watershed management
Research Projects
(SDC, Newton
Bhabha, FAO, MoES)
4 Karnataka, AP, UP, MH,
CG, Odisha
Water balance studies,
Crop modelling, crop
insurance, management of
rice-fallows, etc
Number of projects : 25; Total value US$ 31.3 million

• Holistic approach to benefit smallholder farmers
• Integrate the outputs from research across the whole value chain (soil
and water management, improved cultivars and production technologies,
climate smart production systems, post-harvest management and value
addition, etc).
• Serve as a self-sustaining business model, attracting funding from
corporates and other development investors.
• Work with a range of R&D partners, focusing on trust building through
transparency & accountability, and mutual learning and capacity building.
• Making efforts to enhance collaborations with other programs in ICRISAT,
ICAR Institutes and SAUs.
• Serve as a platform to capture lessons learnt
• Provide feedback into ICRISAT’s research programs to support problem
solving and demand-driven research.
• Further develop the science of scaling-up/out through lessons learnt.
Focus areas/strategies of IDC

Recent developments/upgrades
Micro-sick plots for transgenic researchGroundnut Hybridization block
Farm and Engineering Services
Upgrade of Seed Stores Cold Rooms
500Kw Rooftop Solar power Rooftop waterproofing

Fabrication of Machineries
Planter for CAZRI Tractor operated Tropicultor Peanut stripper Easy planter
Plastic Mulching cum Drip
Lateral Laying Equipment
Plot Threshers for African locations
Upgrade of Machineries
Upgrade of planters with new
ALMACO Metering units

Development/upgrade of research facilities and purchase of new
farm machineries
• Development of RGT growth chambers & glasshouses.
• Upgrade and automation of existing glasshouses
• New machineries to enhance quality and efficiency of farm operations
Auto-steer tractors; Laser land levelers; Precision pneumatic planters
Self-propelled high clearance sprayer; Laser bird repellant
Infrastructure development/upgrade
• Replacement of sheet & truss-work 308 Crop-work area roofing
• Covered structure over Maingate and upgrade of Visitors room
• Enhancement of vehicle parking spaces: 2-wheeler & 4-wheeler
• Upgrade of ESH & OSSH houses
• Additional solar power plant – 1.0 Megawatt (on availability of funds)
• New residential facilities
Future proposed plans for FES

ICRISAT Global Planning Meeting 2019: Research Program – Asia by Dr Pooran Gaur and Team

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