When science and industry synergize to develop better crops

Setting priorities for research in hybrid pearl millet, sorghum and pigeonpea in India

Over 70 participants from 40 public and private sector institutions recently discussed and selected the highest research priorities to develop hybrid parents and hybrids of sorghum, pearl millet and pigeonpea

The following are the some of the key takeaways and recommendations distilled from their discussions.

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• Greater attention required towards the A₁ Zone (West Rajasthan, South Haryana and North Gujarat; <400 mm annual rainfall) comprising almost 50% of cultivated area for pearl millet in India to address both food and nutritional security. –Dr C Tara Satyavathi, Project Coordinator, AICRP-Pearl Millet
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• Different traits and preferences required in sorghum for diverse growing ecologies in rainy/post-rainy/rice-follows etc., with special emphasis on end-use specific breeding. –Dr C Aruna, Principal Sorghum Breeder, IIMR
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• 70% of millet area in India is now under hybrids. Also, the pigeonpea program must invest on high-density planting and farming systems for production to scale up. –Dr RS Mahala, Chairman of Advisory Committee-HPRC
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• Since success of pearl millet hybrid technology has not yet been demonstrated in Africa, it is a great opportunity for pearl millet breeders and seed –Dr Peter Carberry, Director General, ICRISAT
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• High demand for fodder requirement in India necessitates stronger collaborations between
  ICAR, ICRISAT and the seed industry to develop
  multi-cut sorghum and pearl millet cultivars. –Dr Vijay Kumar Yadav, Director, IGFRI
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• ICRISAT and NARS partners should focus on early to mid-early pigeonpea cultivars, with higher emphasis on C scarabaeoides-based cytoplasmic male sterility females. –Dr IP Singh, Project Coordinator, AICRP-Pigeonpea
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• Current trends and future needs in pearl millet, sorghum and pigeonpea three crops emphasizing the future focus for research – Dr C Aruna, Dr Pushkar Vaidya, Dr Satyavathi, Dr Virendra Singh Deora, Dr IP Singh and Dr Bijendra Pal.
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• Focus on addressing grain mold, shoot fly and Fall Armyworm challenges in sorghum
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• Improving blast resistance, lodging tolerance, and developing better breeding products for drought-prone environments in pearl millet
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• Hybrid development using stable sources of CMS and strengthening of seed production systems in pigeonpea.

The meeting was held on 23 January 2020 at ICRISAT, Hyderabad

 ator, AICRP-Pearl Millet updates the participants on pearl millet hybrid developments at the meeting. Photo: PS Rao, ICRISAT