New Projects with Government of Karnataka
Integrated genomics-assisted breeding for efficient development of superior finger millet varieties for Karnataka
Principal Investigator: Stefania Grando
Period: 2016-2018
Investor: Govt of Karnataka
Synopsis: Finger millet is an important dryland crop. Major constraints to production include blast disease, shoot fly, stem borers and abiotic stress such as drought and low soil fertility. Moreover, finger millet is often cultivated in semi-arid areas where it is also affected by drought. The project will develop comprehensive genomic tools for finger millet in the form of a high-density finger millet haplotype map and identification of substantial number of loci potentially important for finger millet production and improvement. These loci linked to traits of interest (in form of associated genes/QTLs) will provide insights into the genetics and expression of traits for more accurate marker-assisted breeding.
Harnessing the power of genetics and genomics for enhancing rabi sorghum productivity in Karnataka state
Principal Investigator: Stefania Grando
Period: 2016-2018
Investor: Govt of Karnataka
Synopsis: The project envisages to use advanced sorghum genomic, genetic and crop management resources for enhancing rabi sorghum productivity in Karnataka State. Following are the project objectives:
- Accelerated breeding for development of shoot fly resistant and post-flowering drought tolerant rabi sorghum cultivars
- Development of genetically diverse locally adapted superior breeding and pre-breeding material for sustainable long term varietal development.
- Capacity building through targeted training programs for trait based genomics applications for varietal development.
Improving popular groundnut varieties for foliar disease resistance and high oleate trait using genomics-assisted breeding approach and multi-location testing of MABC lines for varietal release in Karnataka state of India
Principal Investigator: Manish Pandey
Period: 2016-2018
Investor: Govt of Karnataka
Synopsis: The project aims to develop resistance against late leaf spot and rust and improve oil quality in popular cultivars of Karnataka by developing and deploying user-friendly genetic markers. The development of such improved breeding lines upon release and cultivation will reduce dependence on costly and hazardous fungicides in groundnut and will also ensure availability of good quality oil for human consumption.
Genomics-assisted breeding for high yielding and climate resilient pigeonpea varieties/hybrids and promotion of best suitable cultivars for food and nutritional security in Karnataka state of India
Principal Investigator: Rachit Saxena
Period: 2016-2018
Investor: Govt of Karnataka
Synopsis: The project is aimed at utilizing the new genomics and molecular breeding approaches for developing high yielding and climate resilient pigeonpea cultivars in the region for providing breakthrough in the pigeonpea productivity. Resistance to Fusarium wilt and sterility mosaic disease have been targeted as priority traits that have direct relevance and are likely to have immediate impact on pigeonpea productivity in the state.
Development of climate resilient chickpea varieties using genomics-assisted breeding and promotion of best suitable cultivars for food and nutritional security in Karnataka state of India
Principal Investigator: Mahendar Thudi
Period: 2016-2018
Investor: Govt of Karnataka
Synopsis: The project envisages to develop improved lines with enhanced resistance to both drought and Fusarium wilt and identify genomic regions for dry root rot resistance. It will utilize the available genomic tools (mainly genome sequence) for identification of molecular markers for mapping the QTL regions for drought tolerance as well as Fusarium wilt resistance and identify candidate genes that can be used for cloning for trait improvement.
In addition, it is envisaged that by the end of the project period about 50-60 % chickpea production area will be grown with improved chickpea cultivars.
Source: ICRISAT Happenings
