School of Crop Improvement

School of Crop Improvement :
Disciplines :

+ Genetics and Plant Breeding

+ Plant Molecular Biology and Biotechnology


Background :

          With rapid increase in population and urbanization, there will be a need to increase productivity by nearly 50% by 2050. Despite being the hub for crop biodiversity, increasing crop productivity per unit resources in the NEH region remains a challenge. The fragile ecosystem of NE region makes this region a challenge to identify and address agricultural issues of both regional and national interest. The fact that, 80% soils of this region are acidic (pH in the range of 4-5) and receives heavy rainfall, makes the issues pertaining to increasing productivity more complex. To meet these demands it is necessary that researchers from different specialized areas like genetics, breeding, molecular biology and biotechnology work together towards sustainable solution to achieve the target.

Issues and Strategy :

>> Rice is the main crop grown during Kharif season throughout the region. The region is still not self-sufficient in rice production. There is a need to develop input use efficient varieties which are better suited to the needs to the farmers (who grow this crop mostly organically, with minimal input). Varieties which are able to better utilize the low phosphorus and tolerate high level of iron, aluminum, manganese; etc under acidic soil conditions will be needed. Markers associated with tolerance to these nutritional deficiencies and toxicities as well as other abiotic stresses like cold and low light will help in breeding varieties suitable for the region. Several biotic stresses like blast as well as blight also cause severe damage. It would imperative to have durable disease resistant varieties with multiple resistance gene combinations. For leaf blast, more than sixty genes are reported in rice but neck blast is just beginning to be understood. These will be some of the key areas of research in rice. Moreover, indeginous specialty rices with micronutrients and aroma are popular in this region. Most of these specialty rices are bold seeded with aroma and many a times with red or purple colour. Breeding strategies to enhance yield potential of quality rice will be needed. This would require characterization of the germplasm with respect to key traits and molecular markers, development of breeding populations with an aim to increase yield, quality traits and resistance to insects and pests. The aim would be to have certain specialty rices with desired traits and associated markers available, so that these rices can be grown and maintained and maybe sold for premium prices. The markers associated with the varieties will be used for maintaining seed stock quality as well as for DNA fingerprinting.

>> Maize is another major crop of this region, which is primarily used as animal feed. Though many maize hybrids have been released in the past, there is a need to have hybrids suitable to the special agro-geo needs of the NEHR. This includes tolerance to aluminum toxicity, water logging, etc, and resistance to various diseases like turcicum blight, etc. The maize hybrids that need to be developed will have to be good yields as well as enriched in key amino acids to act as suitable animal feed. The markers already available for some of the traits like QPM, turcium blight can be used for initial selection and identification of suitable parents, however, a sustainable maize development programme would require, a thorough characterization of all the released hybrids and available markers. There is a need to develop new markers tagged to new hybrids that will be generated to meet the needs of the region.

>> In the rabi season, in most of the states of NEHR, majority of the land remains fallow. There is an urgent need to use the land available during the rabi season for cultivation of crops like rapeseed mustard (both for vegetable and oil production), lentil, linseed, peas, etc. The oilseed and pulse production will not only make the resource-poor farmer self sufficient but also provide nutritional security. Though the efforts in this direction have already started, there will be a need to make sure that growing of a rabi crop becomes part of the agricultural practice. This will require introduction of varieties which are tolerant to acidic soil, short duration, requiring less water, etc. A well thought molecular breeding approach will expedite this process to achieve early results. Research on transgenic pulses, mustard having resistance to insect, pests, etc and their introduction will also help in achieving the target.

>> There are many plant species like pungent chillies, ginger, turmeric, tree bean, Khasi mandarin, chow-chow, etc, indigenous to this region (this being one of the biodiversity hotspots) which will need to be better conserved and utilized. Development of markers for early selection, varietal identification, barcoding, etc would play a crucial role in targeted utilization of such crops. Many of these crops and several others which are widely cultivated in this region lack quality planting material. Micro propagation can be used to generate good quality planting material in large numbers and these can then be distributed to farmers for cultivation.

>> Organic produce can bring about the much required financial security to the farmers of the NEH region. However, with low crop productivity and intensity in the region, the benefits of high value organic produce may be negated. Organic farming essentially requires no use of inorganic inputs for soil amelioration, disease and pest control, and soil fertilization. Although organic options for the purposes are available, ensuring their large scale production and availability is a challenge. In this scenario, development and deployment of crop varieties that are genetically Input- use efficient, biotic and abiotic stress tolerant and widely adaptable would prove to be an economically viable and sustainable option. In this endeavour, the several initiatives taken up by Central Agricultural University, Imphal in terms of basic and applied research to enhance crop productivity in the NEH region, will have to be scaled and multiplied to have fruitful gains.

>> Farmer participatory breeding and selection can be taken up with promising varieties in all the crop species discussed above for quick and successful dissemination of technology.

>> Human resource development in the field of Crop Improvement would remain a primary focus to meet the demands of research. Students will have to be trained in the area of modern breeding, basic molecular techniques, tissue culture so that they can meet the demands of agriculture as well as understand and utilize new emerging technologies. The region and nation will require not only dedicated research workers but also entrepreneurs who would be willing to take up the emerging challenges in the agriculture sector.