Bold Grains Research Articles

RELEASE OF NEW HIGH YIELDING MUNGBEAN VARIETY BAHAWALPUR-MUNG-17; SUITABLE FOR PUNJAB ESPECIALLY IN SOUTHERN PUNJAB (PAKISTAN)

Bahawalpur-Mung-17 was developed through a cross between VC-3726 an exotic line received from AVRDC, Thailand, and NM-36 which was a locally advanced line with the bold grain. Bahawalpur-Mung-17 was tested in a series of experiments for production technology and yield performance at the Regional Agricultural Research Institute, Bahawalpur and farmers’ fields in Yazman, Rahim Yar Khan, Hasilpur, Bahawalpur with average yield of 1465 Kg ha-1 coupled with N:P: K dose at the rate of 23:34:25 Kg/ha gave maximum yield when planted in row-to-row distance of 45cm apart. Bahawalpur-Mung-17 yielded among all candidate lines included in the National Uniform Yield Trial (NUYT)-2013 and 2014 with an average yield of 1020 and 1028 Kg ha-1 respectively at 15 locations across the country, with the highest grain yield of 1380 Kg ha-1 at AZRI-Bahawalpur during 2013 and 2475 Kg/ha at NIAB-FSD. Bahawalpur-Mung-17 outclassed, among 18 candidate lines in 2013 and 14 candidate lines in 2014 across the country, and stood on top of the victory stand. Punjab Seed Council approved it for general cultivation in Punjab. Bahawalpur-Mung-17 gave 26 % more yield than check NM-2011 in 2013 and has 8.43 % more yield and potential than best check AZRI MUNG-2006 and NM-2011 and showed moderately resistant to disease Mungbean Yellow Mosaic Virus (MYMV) at maturity, morphologically different from existing mung bean varieties (light green) and drought resistant.

THE IMPACT OF SEED SIZE ON INITIAL DROUGHT STRESS RESILIENCE AND YIELD IN WHEAT CULTIVATION

Wheat yield is affected severely by drought in this era of changing climate patterns, including high temperatures and altered precipitation patterns. Drought is among the most challenging environmental stressors, limiting wheat cultivars' growth, productivity, and performance. The current study was conducted during the rabi season 2022 at the Research Area, Department of Agronomy, University of the Punjab, Lahore, Pakistan. Therefore, the present study evaluated the potential of diverse seed sizes to advance wheat crop growth, development, and yield when subjected to different drought levels. The study comprised two experiments. The first was a lab experiment that included different drought levels (DL), DL0: 0.0 bar, DL1: -2 bar, DL2: -4 bar, and DL3: -6 bar (drought levels were induced by solutions of PEG-6000 at different concentrations) and three wheat seed size classes, i.e., bold grain (>38 g), medium grain (<33 g), and small grain (<25 g). In the field experiment, drought stress levels were DL0 (regular irrigation), DL1 (first irrigation at 30 days), DL2 (first irrigation at 45 days), and DL3 (first irrigation at 60 days). Seed sizes included W1 (bold >38 g), W2 (medium <33 g), and W3 (small <25 g). Drought severity increased with DL1 to DL3. The outcomes of the field experiment revealed that varying levels of drought stress and seed size classes significantly affected parameters such as emergence time, growth traits, biomass allocation, tiller count, plant height, and grain and biomass outcomes. Bold seeds contributed to higher biomass and grain yield, while severe drought decreased yields. Notably, the Harvest Index was affected, indicating bold seeds allocate more biomass to grains. In conclusion, proper seed size selection, favouring bold seeds, can enhance resilience to drought, benefiting wheat cultivation in water-scarce regions.

Development of genetically modified rust resistant wheat: A breakthrough by dinted introgression of novel DREB2C and HSFA2 genes under stress induced expression

Wheat is a major staple food worldwide yet numerous yield limiting agents affect its productivity. Stripe rust is a major culprit in this context and efforts have been made to culminate this pathogen using conventional as well as advanced innovative techniques. Transgenic technology is of significant importance in this context and numerous success stories are evident to prove its worth. In the current study, two novel genes HSFA2 and DREB2C were expressed in an elite wheat genotype Akbar, Fakhre-e-Bhakhar under constitutive CAMV35S promoter and stress inducible rd29 Promoters. The shoot cut method was used for the Agrobacterium-mediated transformation and putative transformants were selected on kanamycin 50 mg/L. The resultant transformants were tested through PCR for transgene integration whereas expression analysis was carried out through realtime qPCR. Expression of both of the aforementioned genes was found to be higher under rd29 promoter as compared with transgene(s) expression under CAMV35S promoter. In the bioassay, transgenic wheat plants demonstrated significant tolerance to stress, exhibiting only minor spotting under constitutive expression conditions. Upon exposure to stress, these plants showed exceptional resistance to stripe rust, producing large, bold grains compared to individual trait expressions and negative controls. Subsequently, the DREB2C gene was knocked out to determine if stripe rust control was specifically attributed to this gene. Following the knockout, the onset of stripe rust was comparable to that of the negative control. This led to the conclusion that pyramiding the DREB2C gene with HSFA2 through dual expression represents a novel and highly effective strategy for controlling the widespread stripe rust in wheat. This approach also offers resistance to high temperatures (above 32 °C) from the pollination stage through to maturity.

Nuclear integration of MYB36 and APX-1 genes impart heat tolerance in wheat.

Elevated temperatures during grain filling stage, exceeding the optimal range by 3-4°C, not only results in a substantial yield reduction in wheat by 10-50% but activates disease and insect infestation. In this research, we introduced heat-tolerant MYB36 and APX-1 gene cassettes into wheat, employing an efficient Agrobacterium mediated transformation protocol, demonstrating higher transformation efficiency. The study encompassed the assembly of MYB36 and APX-1 gene cassettes, and confirmation of gene products in Agrobacterium, followed by the transformation of the MYB36 and APX-1 genes into wheat explants. We were able to select transgenic plant with various combinations. The transgenic plants with APX-1 gene alone produced medium sized grain and spike whereas with both APX-1 and MYB36 genes expressed individually under SPS and rd29a promoter respectively showed good tolerance to heat at 32oC at grain filling/milking stage and produced relatively bold grains. While non-transgenic plants grains were wrinkled with thin spike showing susceptibility to heat. This research contributes to the broader scientific understanding of plant stress responses and the combined effectiveness of MYB36 and APX-1 genes in crop improvement without disturbing normal nutritional values. The gene integration can serve as a valuable tool in breeding programs aimed at developing heat-tolerant wheat varieties. These findings also advance our comprehension of the functions of heat-induced genes and lay the foundation for selecting optimal candidates for in-depth functional studies of heat-responsive MYB36 and APX-1 genes in wheat.

Performance of Biofortified Spring Wheat Genotypes for Grain Zinc and Iron Concentrations, Grain Yield and Associated Traits in Terai/plains of Nepal

Breeding for nutrient-rich high yielding wheat varieties is one of the most economical and feasible ways to improve micronutrient deficiency ad hoc building better consumer health among the rural people of South Asia. To identify the Zinc (Zn) and Iron (Fe) enriched high yielding wheat genotypes, 7th Harvest Plus Yield Trial (7th HPYT) and 8th Harvest Plus Yield Trial (8th HPYT) both composed of 50 genotypes (including two CIMMYT checks " Kachu#1" and "Baj#1" and one Local Check "Gautam") were evaluated in alpha lattice design with 2 replications under timely sown irrigated condition at NWRP, Bhairahawa during 2016/17 and 2017/18. The grain Zn concentration and Fe concentration varies among genotypes from 23.8 to 42.4 ppm and 20.6 to 60.6 ppm, respectively. The highly significant positive correlation was found between grain zinc and iron concentration (r = 0.74** in 7th HPYT and r=0.67** in 8th HPYT). This highly positive significant relation between grain Zn and grain Fe indicates that it is feasible to simultaneously improve both micronutrients. In addition, this study reveals that thousand grains weight (TGW) has shown highly significant positive correlation (r = 0.3) with grain zinc and (r=0.4) with grain iron in 7th HPYT to non-significant negative correlation (r = -0.1) with grain zinc and (r=-0.1) with grain iron in 8th HPYT. As Nepali farmers major trait of interest second to grain yield is TGW, this showed that Zn and Fe enriched wheat varieties with higher TGW (bold grain) is feasible. The 9 genotypes in 7th HPYT and 48 genotypes in 8th HPYT showed higher grain yield than local check variety "GAUTAM" which indicates that bio-fortified genotypes are capable of producing higher grain yield with added micronutrient supplements in them. This study recommended 17 genotypes from the 7th HPYT and 38 genotypes from the 8thHPYT based on higher grain yield, grain Zn and Fe concentration and these lines were included in national yield trial for further evaluation in different agro-ecological domain of Nepal. The genotypes with higher grain Zn and Fe concentration viz., 7HPYT409, 7HPYT410, 8HPYT417, 8HPYT404 and 7HPYT442 could be used as donor parents in national wheat breeding program and high yielding genotypes 7HPYT448, 7HPYT418, 7HPYT426, 7HPYT413, 8HPYT415, 8HPYT431, 8HPYT429, 8HPYT407 and 8HPYT405 would be further evaluated throughout the Terai region of Nepal, and outstanding genotype could be recommended as variety for Terai/plains of Nepal.

Effect of tertiary processing on physical, optical, phytochemical as well as rheological properties of high-protein rice.

The first high-protein rice variety of India, CR Dhan 310, developed at ICAR-NRRI, Cuttack is being selected for the study. It contains 10.1% protein in milled rice as compared to 6-7% protein content in the milled rice of any other normal variety. It has intermediate amylose content (25.1%), medium bold grains rich in protein (10.1%) The significant changes in properties of raw and parboiled rice on processing were studied at statistical differences of p ≤ 0.05. These properties included physical, optical, antioxidant and rheological properties which changed with different processing techniques. All the three processes namely, puffing, popping and flaking increased the dimensions as compared to the raw rice. Peak viscosity measurements demonstrated the breakdown of starch molecules, with white rice having the greatest value (4145 cP) and popped rice having the lowest value (2017 cP) as a result of the starch granules being gelatinized during the production of popped rice. Highest anthocyanin content (2.93 mg/100 g) was observed in puffed rice, phenolic content (347.93 mg/100 g) was highest in popped rice and flaked/flattened rice showed highest flavonoid content (127.12 mg/100 g) indicating that tertiary processing of rice obtained higher values of phytochemicals when compared to the plain high-protein rice. This indicates that the processed products of rice can be consumed directly as ready-to-eat or can be used in preparation of other functional foods to combat malnutrition and build nutritional security. The study indicates that processing could improve the nutritional quality of the rice products.

DRR Dhan 65 (IET 27641) – A High Yielding Low Soil Phosphorous Tolerant and Climate Resilient Rice Variety Developed from Wild Introgression Lines

The wild species of Oryza are an important source of genetic variability for the improvement of yield and tolerance to biotic and abiotic stresses. Phosphorus (P) is the second most important key nutrient, vital for plant growth and development at all stages. Phosphorous deficiency is one of the factors limiting rice yields and farmer’s profitability so it is necessary to identify genotypes with stable yield and tolerance to P deficiency. Keeping in view the unlimited potential of wild species for yield enhancement and stress tolerance, interspecific population between Oryza rufipogon in the back ground of Oryza sativa genotype KMR3 was developed by advanced back cross breeding strategy. DRR Dhan 65 (IET 27641) (RP Bio 4919-B-B NSR86) is an interspecific wild introgression line, a derivative of KMR 3 / O rufipogon with short bold grains which is high yielding under both normal and low soil phosphorous conditions. It has seed to seed maturity of 130- 135 days and gives an average yield of 6.5 t/ ha (under normal conditions; 60 kg/ha of P, i.e., recommended dose) and 4.7 t/ ha (under low Phosphorus; 40 kg/ha of P). It was released for cultivation in Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Maharashtra states through Central Sub-committee on Crop Standards, Notification and Release of Varieties for Agricultural Crops vide S.O. 4065(E) dated 31st August, 2022 [CG-DL-E-31082022-238490].

Panicle Architecture in Enhancing Grain Yield in Rice (Oryza sativa L.)

The architecture of the rice panicle is a crucial focus in breeding for both high yield and quality. It stands as a significant agronomic trait that influences the number of grains per panicle, playing a direct role in contributing to the overall yield of rice grains. Unravelling the genetic basis of panicle architecture is crucial for improving the grain yield in rice. In this study, the panicle architecture traits were meticulously dissected into five distinct components viz., number of primary rachis, number of secondary rachis, grain number on primary rachis, grain number on secondary rachis and total grain number. These components were systematically phenotyped in F2 and F3 population derived from a cross between DRR Dhan 48 and Maudamani. ‘DRR Dhan 48’ is a biofortified elite fine grain medium slender grain type cultivar with high zinc (22 ppm in polished rice) and low glycemic index (51.1). It has resistance to bacterial blight with the incorporation of xa5, xa13 and Xa21 in the background of Improved Samba Mahsuri. ‘Maudamani’ is a high yielding cultivar with high grain number and short bold grain type. Analysis of variance, histograms and boxplots revealed highly significant variation for the studied traits. Grain number in F2 population ranged from 29 to 333 grain with a mean of 162.72 whereas in F3, its varied from 49 to 368 with a mean of 184.17. Correlation analysis revealed significant correlation among the studied traits. The continuous variation observed in the population for panicle traits indicates that genetic control is governed by multiple minor loci. The presence of superior transgressive segregants highlights a complementary gene action influencing panicle architecture traits. The present investigation on panicle architecture offers scope for improving rice varieties and creating new germplasm resources and provides valuable information for further unravelling the genetic basis determining rice panicle architecture.

Yield enhancement and grain vis-à-vis malt quality of barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) genotypes as influenced by clipping and foliar application of zinc

Barley is mostly grown under rainfed condition on poor to marginal soils having deficit soil moisture and zinc (Zn) deficiency, which limits the barley productivity and grain quality. Zn spray could improve the productivity and grain quality in these soils. Therefore, this two-year field study was conducted to assess the influence of barley genotypes and clipping stages vis-à-vis Zn foliar application in barley productivity and grain quality. The experiment consisted of three barley genotypes; DWRUB 52, PL 807, and PL 426 and five clipping management; control, clipping at 50 d after sowing (DAS), clipping at 60 DAS, clipping at 50 DAS and ZnSO4 foliar spray @ 0.5% at anthesis + early milk stages and clipping at 60 DAS and ZnSO4 foliar spray @ 0.5% at anthesis + early milk stages. Barley genotype PL 426 showed in maximum lodging, protein content and yield, grain hardness, and husk content, while, DWRUB 52 gave the highest grain yield, Zn content, starch content, hectoliter weight, and bold grain proportions. Foliar spray of ZnSO4 @ 0.5% at anthesis + early milk stages significantly enhanced the grain yield of 12.5 and 12.7% with clipping at 50 DAS and 9.0 and 8.8% with clipping to 60 DAS than control crop during the first and second year, respectively. Zn content, protein content and yield, bold grains, and diastatic power were significantly improved over control with these treatments. Zn foliar application in combination with clipping may be opted to maximize the barley productivity, Zn concentration, and grains quality.

Phenotypic diversity among finger millet (Eleusine coracana (L.) Gaertn.) landraces of Nepal

Finger millet (Eleusine coracana (L.) Gaertn.) is the fourth most important crop in Nepal having multiple benefits but is still neglected by mainstream research and development. The main option to boost its productivity is developing superior varieties through enhanced use of germplasm in breeding programmes. With the objective of enhancing utilization of landraces conserved ex situ, a total of 300 finger millet accessions collected from 54 districts were characterized in three hill locations of Nepal for two consecutive years (2017–2018). Nine qualitative and 17 quantitative traits were recorded, and combined mean data were subjected to multivariate analysis to assess agromorphological diversity. Shannon–Weaver diversity indices (H') showed high diversity (0.647–0.908) among the accessions for qualitative traits except for finger branching and spikelet shattering whereas high diversity (0.864–0.907) was observed for all quantitative traits. The first five principal components (PC) explained 61.8% of the total phenotypic variation with two PCs explaining 37.5% variation mainly due to flowering and maturity days, plant height, flag leaf length, grain and straw yield, ear weight, ear exsertion and number of fingers per head. Genotypes were grouped into four clusters with 16, 66, 107 and 111 accessions based on quantitative traits. The correlation between the traits indicated that accessions with early flowering, tall plants, long leaves, high tillers, large ears and bold grains could be given priority for further evaluation in multiple locations. Potential landraces identified for each trait could either be deployed to wider areas as varieties or used as trait donors in finger millet breeding.

Parental Polymorphism Survey for Identifying Genes/QTLs for BPH Resistance in Assam Land Race 10-3

The current research was taken up at Institute of Biotechnology (IBT), PJTSAU, Hyderabad Telangana, India in kharif from August to November, 2021 to access the parental polymorphism between 10-3 and Telangana Sona. 10-3, an Assam landrace, is a bold grain rice variety with high BPH resistance to biotype-4. Whereas, Telangana Sona (RNR 15048) is a short and slender grain variety of rice that is popular among farmers and consumers across Telangana and other Indian states due to its high yield and low glycemic index. Despite being blast resistant, Telangana Sona is susceptible to the insect pest Brown Plant hopper (BPH) Nilaparvata lugens (Stål). The present study aimed to characterize the parental polymorphism between 10–3 and Telangana sona to facilitate mapping of genetic loci linked with BPH resistance in the 10–3 and to optimize the retention of favourable alleles from Telangana sona during marker assisted backcross breeding. Eight hundred and sixteen highly variable Simple Sequence Repeats (SSRs) including thirty-five BPH linked markers covering 12 chromosomes were used to assess DNA polymorphism between 10-3 and Telangana Sona. Out of 816 markers screened, 97 (11.89%) were found to be polymorphic between 10–3 and Telangana Sona of which, 82 were genomic SSRs and 15 were BPH linked markers. Chromosome 6 exhibited highest polymorphism percentage with a value of 30%, indicating that this chromosome is useful in studying parental variation and lowest polymorphism percentage found on chromosome 5 (3.49%). These 97 polymorphic markers will help in construction of linkage map for identifying QTLs linked with BPH resistance and for marker assisted backcrossing breeding in Telangana Sona.

Selection parameters for improving grain yield of bread wheat under terminal heat stress

Improving terminal heat tolerance is an issue of top priority in wheat breeding in the present era of climate change. Present study was carried out to identify the association among traits of economic importance under terminal heat stress environment. The grain yield/sq. meter under terminal heat stress environment recorded highly significant positive correlation both at genotypic and phenotypic level with grain weight/spike, number of spike/sq. meter, harvest index and 1000-grain weight in both the crop seasons. Path coefficient analysis carried out using genotypic correlation coefficients revealed that days to heading contributing maximum positive direct effect towards grain yield under terminal heat stress environment followed by grain filling duration. Other characters contributing positive direct effects towards grain yield were grain weight/spike, number of spike/sq. meter, harvest index and biological yield/sq. meter under both the crop season. Thus, for improving the wheat grain yield under terminal heat stresses conditions, breeder should aim for selecting genotypes with bold grains or high grain weight /spike, more number of tillers/sq. meter, higher harvest index and longer grain filling duration.

Whole genome sequencing of ASD 16 and ADT 43 to identify predominant grain size and starch associated alleles in rice.

The rice cultivars ASD16 and ADT43 are the most popular high-yielding Indica rice cultivars in southern India. Despite their popularity very little is known about their genetic basis due to lack of studies on the complete genome. In the current study, efforts were made to identify alleles and SNP markers that differentiate the two contrasting rice genotypes, ASD 16 and ADT 43 for grain shape and starch content. The complete genome of bold grain ASD16 and slender grain ADT43 were sequenced via Illumina's paired-end sequencing and the reads obtained were mapped to the Oryza sativa Indica Group cultivar 93-11 reference genome. The grain size of rice is controlled by Quantitative Trait Loci (QTL) that has a robust effect on grain yield and quality. To gain insight into genes that controlling grain size and starch content, an in-silico analysis was performed by taking into account of 72 grain elongation and starch biosynthesis genes. The identified alleles were further validated in the whole genome sequencing data of 32 bold grain and 25 slender grain varieties that were retrieved from the 3K rice genome project. An "A to G" polymorphism leading to SER 74 PRO was identified at the CDS position 220 of the An-1 gene, encoding bHLH domain-containing protein that regulates awn formation and increase in grain length. The non-synonymous substitutions such as A545C variant leading PHE 182 CYS in ADP Glucose Pyrophosphorylase large subunit IV (AGPL4) and C3094G variant leading to VAL 1032 LEU in Starch synthase IIIb (OsSSIIIb) were also identified in the starch biosynthesis genes. These identified allelic variants may contribute to the crop improvement programs in rice.

Rice CO 53: A high yielding drought tolerant rice variety for drought prone districts of Tamil Nadu

Early duration drought tolerant rice culture CB 06803, a derivative of the cross PMK (R ) 3 x Norungan was released as Rice CO 53 during the year 2020 as an alternate variety for Anna(R)4, with 115 -120 days duration. It possesses desirable features like high yield, drought tolerance and better physiological efficiency. This culture with semi dwarf stature has efficient tillering capacity, long droopy panicles with a highly acceptable plant characters and is a replacement for the rice variety Anna (R) 4 due to its grain yield and pest and disease resistance. In the overall yield analysis, the culture CB06803 recorded an overall mean grain yield of 3718 kg/ha which was 12.19 per cent increase over TKM (R) 12 and 14.08 per cent over Anna (R) 4 under dry condition. Under semi dry condition, it recorded 3866 kg/ha with 18.40 per cent increase over TKM (R) 12 and 8.67 per cent over Anna (R) 4. It is moderately resistant to WBPH, leaf blast, neck blast, sheath rot, brown spot and RTD under artificial condition. It has white short bold rice with high milling percentage (69.6), head rice recovery (59.6%) and suitable for idly making. The culture, CB 06803 had better  agronomic efficiency than TKM (R)12 and Anna (R) 4 by recording more number of productive tillers per plant and grain yield under control and drought. The culture CB 06803 had better physiological efficiency under drought than TKM (R) 12 and Anna (R) 4  having higher RWC, total chlorophyll content, chlorophyll stability index, photosynthetic rate, stomatal conductance and photo chemical efficiency. The culture had higher proline content than TKM (R) 12 and was on par with Anna (R) 4. It had higher catalase activity than Anna (R) 4. CB 06803 had better physiological efficiency under drought by showing partial closure of stomata as that of Sahbagidhan. CO 53 with higher grain yield under drought, disease resistance and short bold grains and suitable for cultivation in drought prone districts of Tamil Nadu as direct seeded rainfed or semi dry rice ecosystem. Keywords: Rice CO 53, bold grain rice, short duration, drought tolerance

CFMV 2 (GIRA): A biofortified, high grain and fodder yielding finger millet (Eleusine coracana L. Gaertn) variety

The nationally identified variety ‘CFMV 2/ Gira’ which is uniform maturing and developed through selection from local germplasm collected from the Dangs district of Gujarat. A finger millet biofortified variety ‘CFMV 2/ Gira’ was tested as a culture ‘WN 559’ at the State level and ‘FMV 1118’ at the National level. It was tested under different state trials at Waghai, Varanasi and Dahod centers in Gujarat from 2014 to 2020. WN-559 (3551 kg/ha) performed well with 15.02 per cent increase over local check 'GNN-6' while, 27.47  and 25.88 per cent grain yield superiority over national check varieties PR-202 and GPU 67, respectively. At the national level, under 28 locations under five states across India under IVT, AVT-I and AVT-II, culture FMV-1118 recorded on an average 2950 kg/ha of grain yield which was 20.7, 32.6, 6.70, 7.70 and 14.4 per cent higher than national checks GPU-45, VL-352, GPU-67, PR-202 and VL-376, respectively in All India Coordinated trials conducted at Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Maharashtra and Odisha. Proposed entry ‘FMV-1118’ yielded 8588 kg/ha of fodder yield with 12.3, 38.8, 11.11, 9.10 and 29.6 per cent increased yield over national checks GPU-45, VL-352, GPU-67, PR-202 and VL-376, respectively. It is medium duration, synchronous maturity (115 to 125 days) with profuse productive tillers and non-lodging culture suitable for rainfed cultivation. The proposed culture was found to be good in nutritional properties particularly high calcium, iron, phosphorous and also a good amount of protein and minerals. With respect to pests and diseases, it was found superior to checks and moderately resistant for the same. It is with bold grain size, non shattering habit of panicle with plant type and non-lodging with semi-compact panicle. Considering the need for medium duration cultivars, the Central Finger Millet Variety (CFMV-2/Gira) a high yield potential genotype with desirable grain quality and moderately resistant to foot rot and blast disease was released by the AICRP-Small Millets, IIMR, Hyderabad as a biofortified and high yielding finger millet variety for the states viz., Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Maharashtra and Odisha. Keywords: Finger millet, Grain yielding variety, High Ca, Fe content, better nutritional quality variety.

Quantification of informal spread of high yielding wheat (Triticum aestivum) seeds among farmers of National Capital Region

Over decades, the total wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) production of the country has been able to meet the domestic consumption and export considerable amount of it. APEDA reports the export of 2.26 lakh MT of wheat for the worth of `424.94 crores/60.55 USD Millions during 2018–19. Further increase in production is only possible through varietal replacement with varieties having higher productivity potential in the existing production area through horizontal spread. Two reputed wheat varieties of ICAR-IARI, viz. HD 2967 and HD 3086 with good nutrient content and resistance as well as tolerance to major fungal diseases were distributed among 572 farmers of two villages of Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh respectively, with predominant rice-wheat cropping cycle to assess their acceptance level over space and time among villagers through assessment trials from winter (rabi) season 2014–15 to 2019–20. In selected, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh villages the relative yield advantage of HD 2967 was 21.7% and 19.9%, respectively and of HD 3086 was 17.5% and 14.3%, respectively over the local check. HD 3086 additionally reported bold grain, less lodging and less quality loss in the situation of repeated rainfall in maturity stage. The popularity and acceptance of the varieties were evident by the horizontal spread for HD 2967 i.e. 468.2 ha (Haryana) and 383.2 ha (Uttar Pradesh) from 6 and 6.4 ha, respectively from the winter (rabi) season of 2014–15 to 2019–20. The study re-affirms the philosophy of Farmer-to-Farmers spread of modern technologies including the HYV seeds.

Study of Heterosis for Yield and Grain Quality Traits in Barley (Hordeum vulgare L.)

Twenty-nine barley genotypes including fifteen crosses, commercial cultivars and elite (exotic) lines wereevaluated to estimate the magnitude of heterosis. Significant mean square due to genotype were observedfor days to maturity, effective tillers per plant, spike length, no. of grains per spike, grain yield per plant,hectoliter weight (kg/hl), grain bold grain %, husk content (%), protein content (%) and starch content (%).Crosses IBON HI 19-94 x RD 2899 followed by IBON HI 19-110 x RD 2786 and IBON HI 19-82 x RD 2035exhibited desirable positive significant heterosis, heterobeltiosis, economic heterosis for grain yield, tillersper plant, spike length, no. of grains per spike and bold grain (%). Therefore, above crosses may be observedas promising types for tangible advancement for yield potential and bold grain. IBON HI 19-82 x RD 2035revealed significant economic heterosis for hectoliter weight, bold grains, husk content and protein contentalong with grain yield. The study revealed good scope for commercial exploitation of heterosis as well asisolation of transgressive segregants among the progenies of heterotic F1 for improvement of yield andgrain quality.

Trends and Limits for Quinoa Production and Promotion in Pakistan

Quinoa is known as a super food due to its extraordinary nutritional qualities and has the potential to ensure future global food and nutritional security. As a model plant with halophytic behavior, quinoa has potential to meet the challenges of climate change and salinization due to its capabilities for survival in harsh climatic conditions. The quinoa crop has received worldwide attention due to its adoption and production expanded in countries out of the native Andean region. Quinoa was introduced to Pakistan in 2009 and it is still a new crop in Pakistan. The first quinoa variety was registered in 2019, then afterward, its cultivation started on a larger scale. Weed pressure, terminal heat stress, stem lodging, bold grain size, and an unstructured market are the major challenges in the production and promotion of the crop. The potential of superior features of quinoa has not been fully explored and utilized. Hence, there is a need to acquire more diverse quinoa germplasm and to establish a strong breeding program to develop new lines with higher productivity and improved crop features for the Pakistan market. Mechanized production, processing practices, and a structured market are needed for further scaling of quinoa production in Pakistan. To achieve these objectives, there is a dire need to create an enabling environment for quinoa production and promotion through the involvement of policymakers, research institutions, farmers associations, and the private sector.

Characteristics of Organoleptic Quality of Several Long-grain and Bold-grain Rice Varieties in Indonesia

The tip of quality assessment is the consumer acceptance for the product in terms of the quality component. The preference level responds to a product's based on the color, taste, aroma, and texture. This study aimed to determine the organoleptic characteristics and level of acceptance for eight varieties of rice (long-grain and bold-grain). The method used is quality testing in the laboratory (physical, chemical and organoleptic quality). Varieties of rice that used namely Inpari 32, Inpari 42, Mantap, Mixed long grain, Muncul, Sintanur, Tarabas, and Mixed bold grain. Parameters for rice organoleptic test are color, aroma, texture, stickiness, taste, and overall acceptance. Data obtained from the test were tabulated and analyzed using ANOVA. The test results showed that different varieties had a significantly different effect on the panelist’s assessment of the color and aroma of rice. The panelists' general acceptance of the rice varieties correlated with the assessment parameter's of color, aroma, texture, and taste. Tarabas variety has the highest acceptance score and the most preferred one. It is suggested that rice breeders can use these findings for further develop of rice varieties based on consumers preference and by Directorate General of Food Crop in choosing seed rice varieties to be introduced to farmers.

Phenotypic characterization of two lowland Rice Genotypes Cultivated with Organic Fertilizer

Rice farming in Liberia has long grappled with subpar yields, ranging from 0.5 to 1.5 tonnes per hectare (t/ha), attributed to outdated agronomic practices and the utilization of inferior inbred rice varieties. To alleviate the potential catastrophes and challenges of a changing climate and to improve rice production, we conducted a field experiment to determine the impact of organic fertilizer on the yield and growth attributes of two lowland rice genotypes (Nerica-L19 and the traditional landrace Bold Grain). The experimental layout was Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) in split plot arrangement with the main plots being organic fertilizer at a rate of 2.5 t/ha. Results revealed that there were significant differences between the landrace bold grain and the improved genotypes for all traits measured except for panicle length, seed length and stem diameter. Pearson coefficients of correlation analysis showed that days to 50 % flowering correlated significantly with plant height, number of tillers and number of panicles per plant. Nerica-19 exhibited the highest grain yield along with growth traits, suggesting its potential for smallholder farmers and warranting further evaluation across various environments.