Professor (Dr.) Harish Hirani, Director, CSIR- CMERI, Durgapur recently inaugurated a “naturally ventilated polyhouse facility” and laid the foundation stone of “retractable roof polyhouse” at CSIR-Central Mechanical Engineering Research Institute (CMERI)’s regional centre based in Ludhiana.Briefing about the technology, Prof. Hirani said that with rapidly rising temperatures due to mounting greenhouse gases in the atmosphere from human activities, crops are increasingly facing both threats – extreme heat and pest attacks – simultaneously.

This is especially important for crops growing in the open field with no protection from the weather, and therefore its yield, quality, and crop maturity timings are changed. A combination of open field conditions and conventional greenhouse conditions is a more robust way to deal with climate change and associates problems in the future. Crop losses in India due to insect pests is about 15% at present and this loss may increase as climate change lowers the plant defense system against insects & pests.

Conventional greenhouses have a stationary roof to reduce the effect of weather anomalies and pests. However, there are still disadvantages due to roof covering which sometimes lead to excessive heat and insufficient light (early morning). Besides this, they are also prone to insufficient levels of CO₂, transpiration and water stress.

“Retractable Roof Polyhouse Technology will have an automatic retractable roof which will be operated based on weather conditions and crop requirements from the conditional database using PLC software. This ongoing development will be useful in our country with its 15 different agro-climatic zones and will help farmers to cultivate off-season crops that can fetch higher value and income”, says Dr Hirani.

Mr. Jagdish Manikrao, Senior Scientist, who is leading the research team on the development of this technology, explained that the retractable roof will be used to manipulate sunlight quantity, quality & duration, water stress, humidity, carbon-di-oxide levels, and crop & soil temperatures. Dr. Pradeep Rajan, Sr. Principal Scientist, Head, Farm Machinery and Precision Agriculture further elaborated that this structure is being developed in collaboration with CSIR-IHBT, Palampur and is in the process of integrating Artificial Intelligence in automating the Polyhouse based on the crop and weather requirements and providing an IoT enabled farmer friendly user interface.

The Director, also briefed that as the scientific experimental data on the advantages of the new polyhouse system are lacking, therefore horticultural crops will be cultivated in both naturally ventilated polyhouse and retractable roof polyhouse for comparing the crop production and produce quality. With installation of naturally ventilated polyhouse and retractable roof  polyhouse side by side, we can get the required scientific data and by analyzing the results we can enhance productivity. The developed facility will be used as a demonstration farm for the farmers.

——————————————————————————————————————————————–

Keywords: Polyhouse, Technology, Hilly Regions, Crops, Climatic Conditions, Extreme Heat, Pest Attacks, CSIR- CMERI, Retractable Roof Polyhouse, Temperatures, Greenhouse Gases, Atmosphere, Climate Change, Agriculture, Crop Protection

Millets are marvellous sources of nutrition. Traditional and rural societies everywhere in the country and agricultural scientists in the top echelons of the Indian government have long known it. But it took free India 70 years to notify millets as “Nutri-Cereals”–in 2018–which was also nationally declared as “The Year of Millets”.

According to a note prepared by the Union Agriculture Ministry,“Millets can help tackle health challenges such as obesity, diabetes and lifestyle problems as they are gluten-free, have a low glycemic index and are high in dietary fibre and antioxidants.”The note further states that “millets are nutritionally superior to wheat and rice owing to their higher levels of protein with a more balanced amino acid profile, crude fibre and minerals, such as iron, zinc, and phosphorous.”

Curative Power

A Mysuru-based scientist, Dr KhaderValli, popularly known as the “Millet Man of India”, explains why millets are superior to rice and wheat. How our body processes food is important to the absorption and value of food:

“Any food that takes a longer time to break down the glucose and fructose to be absorbed by the blood is truly healthy. While rice takes only 45 minutes to be absorbed by the blood, positive grains or millets take six hours”, says Dr Valli.

A post-doctoral fellow of Environment Science at Beaverton, Oregon, Dr. Valli did his PhD on steroids at the Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru. But that was a long time ago. For the last 35 years, since he quit a lucrative job in the U.S., Dr. Valli has dedicated himself to the promotion of millets. He swears by their therapeutic value and prescribes a mix of five millets to his patients. Called the Siridhanya (rich grains) diet plan, it includes Kodo, Barnyard, Foxtail, Brown Top and Little Millets, and is reported to have cured patients suffering from a host of diseases, including anaemia, infertility, diabetes and cancer. Dr. Valli says, Barnyard millet, known as Udalu in Kannada and jhangora in Hindi, is his “personal favourite”.

Popular Dishes

In south India, Barnyard Millet flour is popularly used for making local foods like idli and dosa. In the north, especially in Uttarakhand, it is mixed with milk and sugar/jaggery to make a sweet dish, madirakikheer and with buttermilk known as paleu. Mixed millets khichdi is also popular in many parts of India while millet cookies, puffs, flakes and laddus are fancied items at high-end organic food stores all over the country. Research studies confirm the high nutrition of millets in general and Barnyard Millet in particular.

A 2019 research paper by V. G. Ranganathan and others of the Tamil Nadu Agriculture University, Madurai, titled “Barnyard Millet for Food and Nutritional Security: Current Status and Future Research”, published in Frontiers in Genetic Nutrigenomics, June 23, 2020, says: “The nutritive value of Barnyard Millet is superior to that of other major and minor millets. It is a rich source of calcium, protein, magnesium, fat, vitamins, and some essential amino acids.”

According to the paper, the average carbohydrate content of Barnyard Millet varies between 51.5 and 62.9/100 grams, which is lower than that of other millets; its fibre, ranging between 8.1%  and 16.3%, is higher than in any other cereal and the protein content, between 11.2% and 12.7%, is reasonably higher than in other millets and cereals. “The high ratio of carbohydrates to crude fibre ensures the slower release of sugar in the blood, aiding in maintaining blood sugar levels.”

Recognising their nutritional value, the agriculture ministry recommended the inclusion of millets in the Public Distribution System (PDS) for improving nutritional support, but the idea has not caught on. Only Karnataka, Odisha and Uttarakhand have introduced millets in PDS, the main problems being the low shelf life of millets and poor storage facilities. For the same reasons, millets have not been included in mid-day meal schemes, among the most important places for the implementation of the government’s plan for millets.

Food as Status Symbol

While the government is still struggling against bottlenecks, private businesses are retailing millets successfully. Not just whole millets and millet flour, but also ready-to-eat items made out of them, are in high demand at upmarket food stores, which many find “unusual”.  “Initially, I was surprised to find foreigners and high-profile Indians asking for items made out of such desithings as ragi and jhangora that I thought were rather crude,” says saleswoman Meenakshi at one such store.“But now I know better,” she adds. Experts understand why she thought poorly of millets.

According to Senior Scientist at the Indian Council of Agriculture Research (ICAR)–Indian Agriculture Research Institute, Delhi, Dr. R S Bana, the young population of traditional and tribal societies have an “inferiority complex” about millets, and need to be educated about their nutritional value. They perceive rice and wheat as superior foods, he says, an observation that is endorsed by researchers. However, the scene has changed over the last decade.

Coarse Vs Refined

Lifestyle diseases like diabetes, hypertension, and cancer, sourced to the preference for chemically processed and fast foods over the whole and coarse ones, have made the wealthy review their dietary choices. Refined and polished foodsare being blacklisted by them and crude foods with good roughage are the order of the day.

Dr.Bana agrees that there is a sizeable section of the rich and educated that is lately quite sensitive to the value of millets. It is they who offer the best hope of promoting millets. “Once they adopt these cereals as a staple diet, the approach of the poor people would also change.” As of now, Dr. Bana says, poor people are eating these nutritious foods “by default”.

POSHAN Atlas

A document,“The Current Position of Millets”, prepared by the Union Agriculture Ministry, talks about ways to promote the consumption and production of millets. Interestingly, it refers to a millet recipe book in regional languages published by The Indian Institute of Millets Research (IIMR).

As if to underline the importance of millets in the Prime Minister’s Overarching Scheme for Holistic Nutrition (POSHAN), a “POSHAN Atlas” is being prepared under the guidance of the Principal Scientific Advisor; the atlas has information on state-specific recipes that account for cultural food preferences and palates. The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has designed and is running the “Eat Right India Initiative”, which, the ministry paper says, could be an avenue for pushing for a wider use of millets.

The flip-flop over millets—from being known as the poor man’s food to being projected as a health food—also makes one wonder about the origin and composition of millets. According to a research paper by P. Ashoka and others, (published in November, 2020 in The International Journal of Current Microbiology and Applied Sciences), millets originated in and around India, and have been the staple diet and health guardians of traditional societies for centuries. Belonging to the Poaceae/Graminae family, they are small-seeded grasses, yielding two major millets (Sorghum and bajra) and six minor millets (Finger, Foxtail, Little, Proso, Kodo, and Barnyard millets). Recently, a few minor millets have been added to this group, likeFonio, Quinoa and BrownTop millet.

“Each of the millets”, the paper notes, “is three to five times nutritionally superior to the widely promoted rice and wheat in terms of proteins, minerals (calcium and iron), and vitamins and fibre.” Millets, it adds, “are an ideal food for all the people, irrespective of age, and especially beneficial for children, pregnant and lactating women who are prone to anaemia.”

Local to Global

Today, India is the number one producer and consumer of millets in the world with Rajasthan as the top producer of millets in the country followed by Karnataka.The most interesting part of the millet graph is that in March this year, the United Nations declared 2023 as “The International Year of Millets”. The resolution in the U.N. General Assembly was proposed by India, and the Union Agriculture Ministry is already busy planning its campaign.

With so much energy being injected into the campaign, it would be no surprise if millets, described as “the first crops” in a government book, “The Story of Millets”, turn out to be “the future crops”– not just in India but across the globe.(India Science Wire)

———————————————————————————————————————————–

Keywords: Millets, Nutri-cereals, Food,Nutritional Security, Nutrition, Agriculture,Scientists, Agriculture Ministry, Antioxidants, ICAR, AahaarKranti, CSIR-CFTRI, ICMR-NIN

A new study conducted by Indian researchers will help understand the egg-laying behaviour of certain pests and therefore help in designing specific control measures. This study has been conducted by the researchers at the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR)’s Bengaluru based laboratory Indian Institute of Horticultural Research. They have published their study in the science journal Current Science.

“This study highlights the fact that herbivores are able to assess the HIPVs from a different stage of the fruits. In this case, the female wasps, A.kerrichi prefers immature fruits that are already infested for egg-laying. The chemical cues from immature fruits, provide a sense of resource quality and the probability of better progeny fitness. Hence the females choose such sites”, Says Dr P.D. Kamala Jayanthi, Principal Scientist & ICAR National Fellow, Department of Entomology and Nematology, Indian Institute of Horticultural Research, Bengaluru.

“We found that A.kerrichi was attracted to immature fruit volatiles. Certain specific chemical cues were different in the mature and immature fruits. The ones identified in the gas chromatography-electennogramdetection (GC-EAD) were used in synthetic blends for further analysis. The same blends were tested in the field to test their attractive potential”, Dr Jayanthi added.

Plants upon being attacked by herbivores emit many distinct volatiles often known as herbivore-induced plant volatiles (HIPVs) that have multiple functions at different trophic levels. From the plant’s perspective, these HIPVs act as communication signals to attract natural enemies and alert various parts of the same plant or neighbouring plants, thereby serving as a direct and indirect plant defence.

The role of HIPVs was studied in detail against a handful of insect pests, from the point of view of herbivores. However, the ecological function of HIPVs to conspecifics was found to be variable depending upon the herbivore species, thus making the community interactions quite complex. This emphasizes the need to understand and study the utilization of HIPVs by conspecifics on a case-by-case basis.

Headspace samples of wasp-infested immature and mature jamun fruits were collected by a scientific method called air entrainment. The fruit traits namely size, colour, softness of berries were considered to assess fruit maturity. The eulophid wasp-infested fruits were collected from the field in ICAR-Indian Institute of Horticultural Research, Bengaluru during March 2019 and placed in plastic containers for wasp emergence. The emerged insects were allowed to mate and collected in separate plastic vials for performing both olfactometer assays as well as coupled gas chromatography-electro-antenno-detection (GC-EAD) studies. The male and female insects were differentiated based on abdomen size.

The attraction of female A. kerrichi to synthetic HIPVs in the lab and field conditions ascertains the scope of using them as Integrated Pest Management (IPM) tools for sustainable management of this phytophagous eulophid seed borer, said Dr Jayanthi. (India Science Wire)

—————————————————————————————————————————————————

Keywords:Researchers, Insects behaviour,Wasps,Pest control, IPM, Herbivores, Organisms Species, Conspecifics, Plant volatiles, Oviposition, ICAR, Progeny, Indian Institute of Horticultural Research,Current Science

In a significant development, both the institutions have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to work collaboratively to pursue the development and commercialization of products, especially in the field of agriculture and water by applying their complementary capabilities and resources.The MoU was signed by Prof. Anantha Ramakrishna, Director CSIR-CSIO,and Prof. Rajeev Ahuja, Director, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Ropar.

Prof. Rajeev Ahuja, Director, IITRopar at the time of signing of MoU said that this will promote and encourage the inter-institutional movement of faculties/researchers related to product/technology development in the crucial areas of agriculture and water.

Prof. Anantha Ramakrishna said that this initiative will facilitate the exchange of students for internships and UG/PG/Ph.D thesis and provide a suitable platform for collaborative research leading to key solutions in the sectors of Agriculture and Water.

CSIR-CSIO is a premier R&D organisation engaged in undertaking research, design, and development of intelligent scientific & industrial instruments in the area of Agrionics, Medical Devices, Optics, Photonics, Public Safety, Computational Instrumentation, Calibration, and Certification.

IIT Ropar– Technology and Innovation Foundation for the Agriculture & Water Technology Development Hub (AWaDH) is a Technology Innovation Hub established at the institution by the Department of Science & Technology (DST), Government of India, in the framework of National Mission on Interdisciplinary Cyber Physical Systems to carry out extensive R&D in the domain of Agriculture and Water.

—————————————————————————————————————————————————–

Keywords: IIT Ropar, Technology, Innovation, Agriculture, Water,AWaDH,DST, National Mission on Interdisciplinary Cyber Physical Systems, R&D (India Science Wire)

Conventionally, Iodine value is determined using manual titration, and few analytical instruments based on automated titration are also available in the market. However, these methods take longer analysis time, are costly, and use toxic chemicals. Researchers, at CSIR-CSIO, developed a rapid analysis technique, which takes just three minutes for analysis of Iodine Value. Also, the cost of analysis per sample was reduced drastically, the CSIR-CSIO statement said.

The technology had been transferred to M/s Comfax Systems, a Chandigarh-based start-up. The technology has applications in Oil extraction units, quality control and assurance labs, food regulatory authorities, soaps and cosmetics, bakeries, meat industry, paint industry, biodiesel analysis, and charcoal industry. The technology is also useful in determining adulteration in edible oils and fats.

Currently, PIVA has been calibrated and tested for Coconut, Sunflower, Mustard, Palm, Rice Bran, Soyabean, Groundnut, Olive Oil, and Ghee. This new development is a part of the ongoing effort to strengthen the food testing capabilities by introducing quick and advanced Food Testing Kits. This is the newest addition to the approved kits/ equipment approved by FSSAI for rapid food testing.

——————————————————————————————————————————————————

Keywords: Iodine Value Analyzer, FSSAI, CSIR-CSIO, CSIR, Central Scientific Instruments Organisation, Precision Iodine Value Analyzer, PIVA, Iodine Value, Food testing, World Food Safety Day

Their findings have just been published in the premier international journal, Frontiers in Plant Science. The article is titled “Meta-Analysis of Yield-Related and

N-Responsive Genes Reveals Chromosomal Hotspots, Key Processes, and Candidate Genes for Nitrogen-Use Efficiency in Rice “.  Analysing over 16,600 genes compiled from their own research and dozens of others, they systematically shortlisted “62 candidate genes”; they further narrowed them down to “06 high priority target genes” for their potential to improve NUE in rice.

“Every year, urea worth Rs. 50,000 crores (5 billion) is lost from Indian farms, with rice and wheat accounting for about two-thirds of it”, says Raghuram, who led the research. “This loss roughly equals the annual government subsidy on urea. We can neither afford such waste of money, nor the pollution it causes” he says. As the co-editor of the Indian Nitrogen Assessment (2017), he is concerned that India is emerging as one of the global hotspots of nitrogen pollution of water and air, adversely affecting our health and climate change. As the Chair of the International Nitrogen Initiative (INI), he helped Indian government pilot the first ever UN resolution on sustainable nitrogen management in 2019.

“Half of the solution lies in biological crop improvement, while the other half can come from improving fertilizer formulations and cropping practices. Rice is an ideal target crop for this, but the main challenge was the lack of identified or predicted gene targets for crop improvement. We now offer them to the scientific community to collectively fast forward crop improvement”, says Raghuram.

Supriya Kumari and Narendra Sharma compiled a list of 14,791 rice genes involved in nitrogen response and 1,842 genes involved in yield, totaling 16,633 to begin with. They identified 1064 genes common to both for further shortlisting, as NUE involves both N input and grain yield output. “Using a series of genetic and bioinformatic tools, we hierarchically shortlisted them to 62 genes, most of which were located on chromosome 1 and 3” says Kumari. Further, “using machine learning tools, we narrowed them down to 6 high priority target genes” says Sharma. Both Kumari and Sharma are Research Associates in Raghuram’s project on ‘South Asian Nitrogen Hub’ funded by the UK Research and Innovation under the Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF-SANH), through the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, Edinburgh.

“NUE is controlled by too many genes and shortlisting them is very important for crop improvement towards NUE”, says Dr. Subramanyam Desiraju, co-principal investigator of the SANH project from the Indian Institute of Rice Research, Hyderabad. He collaborated earlier with Raghuram’s group in the discovery of the ‘phenotype’ for visually differentiating low and high NUE cultivars of rice, published in January this year.

According to Indian Nitrogen Assessment, rice is important for NUE, as it consumes 37% of all N-fertilizers in India, the highest among all crops on account of its lowest NUE. Fertilizers like urea emit ammonia, which can deposit on particulate matter and impact human health. Urea also accounts for 77% of all agricultural nitrous oxide emission to the Indian environment. Nitrous oxide is 296 times more powerful greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide in causing climate change. N-fertilizers also cause water pollution and algal blooms, killing fish and affecting livelihoods.

The current publication on target genes for NUE is a part of a special collection of 22 articles under the theme “Nitrogen Use Efficiency and Sustainable Nitrogen Management in Crop Plants”. The publication of this collection put together by the International Nitrogen Initiative coincided with its 8^th triennial international nitrogen conference (INI2021) held virtually between 30^th May and 3^rd June.

———————————————————————————————————————————–

Keywords: Genes, Fertilizer, Nitrogen, Rice, Crops, Crop improvement, Nitrogenous pollution, Biotechnology, Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University, Frontiers in Plant Science, N-Responsive Genes, Nitrogen-Use Efficiency, ICAR, MoEFCC, Ministry of agriculture & farmers welfare

Commercial cultivation of this apple variety has been initiated in Manipur, Jammu, low lying areas of Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka Chhattisgarh, and Telangana, and fruit setting has been expanded to 23 states & UTs so far.

Shri Hariman Sharma, a progressive farmer, hailing from Paniala village of Bilaspur district, Himachal Pradesh, who developed this innovative apple variety – HRMN 99 has become a source of inspiration not only for thousands of farmers in the region but also for horticulturists of Bilaspur and other lower hill districts in the State –areas which earlier could never dream of growing apples. Orphaned during childhood, Hariman was adopted and raised by his Uncle. He studied till class X and thereafter committed himself to farming which is his main source of income. His interest in horticulture egged him on to grow different fruits like apple, mango, pomegranate, kiwi, plum, apricot, peach, and even coffee. The most interesting part of his farming practice is that he can grow apples along with mango in the same field. He strongly believes that farmers can start raising apple orchards in the lower valleys of Himachal Pradesh and elsewhere too.

In 1998, Hariman Sharma had purchased some apples for consumption from Ghumarwin village, Bilaspur, and had discarded the seeds in his backyard. In 1999, he observed an apple seedling in his backyard, developed from the seeds disposed of by him in the previous year. Being an innovative farmer with a keen interest in horticulture, he could sense that an apple plant growing at a warm place like Paniyala, situated 1,800 feet from sea level, was extraordinary. After a year, the plant started blooming, and he observed fruits in 2001. He preserved the plant as “mother plant” and started experimenting by grafting the scion (young shoot)and by 2005 created a mini orchard of apple trees which continue to bear fruits till today.

From 2007 to 2012, Hariman went around convincing others that growing apple in low chilling conditions is no longer impossible. However, not much interest was evinced in the research and dissemination of the variety. Eventually, the innovative variety was scouted by the National Innovation Foundation (NIF) – India, an autonomous body of the Department of Science and Technology (DST), Government of India. NIF verified the claims of the innovator and evaluated the distinctiveness and potentiality of the variety by facilitating molecular & diversity analysis studies and fruit quality testing.

NIF also provided financial and technical support for establishing and expanding the nursery, besides aiding the registration of the variety under the Protection of Plant Variety and Farmers Right Act, 2001. During 2014-2019, the Multi-location trials of the variety in low chilling areas across the country were conducted by NIF by transplanting over 20,000 saplings at over 2,000 farmers’ fields and 25 organizations in 30 states, including Rashtrapati Bhawan. Fruit setting has been reported from 23 states, and UT’s so far. These are Bihar, Jharkhand, Manipur, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Dadra, and Nagar Haveli, Karnataka, Haryana, Rajasthan, Jammu & Kashmir, Punjab, Kerala, Uttarakhand, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal, Orissa, Pondicherry, Himachal Pradesh and Delhi.

During further analysis and research, it was observed that HRMN-99 plants having 3-8 years of age produced 5 to 75 kg fruits per plant per year in four districts of lower Himachal Pradesh, Sirsa (Haryana) and Manipur. It is bigger in size as compared to other varieties, with very soft, sweet, and juicy pulp and striped red over yellow skin colour during maturity.

Commercial cultivation of this variety was initiated at twenty-six farmers’ fields at eight different locations of Bishnupur, Senapati, Kakching districts of Manipur in the year 2015 by NIF along with other Institutions wherein farmers were provided the requisite training on best practices for successful apple cultivation. A farmer from Manipur has received recognition at various platforms for his outstanding work on adoption of HRMN-99apple cultivation. Capitalizing upon the ongoing success in Manipur, 200 more farmers commercially adopted the variety, and more than 20,000 plants of HRMN 99apple variety are being grown in the state. Commercial adoption of this variety has also been initiated in Jammu, low-lying areas of Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka Chhattisgarh, and Telangana. The North Eastern Region Community Resource Management Project (NERCORMP) under North Eastern Council (NEC), Ministry of DoNER, Govt of India, and NIF had entered into a MoU in November 2020. In the first phase, 15000 graftings of the variety have been transplanted in Arunachal Pradesh, Assam Manipur, and Meghalaya during January 2021.

Shri Hariman Sharma has also been conferred a National Award in 2017 during the 9^th National Biennial Grassroots Innovation and Outstanding Traditional Knowledge awards by then Hon’ble President of India Shri Pranab Mukherjee at Rashtrapati Bhavan.

Didymocarpus is a genus belonging to the plant family Gesneriaceae (commonly known as ‘African Violets’) and its members are distributed from Western Himalayas to Sumatra. Most of these species are narrow endemics and require specialized habitats to survive, thus acting as an indicator of pristine habitats. There are 106 currently known species of this genus, of which 26 are present in Northeastern states of India.

The newly-described species Didymocarpus vickifunkiae (Gesneriaceae) is currently known from only three locations in Mizoram and considered as an endangered species. It is an epiphyte (plants that grow on trees) and produces light pink flowers during the monsoons. The species is named in honour of Late Dr. Vicki Ann Funk, a renowned Botanist who worked at Smithsonian Institute, USA.

The study is an outcome of extensive fieldwork across northeast India coupled with rigorous study of past collections kept in herbariums across the world, say IISER Bhopal statement. This study has been published in Systematic Botany journal in a paper co-authored by Prasanna N.S., Research Scholar, and Dr. Vinita Gowda, Associate Professor, Department of Biological Sciences, IISER Bhopal.

“Northeast India is home to highly diverse flora because of its unique biogeographic placement as part of two biodiversity hotspots: the Indo-Burma hotspot and the Eastern Himalayas, said Dr. Vinita Gowda.”

The new discovery brings new insights into the unique evolutionary trajectory of flora in this region of India. Beyond the academic desire to document biodiversity, finding the ‘missing pieces’ of the biodiversity puzzle are important in designing conservation approaches to protect the fragile ecosystem of such hotspots, say researchers.

Because of its complex geology and climatic conditions, Northeast India, is home to a diverse flora and fauna. However, much of it remains poorly documented. The IISER Bhopal team was studying the evolution and biogeography of Didymocarpus plants. While collecting the plants for study, authors stumbled upon a plant which was distinct from all botanically known plants. After critical examination of the morphology, published literature and past collections that are preserved in the natural history museums in India and UK, they described it as a new species.

The biodiversity in this region of the country is poorly known due to low priority in research, inaccessibility and remoteness, challenges that are being tackled by research groups such as the Tropical Ecology & Evolution (TrEE) lab. The team combines traditional processes of taxonomy with modern methods such as molecular phylogenetics to unravel the biodiversity of the Northeast and place it in the context of the larger Asian landscape.

—————————————————————————————————————————————————–

Keywords: Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, IISER Bhopal, New species, Plant species, African Violets family, Biodiversity, Northeastern region, Western Himalayas, Didymocarpus vickifunkiae, Gesneriaceae, Endangered species, Epiphyte

‘PAU 1 Chapatti’ with low polyphenols and outstanding processing qualities has been shortlisted for commercialization whereas wheat candidate varieties having high grain protein, high zinc, low phytates (chemical group that reduces bioavailability of micro-nutrients and protein) and high carotenoids have been developed.

Besides this, Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) has offered to growers two carotene rich cherry tomato varieties called Punjab Sona and Punjab Kesar and two anthocyanin rich brinjal varieties called Punjab Raunak and Punjab Bharpoor with antioxidant properties. These are also suitable for home/terrace/urban gardening. Inexpensive, nutrient rich home gardening pot mixture providing 40-50% higher productivity along with appropriately designed pots and pot props have also been developed.

PAU has also identified wild rice accession with high grain protein and genetic stocks with high iron content for breeding rice with enhanced nutritional value. High grain iron and zinc lines have been identified in inter-specific crosses of chickpea.

The varieties and genetic stocks have been developed by the Punjab Agricultural University with support from the Promotion of University Research and Scientific Excellence (PURSE) grant provided by the Department of Science & Technology (DST), Government of India. Besides varieties, a number of technologies for value added products from nutritionally enhanced varieties of cereals, pulses and vegetables are on the cards.

Protocols have been developed for assessing insecticide resistance and resurgence in rice plant hopper, cotton whitefly and okra mites. Studies have been carried out to study pathogen dynamics and molecular level variability in pathogen populations of potato scab, rice sheath blight and wheat yellow rust and have strengthened the resistance breeding based strategy for management of these diseases. Besides environment friendly approaches for pest management, research on efficient rice straw management, promotion of soil health through carbon sequestration  and lowering of green house gas emissions has been carried out.

The PURSE grant sanctioned to PAU in two phases has helped the University to set up large number of major research facilities and supported research by forty students. The publication output was enhanced with 2.4 times increase in citations and significant increase in ‘h-index’ of associated faculty during the last five years.

The first phase of the project focussed on “Climate Change” induced abiotic stresses in selected field and horticultural crops. It introduced a crop improvement strategy in wheat, rice, tomato and pepper to develop varieties with better adaptation to various stresses. A breeding programme to transfer heat tolerance from hot pepper (MS 12) to bell pepper (Royal Wonder) variety which is otherwise very sensitive to heat stress was also pursued in this phase.

At the centre of this change is a Multi-feed millet De-huller that has simplified the lengthy and laborious traditional process of removing the husk from millets, raised the productivity, and delivered value-added millet flour at the village or cluster-of-villages level, from which further value-added products can also be made.

Cultivation of millets have long been declining due to declining consumer demand and preference for major cereals like rice and wheat. Of late, however, millets and other nutri-cereals are regaining popularity due to their health benefits, but packaged products with consumer appeal are yet to make a sufficient mark in the market. Technologies for making these in rural areas are also underdeveloped. A critical operation is removing the husk, which, if done manually by pounding, involves much drudgery, particularly for women who usually perform this task.

The Center for Technology Development (CTD), a division of the Society for Economic & Social Studies, a Core Support Group under TARA scheme of Science for Equity Empowerment and Development (SEED) Division, Department of Science & Technology (DST), Government of India, has adapted the Multi-feed millet De-huller developed by Tamil Nadu Agricultural University & Central Institute of Agricultural Engineering. The De-huller design has been tweaked to enable simple adjustments that enable the use of the same machine to remove the husk of multiple millets such as Finger Millet (ragi in the South or mandua in Uttarakhand), Barnyard Millet (jhangora in UK), and some other millets elsewhere.

The Millet De-huller forms a key part of the hallmark CTD/SESS hub-and-spoke rural enterprise model for producing value-added Millet products. The model consists of a hub or ‘Mother’ Unit, located at CTD/SESS Campus in Sahaspur P.O., networking with modular ‘Satellite’ Units run by SHGs/FPOs or small entrepreneurs in decentralized locations where Millets are cultivated.

‘Satellite’ units at cluster-of-villages level use the De-huller to yield value-added de-husked Millets, which are then further processed using a Grinder to yield value-added millet flour, which can be used to make a variety of products. The De-huller can de-husk 100 kg grain per hour with a yield of 90-95% and, together with the Grinder, provides a common facility for villagers to make flour either for consumption or sale at minimum double the price of de-husked millet.

The flour can also be supplied to the CTD/SESS ‘mother unit’, which has a full-fledged tiny Bakery Unit with de-scaled machines to make value-added finished and packaged products.

This technology package and enterprise model generates considerable employment and income in rural areas, particularly among small farmers who constitute a majority of millet farmers. The De-huller significantly empowers women by removing drudgery from de-husking and aiding in income generation in women-headed households common in Uttarakhand due to out-migration of men-folk. Collective operations by women’s SHGs further empower women by enabling independent work outside the home and interaction with the market.  In the long run, revival of Millet cultivation will also assist in building climate-resilient agriculture and, along with related value-addition, may also help to address the problem of male out-migration.

At present, 5 more satellite units at different development stages are operational in different areas involving around 400 millet farmers. This technology package and enterprise model is ideal for small-farmer Self Help Groups, Farmer Producers organisations, and small rural entrepreneurs, with products catering to both local rural markets and more up-market urban or regional consumers.

CTD/SESS is currently working with local fabricators to develop capability to manufacture the De-Hulling Machine. Efforts are also underway to develop a small gas or biomass oven that can be used even at the satellite units for making simple value-added products for the local market.