Jagdish Kumar

Direct and indirect selection for yield in chickpea

SummaryThe efficiency of indirect selection for seed yield was compared with direct selection for yield per se in chickpea. A total of 2500 single F2 plants, derived from 50 crosses with 50 plants from each cross, were divided into five sub-populations (SP1 to SP5) of 500 plants each by including 10 plants from each of the 50 crosses. The five sub-populations were advanced upto F6 by exercising 10% selection intensity for four successive generations for number of pods per plant in SP1, number of seeds per pod in SP2, seed weight in SP3, seed yield in SP4 and random selection in SP5. The efficiency of direct and indirect selection for yield was evaluated by comparing groups of 50 F6 lines from each sub-population. SP1 and SP3 F6 lines showed higher mean grain yield than the other three methods. SP1 and SP3 were found to be almost equally efficient in developing F6 lines which were significantly superior to the check. This suggests that indirect selection for yield via pod number and seed weight is more efficient than direct selection for yield.

Evaluation of 19,460 Wheat Accessions Conserved in the Indian National Genebank to Identify New Sources of Resistance to Rust and Spot Blotch Diseases

A comprehensive germplasm evaluation study of wheat accessions conserved in the Indian National Genebank was conducted to identify sources of rust and spot blotch resistance. Genebank accessions comprising three species of wheat–Triticum aestivum, T. durum and T. dicoccum were screened sequentially at multiple disease hotspots, during the 2011–14 crop seasons, carrying only resistant accessions to the next step of evaluation. Wheat accessions which were found to be resistant in the field were then assayed for seedling resistance and profiled using molecular markers. In the primary evaluation, 19,460 accessions were screened at Wellington (Tamil Nadu), a hotspot for wheat rusts. We identified 4925 accessions to be resistant and these were further evaluated at Gurdaspur (Punjab), a hotspot for stripe rust and at Cooch Behar (West Bengal), a hotspot for spot blotch. The second round evaluation identified 498 accessions potentially resistant to multiple rusts and 868 accessions potentially resistant to spot blotch. Evaluation of rust resistant accessions for seedling resistance against seven virulent pathotypes of three rusts under artificial epiphytotic conditions identified 137 accessions potentially resistant to multiple rusts. Molecular analysis to identify different combinations of genetic loci imparting resistance to leaf rust, stem rust, stripe rust and spot blotch using linked molecular markers, identified 45 wheat accessions containing known resistance genes against all three rusts as well as a QTL for spot blotch resistance. The resistant germplasm accessions, particularly against stripe rust, identified in this study can be excellent potential candidates to be employed for breeding resistance into the background of high yielding wheat cultivars through conventional or molecular breeding approaches, and are expected to contribute toward food security at national and global levels.

Genetic diversity for moisture deficit stress adaptive traits in bread wheat (Triticum aestivum L.)

A study was conducted to evaluate the genetic divergence for morphological and phenological traits under rainfed conditions in wheat. Seed material comprised of the 294 wheat genotypes used for this study and grouped into six clusters. Among the six clusters, cluster IV contained 86 and cluster I had 68 genotypes, followed by 12 genotypes in cluster V. Fifty one genotypes were grouped in cluster VI and 52 were included in cluster II, while cluster III was represented by 27 genotypes. Maximum cluster mean for the character grain yield per plot was observed for the cluster III (667.1) followed by cluster V (559.3). The minimum cluster mean under the rainfed conditions was observed for the cluster IV (269.3). Intra cluster distance was maximum for cluster III (3.125). The highest inter cluster distance was noted between cluster II and cluster IV (4.997). Parentage of 294 genotypes revealed that genotypes belonging to different eco-geographical areas were included in the same cluster. This indicated that there was no association between clustering pattern and eco-geographical distribution of genotypes.