Shashi Bhalla

Identification of Putative Sources of Tolerance to Aphid in Mustard and Generation of Molecular Marker for Use in Crop Improvement

Indian mustard (Brassica juncea (L.) Czern.) has been an important crop to India for a long time. It is predominantly cultivated in Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, and Gujarat (Shekhawatet al., 2012) and stands at the third position in the list of rape-mustard producing countries.However, India’s average yield of mustard is low in comparison to other mustard-growing countries chiefly due to aphid pest causing excessive losses in the yield of the crop (Pandey et al. 2013; Rao et al. 2014).The yield loss in rapeseed mustard also varies with their germplasms and agro-ecological practices (Ansari, et al. 2007).The mustard aphid is considered to be a major limiting factor for successful cultivation of the crop; causing up to 96 per cent yield losses (Singh and Sachan, 1994; Singh and Premchand, 1995; Sharma and Kashyap, 1998; Singh and Sharma, 2002). Though, it can be controlled by the pesticide to some extent but it has International Journal of Current Microbiology and Applied Sciences ISSN: 2319-7706 Volume 7 Number 06 (2018) Journal homepage: http://www.ijcmas.com

Evaluation of wheat landraces of north-western Himalaya against rice weevil, Sitophilus oryzae L. vis-à-vis physical seed parameters

The north-western Himalaya is one of the rich repositories of wheat genetic resources because of the preponderance of locally developed traditional crop varieties owing to high agro-climatic heterogeneity and local socio-cultural diversity. In the present study, 100 wheat landraces of this diversity rich region were evaluated for variability in physical parameters of seed to understand the basis of resistance against rice weevil, Sitophilus oryzae . The evaluation was based on the parameter of growth index (GI) of S. oryzae in different landraces. GI was correlated with different quantitative physical seed parameters, viz. hardness, length, width, length × width, test weight and qualitative parameter seed colour were studied to work out if these were related to resistance/susceptibility. Based on the parameter of GI, the six landraces viz. IC266831, IC266872, IC393109, IC392578, IC444217 and IC589276 were identified as resistant. Correlation coefficients between GI of S. oryzae and physical parameters of wheat landraces indicated that GI had significant positive relation with length × width ( r = +0.573) and test weight ( r = +0.549) indicated that small seeds confer resistance to S. oryzae. Also significant negative relation ( r = −0.457) with GI of S. oryzae and seed hardness, indicated that hard seeds were relatively more resistant to S. oryzae .

Exotic pulse beetles intercepted in imported legume germplasm

Quarantine examination of 13,29,901 imported seed samples of various crops during 1999- 2014 revealed presence of exotic bruchids commonly called seed or pulse beetles in 2,819 samples which were detected by X-ray radiography. Thirteen exotic bruchid species viz., Acanthoscelides desmanthi in Desmanths spp. from Colombia, A. obtectus in Phaseolus vulgaris from Argentina, Colombia Mexico, Peru; Bruchidius atrolineatus in Vigna unguiculata from Nigeria; Bruchus affinis in Vicia faba from Afghanistan; B. dentipes in Vicia spp. from Afghanistan, ICARDA (Syria) and Syria; B. ervi in Lens spp. from Afghanistan, Chile, Cyprus, Ethiopia, Germany, Greece, ICARDA (Syria), Iran, Iraq, Italy, Jordan, Lebanon, Mexico, Morocco, Russian Federation, Syria and Turkey; B. nubilis in V. faba from Ukraine; B. rufimanus in V. faba from Afghanistan, Canada, Spain and Syria; B. signaticornis in L. culinaris from ICARDA (Syria); B. tristis in Lathyrus odoratus from ICARDA (Syria); B. tristiculus in V. narborensis from Portugal; Callosobruchus rhodesianus in Vigna unguiculata from Nigeria and C. subinnotatus in V. subterranea from Ghana were intercepted. Many of the pulse beetles were intercepted repeatedly from the same/ different source(s) year after year. All the infested samples were salvaged using suitable disinfestation treatments. None of the intercepted beetles are yet reported from India, and are therefore, of high quarantine significance.

Biosecuring India against exotic bruchids: two decades of quarantine monitoring of grain legumes germplasm

The quarantine of 36,500 germplasm samples of various grain legumes with seed as a pathway imported into India during 1996–2015 was undertaken at ICAR-National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources, New Delhi. As these plant genera are known to carry hidden infestation, seeds were screened through soft X-rays and bruchids infestation (Coleoptera: Bruchidae) was detected in 3175 samples (8.69% infestation). The quarantine measures resulted in interception of 25 bruchids on 40 hosts from over 40 sources/countries. Of the interceptions, 13 bruchids are not reported from India. These are Acanthoscelides obtectus in Cajanus cajan from CIAT (Columbia), Brazil, Italy, Nigeria; in Phaseolus vulgaris from Columbia, Italy, Mexico, Nigeria, Peru, Slovakia and USA; Vigna subterranea from CIAT (Columbia) and in Vicia faba from ICARDA (Syria), Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Spain, USA; Bruchidius atrolineatus in V. mungo from Srilanka; in Vigna radiata and V. unguiculata from Italy, Nigeria, UK; B. murinus in V. faba from UK; Bruchus affinis in Lathyrus spp., from USA; B.atomarius in Vicia gathrnensis and B. dentipes in V. faba from ICARDA (Syria) in V. narbonensis from Afghanistan; B. ervi in Lathyrus sativus from Lebanon, Syria; in Lens spp., from several countries; B. rufimanus in V. faba from Afghanistan; B. tristiculus in Lens sp., and B. tristis in L. sativus from ICARDA (Syria); Callosobruchus rhodesianus in V. unguiculata from Nigeria and C. subinnotatus in V. subterranea from Ghana; Specularius erythreus in Cajanus cajan and Vigna radiata from Italy.