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Three improved varieties of chickpea, which are better in drought tolerance, disease resistance and yields, have been developed by the International Crops Research Institute for Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) in collaboration with the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR). They have notified for cultivation by the Central Varietal Release Committee.
“Thirty five varieties of different crops with special traits including climate resilience were dedicated to the country by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Two of these were chickpea were developed in partnership with ICRISAT,” Trilochan Mohapatra, Secretary, Department of Agricultural Research and Director-General of ICAR, said in a statement.
The new chickpea varieties, IPC L4-14, BGM 4005 and IPCMB 19-3, are a result of ICRISAT’s collaborations with ICAR-Indian Institute of Pulses Research (IIPR) in Kanpur and ICAR-Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI), New Delhi. BGM 4005 and IPCMB 19-3 were among the crop varieties dedicated to the country recently.
Genes for tolerance
IPC L4-14 and BGM 4005 are drought-tolerant varieties that were developed by transferring a “QTL-hotspot” (genes for drought tolerance) from the donor chickpea variety ICC 4958 into two leading parental chickpea varieties, DCP 92-3 and Pusa 362, respectively.
After evaluation at several locations under rain-fed conditions for many years, the new varieties reported 14.76 per cent and 11.9 per cent overall mean yield advantage over their parental lines.
Also read: Modi dedicates 35 crop varieties with special traits to nation
“These new varieties are well poised to strengthen food and nutrition security as well as livelihoods in India by providing adaptation mechanisms to the climate related challenges confronting the agriculture sector,” Jacqueline Hughes, Director General of ICRISAT, said.
These varieties have been released for cultivation in Punjab, Haryana, Planes of Jammu and Kashmir, parts of Rajasthan and western Uttar Pradesh.
“Drought alone causes up to 60 per cent annual yield losses in chickpeas. Changing climate warrants development of cultivars that can attain their maximum potential under drought in rain-fed environments as well as in disease prone-environments,” Arvind Kumar, ICRISAT’s Deputy Director General – Research said.
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