Plant productivity is severely constrained by diverse pathogens, among which oomycetes represent some of the most destructive threats to global agriculture. These filamentous microorganisms cause devastating diseases, including potato late blight and downy mildew, leading to significant yield losses in major crops. Successful infection relies on the formation of haustoria through which oomycetes deliver numerous effector proteins that manipulate host cellular processes and suppress both pattern-triggered and effector-triggered immunity. To date, three major classes of oomycete effectors, including RXLR, Crinkler, and CHXC, along with a putative class YxSL [RK], have been identified in oomycetes. These effector molecules, along with the recently identified apoplastic effectors, play key roles in governing compatible and incompatible interactions and establishing disease in the host plant. Plants perceive these effectors by deploying multilayered immune strategies including plasma-membrane localized pattern-recognition receptors (PRRs) and intracellular NLR receptors that induce redox- and hormone-regulated defense pathways, and dynamic remodeling of transcriptional and metabolic networks. Understanding these effectors and how they manipulate host defense is a prerequisite for the generation of disease-resistant plants. In this review, we discuss the recent progress in the oomycete effectors, their secretion system, and their targets in the plant cells. By integrating pathogen strategies with host immune responses, we highlight how effector-mediated manipulation of plant signaling provides new opportunities for breeding and engineering broad-spectrum and durable resistance against oomycete pathogens.
Pearl millet [Pennisetum glaucum (L.) R. Br.] is a vital C4 nutri-cereal underpinning food security in arid and semi-arid regions; however, its productivity is constrained by poor seedling establishment under abiotic stress. The present study evaluated 300 diverse genotypes in randomized incomplete block design across three locations—Jodhpur, Bikaner and Nagaur—over two years to assess genetic variability, heritability and stability for key physiological and yield-related traits. Analysis of variance revealed significant genetic variation for all traits, including relative water content (RWC), membrane stability index (MSI), SPAD chlorophyll content, harvest index (HI) and grain yield per plant (GYP). High broad-sense heritability (> 80
Blast disease caused by the filamentous fungus Magnaporthe grisea is an economically important disease of finger millet. Identification of resistant sources is important to develop blast resistant varieties. A total of 153 finger millet genotypes were evaluated in augmented field trials for grain yield and blast resistance across two locations, Bangalore and Vizianagaram, representing major finger millet growing agro-climatic regions of India, during the rainy seasons of 2023 and 2024. Significant genetic variability was observed among the genotypes for agronomic and disease resistance traits, indicating substantial potential for genetic improvement. High heritability for grain yield per plant, ear weight, and blast scores suggested ample scope for effective selection toward enhanced productivity and resilience. Ear weight per plant showed a significant positive direct effect on grain yield, highlighting its usefulness as an indirect selection criterion for yield improvement. K-means clustering grouped genotypes into six clusters, revealing no direct association between genetic diversity and geographic origin. Cluster III comprised genotypes combining superior grain yield with blast resistance, whereas Cluster II consisted mainly of early-maturing but blast-susceptible genotypes. Principal component analysis further confirmed the contribution of phenological and disease resistance traits to total variation. A total of 33 genotypes, including GE 5155, GE 4805, and GE 4809, were identified as promising sources of high yield and blast resistance. Landraces such as GE 3322 (Dodda Ragi) and GE 1596 (Gidda Ragi) also exhibited desirable agronomic performance and disease resistance. These genotypes can serve as valuable donors for breeding climate-resilient finger millet cultivars. A diverse panel of 153 finger millet genotypes was evaluated for the grain yield followed by their response to blast disease in two environments during rainy seasons and analyzed using multivariate approach. Substantial genetic variability detected across accessions for major agronomic traits and blast resistance, indicating strong potential for crop improvement. K-means clustering revealed wide genetic diversity and Cluster III emerged as the most promising group, combining high yield with low blast incidence. Superior genotypes were identified for high grain yield and blast resistance. Integration of multi-location phenotyping and multivariate analyses provided a robust basis for identifying stable, high-performing genotypes.
Intercropping enhances biodiversity, crop productivity, and soil health, while appropriate spatial configuration and crop compatibility are critical determinants of its success. Therefore, a field study was conducted to evaluate the agronomic and ecological performance of Finger Millet-based intercropping systems under rainfed conditions, it was conducted over three consecutive kharif seasons (2021–2023) at Zonal Agricultural Research Station, Mandya. Thirteen treatments were tested, including various intercropping ratios and sole cropping systems. Among the evaluated treatments, Finger Millet + Groundnut (4:2) consistently recorded the highest finger millet equivalent yield, Land Equivalent Ratio, cropping duration efficiency and benefit–cost ratio. This system also significantly improved nutrient uptake, post-harvest soil nutrient status and soil biological activity, including microbial populations and urease, dehydrogenase, phosphatase functions. In terms of environmental performance, the system achieved the highest energy-use efficiency, net energy gain and carbon sequestration, while maintaining the lowest carbon footprint. Principal component analysis using 15 agronomic, biological and carbon-related traits showed that PC1 and PC2 explained 92.5
The presence of genetic diversity is a fundamental prerequisite for the success of any crop improvement programme, enabling the plant breeders to select divergent parents for hybridisation. To investigate this in white finger millet, an experiment was undertaken during Kharif 2022 with 52 white finger millet accessions and 8 checks for 16 yield-related and quality traits. The yield-related traits include days to 50 per cent flowering, plant height, number of fingers, finger length, finger width, number of tillers, panicle weight, days to maturity, grain yield per plot and test weight, and the quality traits examined were grain iron, zinc, calcium, magnesium, and phosphorus. Principal component analysis (PCA) was performed to assess the extent of diversity among accessions, and the first five principal components (PCs) were observed to have eigenvalues greater than one, which accounted for 75.85% of the total variability. The first principal component (PC1) contributed the maximum towards divergence (29.57%), followed by PC2 (20.04%), PC3 (14.21%), PC4 (7.54%) and PC5 (6.49%). The characters that contribute maximum towards genetic diversity were days to 50 per cent flowering, days to maturity, test weight, grain calcium, zinc, phosphorus and iron. Cluster analysis divided the total accessions into four clusters, and accessions from clusters I and III are promising for grain yield improvement, while those from cluster II are ideal for enhancing nutritional quality. Overall, the study concluded that the accessions studied were highly diverse for yield-related and quality traits, and careful selection of these accessions and traits will be beneficial for developing improved cultivars
