To smash the low-yield plateau in pigeonpea [Cajanus cajan (L.) Millsp.], a hybrid breeding programme was launched in 1974. Now 50 years of its research and development have been completed and this manuscript takes stock of its accomplishments, hiccups, present status, and future plans. This programme got wings when pigeonpea breeders successfully bred cytoplasmic nuclear male sterility (CMS) systems, and following this, six hybrids with 30- 50% standard heterosis were released. To realize the true value of hybrids and commercialize them, a strong seed quality control system is necessary. Traditionally, the genetic truthfulness of hybrid seeds is assessed through a standard “Grow-out Test (GoT)”. This involves sowing the freshly harvested hybrid seeds and assessing their progenies for a dominant quality determining phenotypic marker. Pigeonpea, being a short-day species, its plants flower only when the day length is around 10-11 h. Since the pigeonpea crop is harvested under increasing photo-periods, the sowing of hybrid seeds, soon after the harvest will not produce flowers under the prevailing long summer days and this will not allow the required assessment of their progenies. Due to this sole reason, the GoT could not be applied to the released photo-sensitive hybrids. This leaves breeders with no option except to look for some alternative seed quality control system. In this context, the application of molecular markers to discriminate between true hybrids and off-types appeared to be the right way. At present molecular marker-based quality testing kits are available to assist seed producers in controlling the purity of hybrid seeds. We believe that in future a follow-up hybrid promotional programme with new technologies would help in breaking the low-yield plateau and enhance the national pigeonpea production.

The use of crop wild relatives in the breeding program has been well recognized to diversify the genetic base along with introgression of useful traits. Cajanus platycarpus (Benth.) Maesen, an annual wild relative belonging to the tertiary genepool of pigeonpea, possesses many useful traits such as early maturity, high protein content, photoperiod insensitivity, and pod borer tolerance for the genetic improvement of cultivated pigeonpea. Using this cross incompatible wild Cajanus species, an advanced backcross population was developed following the embryo rescue technique. In the present study, a pre-breeding population consisting of 136 introgression lines (ILs) along with five popular varieties (used as checks) was evaluated for important agronomic traits during 2016 and 2017 rainy seasons and for grain nutrient content during 2016, 2017, and 2018 rainy seasons. Large genetic variation was observed for agronomic traits such as days to 50% flowering, number of pods per plant, pod weight per plant, grain yield per plant, and grain nutrients [protein content, grain iron (Fe), zinc (Zn), calcium (Ca), and magnesium (Mg)] in the pre-breeding population. Significant genotype × environment interaction was also observed for agronomic traits as well as grain nutrients indicating the sensitivity of these traits to the environments. No significant correlations were observed between grain yield and grain nutrients except grain Zn content which was negatively correlated with grain yield. Overall, 28 promising high-yielding ILs with high grain nutrient content were identified. These ILs, in particular, ICPP # 171012, 171004, 171102, 171087, 171006, and 171050 flowered significantly earlier than the popular mega variety, ICPL 87119 (Asha) and thus hold potential in developing new short-duration cultivars. The comprehensive multi-site assessment of these high-yielding, nutrient-rich accessions would be useful in identifying region-specific promising lines for direct release as cultivars. Moreover, these ILs are expected to replace the popular existing cultivars or for use as new and diverse sources of variations in hybridization programs for pigeonpea improvement.

Twenty CGMS-based pigeonpea [Cajanus cajan (L.) Millsp.] hybrids were evaluated along with parents and standard check (Maruthi) to study the nature and magnitude of relationship of important agronomic traits with seed yield. The association studies indicated significant positive correlation of seed yield with all characters in parents and crosses except 100-seed weight (g), seed protein (%).

This dataset contains phenotypic evaluation data of medium duration Pigeonpea (C.acutifolious) advanced trials for year 2016-17. Research work was conducted at ICRISAT Center, Patancheru. Pigeonpea is a very important grain legume crop for food and other uses in Asia and Africa. It is often cross-pollinated species with a diploid number of 2n= 2x22 and genome size of 858Mbp. Every year 50 to 100 and above new crosses (and also CMS hybrids) will be made evaluated in nurseries to develop new high yielding cultivars with adaptability to different climatic/agronomic zones. Based on their agronomic performance in nurseries for maturity time, branching pattern and number of branches, pod color, pod yield and other pest and diseases tolerance characters etc, the superior progenies will be selected and advanced to further generations. The progenies selected based on preliminary/nursery data will be evaluated along with controls in replicated (twice or thrice) trials every year for further agronomic evaluation and selection. The agronomic data (days to 50% flowering and/or maturity, plant height, grain yield, grain size and color etc) of the progenies evaluated in years 2017 were presented herewith. The trial details and plot sizes were given. This data helps us to select and advance further. Finally the few best progenies among them will be evaluated in on-farm trials (OFTs) and in multi-location trials. The best performed progenies will be considered to promote/release in respective agronomic zones. Experiment location on Google Map

The mandate grain legumes of ICRISAT include chickpea, pigeonpea and groundnut which are important crops of Asia and Africa. The grain legumes improvement program of ICRISAT has access to the largest collection of germplasm of these crops (20,602 accessions of chickpea, 13,771 accessions of pigeonpea, and 15,446 accessions of groundnut) available in ICRISAT genebank, state-of-the art genomics lab, Platform for Translational Research on Transgenic Crops (PTTC), precision phenotyping facilities for abiotic and biotic stresses, controlled environment facilities and a global network of research partners. The major objectives of grain legumes improvement include high yield, early maturity, resistance/tolerance to key abiotic and biotic stresses, and market preferred grain traits (size, shape and color). The crop-specific breeding objectives include suitability to machine harvesting and herbicide tolerance in chickpea, development of hybrids in pigeonpea, and enhanced oil yield and quality (high oleic content) and tolerance to aflatoxin contamination in groundnut. The crop breeding programs have been making extensive use of the germplasm, including wild species. The advances in genomics include availability of draft genome sequences, large number of molecular markers, high density genetic maps, transcriptomic resources, physical maps and molecular markers linked to genes/quantitative trait loci for key traits. There are successful examples of introgression of traits through marker-assisted backcrossing in chickpea and groundnut. Transgenics events are available for pod borer resistance in chickpea and pigeonpea and drought tolerance in groundnut. Advances have also been made in use of secondary metabolites for promotion of plant growth, control of insect pests and plant pathogens, and biofortification. The breeding materials and germplasm supplied by ICRISAT have led to release of 160 varieties of chickpea in 26 countries, 91 varieties/hybrids of pigeonpea in 19 countries and 190 varieties of groundnut in 38 countries. Many of these varieties have been adopted widely by farmers and benefitted them in sustainably improving their livilihoods.

Recently released pigeonpea hybrids for cultivation in farmers’ fields have shown their potential to elevate the yield levels. For instance, the world’s first grain legume hybrid of pigeonpea ICPH 2671 showed 47% yield advantage over the check varieties. Generally, the development of such hybrids is based on selection efficiency of breeding program; breeders make thousands of random crosses between cytoplasmic male sterile (CMS) lines and tester lines. In order to enhance the selection efficiency, genomic diversity along with the phenotyping data have been used for predicting the best possible parental combinations. This approach has been successfully used in defining heterotic pools in many crop species such as maize, rice, sunflower, and rapeseeds.. With an aim to define heterotic pools in pigeonpea, a set of 104 parental lines (09 CMS, 13 maintainers and 82 restorers) have been re-sequenced following whole genome re-sequencing (WGRS) approach. WGRS yielded a total of 511 GB data with the coverage ranging from 5X to 10X. A total of 3.4 million SNPs have been identified across parental lines. Structural variations such as copy number and presence/ absence variations have been also identified. In parallel, these parental lines have been used to develop test crosses in factorial mating design. F1 hybrids along with parental lines were phenotyped for yield and yield related traits at two locations in India, namely ICRISAT, Telangana State and ARS-Gulbarga, Karnataka. The availability of genome-wide SNP variations combined with the phenotypic data will be used for deploying genomic selection to define hetereotic pools in pigeonpea for accelerating hybrid breeding program.

Pigeonpea (Cajanus cajan) is one of the most important legume crop, ranking fifth in importance among edible legumes globally. It is adversely affected by intermittent and terminal droughts. As grain yield under drought is heavily influenced by genotype × environment interactions, a trait-based selection had been considered more beneficial in drought tolerance breeding. The objective of this study is to identify putative traits that confer yield advantages under post-flowering drought stress. Fifteen super early and early genotypes including breeding and germplasm lines, as a subset of greater number of test genotypes were field evaluated for pre and post-harvest physiological and agronomical traits. Significant variation was observed, among the genotypes, for the traits normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) and SPAD chlorophyll meter reading, measured at different days after sowing at the reproductive phase, shoot biomass productivity, and yield components. Genotype × drought treatment interactions were found to be meager, especially in super early lines. Grain yield under drought was closely associated with NDVI measured at podfilling stage (r=0.86***), shoot biomass at maturity, harvest index (HI) and yield components. Though the genotypic variation in SPAD chlorophyll reading was large, its correlation with grain yield under drought was not significant. NDVI, a high throughput measure, was found to be significantly correlated with the other putative traits such as shoot biomass (r=0.91***), HI, pod number m-2 and seed number m-2 and therefore, can be used as a proxy in identifying better drought tolerant lines in crop improvement for early and super early pigeonpea.

Hybrid pigeonpea technology, based on cytoplasmic nuclear male-sterility was developed at International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT); 20 CMS-based hybrids along with two standard checks, Asha and Maruti were sown for study of yield potential. Among the hybrids, Seed yield (kg ha-1) was maximum in ICPA 2047 × ICPL 20126 (2635.36 kg ha-1). Out of 22 genotypes, seven hybrids were showed significantly high Seed yield (kg ha-1) over best check Asha (1636.30 kg ha-1) and general mean (2095.91 kg ha-1) both. The range of seed yield (kg ha-1) varies from 1381.99 kg ha-1 (Maruti) to 2635.36 kg ha-1 (ICPA 2047 × ICPL 20126).

Transcriptomic studies are rapidly evolving as a powerful tool with next-generation sequencing technology to understand gene functions and molecular mechanisms. RNA sequencing (RNAseq) provides a dynamic range for transcript detection and a better quantification of expression levels.With the availability of genome sequence in pigeonpea, RNA-seq was used to link the sequence information to phenotypic traits resulting from specific developmental processes. In pigeonpea, three-line hybrid breeding system is well-established; however, it is technically demanding and cumbersome. In order to explore the possibility of a two-line hybrid breeding system, a coherent transcriptomic approach supported by physiological and cytological data has led to the identification of a temperature-sensitive male sterile (TSMS) line. This line has been characterized for critical (tetrad) stage and temperature (23°C), and the identification of candidate genes involved in abscisic acid signaling for fertility reversion. Furthermore, a gene expression atlas (CcGEA) has been developed and transcriptomic profiles generated for studying pod and seed development with a dataset of 590.84 and 342 million paired-end reads, respectively in pigeonpea. These data have been analyzed for genes with differential, specific, spatio-temporal and constitutive expression. In addition, CcGEA identified a gene network of 28 co-expressed genes, including two regulatory genes, a pollen specific SF3 and a sucrose-proton symporter to be involved in pollen fertility, which has potential implication in seed yield improvement. In summary, this study, especially identification of TSMS and development of CcGEA, will accelerate on-going efforts to enhance genetic gains in pigeonpea.

Twenty CGMS-based pigeonpea [Cajanus cajan(L.) Millspaugh] hybrids were synthesized manually by crossing five CMS lines (A lines) with 11 male lines (R lines) and these hybrids wereevaluated to studyyield potential with the performance of their R- lines. The results showed that the restoring capacities of restorer linesare very important to quality seed production and for yield potential.Result from the study indicated thatmost of the R- line acts as good restorer and it ranged from98.50% (ICPL 20108) to 59.22%(ICPL 2009.In present study most of the hybrids showed standard heterosis towards in desirable direction for yield and yield contributing characters over the checks so these cross combination of parent may be exploited to developed the hybrid in pigeonpea for obtaining higher grain yield.The range of standard heterosis over Asha for grain yield per plant was ranged from -13.06 (ICPA 2092 x ICPL 20123) to 40.91% (ICPA 2047 x ICPL 20126).

Farmers of Odisha’s rainfed areas have poor access to quality pigeonpea materials. In 2011, the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) implemented a project ‘Introduction and Expansion of Improved Pigeonpea (Arhar) Production Technology in Rainfed Upland Ecosystems of Odisha’forfouryears (2011-2015) covering five districts. Two years after, a survey was conducted to study the adoption and effects of the interventions that revealed insights on yield, income and ways for sustaining and upscaling. The assessment showed that improved cultivars and improved agronomic practices resulted in significant increase in yield and income. ‘One village-One variety’ seed system led to quality seed supply not only in the project sites but also in adjacent villages. Innovative capacity development and commitments of stakeholders enriched knowledge and skills of pigeonpea’s cultivation that helped farmers in making appropriate choices. The result of the investment in two major pigeonpea activities namely improve pigeonpea production technology (IPPT) and seed production (SP) showed a robust investment gain computed at 308% or about four times increased from the ? 45 million ($900,000) invested in the project for two years.

Pigeonpea [Cajanus cajan (L.) Millsp.] is an important pulse crop of peninsular India and of the 4 m ha grown, this region contributes >70% both in area and production. The productivity of pigeonpea in this region is at around 650 kg/ ha, and to smash this low yield plateau, a hybrid technology, based on cytoplasmic nuclear male-sterility (CMS) and natural cross-pollination was evolved at ICRISAT. Among several location-specific hybrids were bred, ICPH 2740 gave out-standing performance in farmers’ fields and later released in Telangana for cultivation in 2015 as “Mannem Konda Kandi”. This wilt and sterility mosaic resistant hybrid was tested in 31 locations over five years exhibited 40.7% superiority over the ruling variety “Asha”. In the on-farm trials also, this hybrid recorded yield advantage of 36.2% in four provinces. This paper discusses salient features, performance, and seed technology of the hybrid ICPH 2740.

The aim of this study was to evaluate three strains of Streptomyces(CAI-21,CAI-26 and MMA 32), demonstrated previously to have potential for control of charcoal rot disease in sorghum and plant growth promotion (PGP) in rice and chickpea, for their PGP traits in Pigeonpea under field conditions in 2014 rainy season. TheStreptomyces enhanced the nodule number, nodule weight, root weight and shoot weight at 30 days after sowing (DAS) and branches, leaf area, stem weight and root weight at 60 DAS over the un-inoculated control. Atcropmaturity, the Streptomyces enhanced stover and grain yields over the un inoculated control. The three Streptomyces were demonstrated for PGP activity in Pigeonpea as well.

The cold spray process is a modern coating process using high velocity and low process temperature particles for surface modification to improve the surface properties of the substrate, such as adhesion, wettability, corrosion resistance, or wear resistance. Coating may be applied as liquid, gases, or solid. In this process spray particles are accelerated the high velocity by a supersonic gas flow that is generated through only by convergent-divergent (CD) nozzle. Convergent-divergent nozzle could achieve the super-sonic velocity through the divergent section, but there is also some problem if the velocity is greater than the Mach number at the throat then the nozzle would be chocked and no flow of air and particles through the nozzle. In this study, simulation and optimization of the cold spray nozzle and spray process has been done with the help of Modelling software. Cold spray nozzle geometry of (CD) nozzle drawn in GAMBIT and solved by the FLUENT solver. To solve the cold spray nozzle, pressure based solver is used because it is more relevant for the problem, for turbulence model Realizable k-ε flow model has used in this problem because this model is relatively new and differ from the standard k-ε model by two ways firstly it contain a new formulation for turbulence viscosity and secondly it has new transport equation for the dissipation rate. After that providing the operating and boundary condition at the inlet and outlet section of the (CD) nozzle, the discrete phase model is activated. Optimizations of CD nozzle is done at the group injection for the length 10mm, 20mm and 30mm after giving the all parameters and then validate the respective work.

Recently, a hybrid breeding technology has been successfully developed in pigeonpea and three high yielding hybrids were released. This technology is based on cytoplasmic -nuclear male-sterility (CMS) and insect-aided natural out – crossing systems. These hybrids produced 25–40% more yield over the local cultivars in farmers'fields. The seed production technology of hybrids and their male and female parents has also now been perfected. These hybrids mature in 6–7 months hence have limited adaptation; to register greater impact of this technology early maturing (4–5 months) group hybrid breeding programme was initiated. This paper, besides reviewing the performance of some early maturing hybrids, discusses their prospects in enhancing productivity in the existing and new potential niches.

Seed is the fundamental life-blood of agriculture and the foundation of a successful farming for smallholder farmers in the dryland tropics. The farmer does make arrangements for many farm inputs but the seed is the primary input. Good quality seeds, which have genetic and physical purity; health standards; high germination and moisture percentage, can increase farmer’s production by about 20-30%. The Green Revolution (GR) program has influenced seed system in the 70’s in vegetables and cereals but not in pulses, which is mainly grown in the dryland tropics. The procedures, through which a cultivar is bred, produced, certified, stored, marketed and used which includes all the channels through which farmers acquire genetic materials and in interaction with the commercial seed industry is known as seed system. The current seed flow in pulses reveals that marketing and usage from a system of free access and/or exchange is limited to seed growers or seed producers, traders (middlemen) and agricultural government agencies. The flow of planting materials is more on the farming community as farmer seed exchanges and barter is preferred than acquiring seeds by cash. Most often the cultivars promoted are the registered seeds or good seeds, limiting the diversity in farmers’ fields.

AbstractDie Kondensation der Nitrostyrole (I) mit Acetessigsäureester (II) in Gegenwart von Piperidin (III) führt zu den Furanen (IV).