In news
Punjab, the granary of India has come up with offerings of a bouquet of improved crop and vegetable varieties which are rich in nutrients and can make valuable contributions to the nutritional requirements of India’s population
Details
- ‘PAU 1 Chapatti’ with low polyphenols and outstanding processing qualities has been shortlisted for commercialization whereas wheat candidate varieties having high grain protein, high zinc, low phytates and high carotenoids have been developed.
- Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) has offered to growers two carotene rich cherry tomato varieties called Punjab Sona and Punjab Kesar and two anthocyanin rich brinjal varieties called Punjab Raunak and Punjab Bharpoor with antioxidant properties. These are also suitable for home/terrace/urban gardening. Inexpensive, nutrient rich home gardening pot mixture providing 40-50% higher productivity along with appropriately designed pots and pot props have also been developed.
- PAU has also identified wild rice accession with high grain protein and genetic stocks with high iron content for breeding rice with enhanced nutritional value. High grain iron and zinc lines have been identified in inter-specific crosses of chickpea.
Other Research
- Protocols have been developed for assessing insecticide resistance and resurgence in rice plant hopper, cotton whitefly and okra mites.
- Studies have been carried out to study pathogen dynamics and molecular level variability in pathogen populations of potato scab, rice sheath blight and wheat yellow rust and have strengthened the resistance breeding based strategy for management of these diseases.
- Besides environment friendly approaches for pest management, research on efficient rice straw management, promotion of soil health through carbon sequestration and lowering of green house gas emissions has been carried out.
Source: PIB
