TL II, Obj 2: Enhancing Groundnut Productivity and Production in Drought-prone Areas of sub-Saharan

Africa and South Asia Partner countries (7) India in South Asia, Malawi, Mozambique and Tanzania in East and Southern Africa (ESA) and Mali, Niger and Nigeria in West and Central Africa (WCA).

Components (5) •  Farmer-participatory varietal selection (FPVS) •  Farmers’ awareness activities •  Seed support •  Infrastructure development and strengthening of breeding programs •  Capacity building

Varieties of farmers’ choice

Tamil Nadu – Namakkal

• Only VB type grown in > 47,500 ha as a mono crop under rainfed conditions

•  Variety TMV 1, released in 1940, still dominant in the district •  From 7 test varieties in 27 MTs and 63 BTs in 12 villages in the

district, farmers’ choice narrowed down to ICGV 87846 in the first year itself as it was a front runner all the way

•  Its pod yield averaged 1603 kg ha-1, 20% superior to the nearest test variety and 85% superior to TMV 1

•  2009 R season: 237 paired comparisons with TMV 1 in 8 villages in 3 panchayat unions

Why farmers in Namakkal like ICGV 87846 groundnut variety?

•  Early seedling vigor and profuse and synchronized flowering

•  High pod (greater number of matured pods plant-1) and haulm yield

•  Market-preferred pod and kernel traits

•  General drought tolerance (particularly early season drought)

•  Its erect plant type allows easy manual harvest

Varieties of farmers’ choice …..

Tamil Nadu - Erode and Thiruvannamalai

•  Both districts grow Spanish groundnut •  From 8 test varieties in 27 MTs and 80 BTs in 12 villages in the

2008 R season in Erode, the choice narrowed down to 3 varieties

•  From 7 test varieties in 27 MTs and 54 BTs in 9 villages in 4 panchayat unions in the 2008 R season in Thiruvannamalai, the choice narrowed down to 2 varieties

•  2009 R season: 27 MTs and 60 BTs in 9 villages in 3 panchayat unions in Erode and in 27 MTs and 54 BTs in 9 villages in 3 panchayat unions in Thiruvannamalai with 4 varieties (VG 0104, R 2001-2, TVG 0004 and ICGV 00351) in progress

Varieties of farmers’ choice …..

Karnataka

•  Hiriyur: From 10 varieties in 27 MTs and 90 BTs in 10 villages in the 2008 R season, # of varieties reduced to 5 (Chintamani 2, R 2001-2, ICGV 00350, ICGV 04096 and ICGV 91114)

2009 R season: 24 MTs and 120 BTs in 12 villages in 4 taluks with 5 varieties in progress

•  Bagalkot: From 10 varieties in 17 MTs and 34 BTs in 9 villages of 3 taluks in Bagalkot in the 2008 R season, # of varieties reduced to 5 (R 2001-3, R 2001-2, ICGV 00350, Dh 4-3 and GPBD 4)

2009 R season: 20 MTs and 20 BTs in 6 villages in the same 3 taluks in progress

•  Raichur: 2009 R season: A set of 5 varieties (R 2001-3, R 2001-2, ICGV 00350, Dh 4-3 and GPBD 4) under evaluation in 27 MTs and 54 BTs in 9 villages in 3 taluks

Where do we go from here?

•  Conclusion of FPVSTs after the harvest of 2009 R season. • GPBD 4, R 2001-2, R 2001-3, and Dh 4-3 at the national level

and ICGV 91114 at state level already released •  ICGV 00350, included in the national testing system, likely to be

released in 2009/10 at national level. •  Vigorous follow up on the release of the remaining FPVs (ICGV

87846, VG 0104, TVG 0004 and ICGV 00351) •  Released FPVs - included in formal seed production program and

‘yet to be released’ FPVs - on-station and on-farm seed production under informal seed system

•  Intense activities to enhance farmers’ awareness of improved varieties

•  Promising lines from international groundnut varietal trials and on-station breeding programs to be included in future FPVSTs

Knowledge empowerment of farmers

•  In spite of strong extension departments and print and electronic media devoted to agriculture, a lot of poor farmers remain ignorant of new developments in agriculture due to their inaccessible locations.

•  They should be reached and communicated in the language and manner they understand.

•  Training programs and meetings should be organized at such a time that they do not clash with social/religious events and peak farm operations.

•  About 681 farmers (480 men and 201 women) in Tamil Nadu and 2550 farmers in Karnataka participated in different training programs/field visits/field days at project locations.

•  40 farmers of Tamil Nadu undertook an educational tour to IC (20 men and 7 women) and DGR, Junagadh (13 farmers).

Farmer-friendly literature

• A booklet on ‘Improved package of practices for groundnut’ and a pamphlet on ‘Groundnut variety ICGV 87846’ in Tamil

•  ‘Improved production technology for groundnut’ and ‘Seed production techniques in groundnut’ in Kannada

• Articles on new variety ICGV 91114 and improved cultivation practices of groundnut published by ZRS, Hiriyur in vernacular (Kannada) press

• A leaflet on ICM practices in groundnut was also published in Kannada by UAS, Raichur

Seed support to FPVSTs and seed systems (formal and informal)

Tamil Nadu •  1.8 t Nucleus seed (NS) of 2 varieties, 32.1 t Breeder seed (BS)

of 5 varieties and 1.2 t Truthful seed (TS) of 3 varieties produced (2008 R and 2008/09 PR seasons)

•  2009 R season: Expected production of 22.4 t seed of different classes

Karnataka •  4.5 t NS of 1 variety, 150.4 t BS of 7 varieties

and 6.7 t of 3 varieties produced (2008 R and 2008/09 PR seasons).

•  2009 R season: Expected production of 45.2 t seed of different classes

Seed support to FPVSTs and seed systems (formal and informal) …..

ICRISAT

•  2008 R season: 1.7 t NS of 3 varieties produced, 21 other varieties multiplied on 2.0 ha and 1.8 t seed supplied to TL II collaborators for FPVSTs

•  2008/09 PR: 28.6 t BS of 5 varieties ((ICGV 91114, ICGS 44, ICGS 76, DRG 12 and ICGV 86564) produced and 25.0 t distributed, Up coming varieties in FPVSTs (ICGV# 87846, 00351 and 00350) and 20 other varieties multiplied and 2.9 t seed supplied to TL II collaborators for FPVSTs

•  2009 rainy season: NS of 2 varieties being produced in 3.0 ha

Infrastructure development for crop improvement research

Tamil Nadu

•  TNAU, Coimbatore: Foliar diseases screening facilities further strengthened by installing mini-sprinklers to create conducive environment for diseases development

•  TNAU, Tindivanam: Drought resistance screening facilities further strengthened by provision of a rain out shelter and a SPAD chlorophyll meter

Karnataka

•  UAS, Bengaluru: Appropriate hybridization infrastructure created at ARS, Chintamani

•  UAS, Raichur: Foliar diseases screening capability upgraded by providing necessary equipments to carry out artificial inoculation

•  UAS, Dharwad: A mini sprinkler system installed to facilitate screening for foliar diseases

Capacity building

Tamil Nadu

•  2 scientists in molecular marker application and 2 other scientists and 1 technician in breeding methods and seed production in groundnut trained

•  A PhD student (Ms D Shoba) - on identification of molecular markers associated with resistance to rust and late leaf spot

Karnataka •  5 technicians (one from each center)

trained in hybridization, breeding methods and seed production in groundnut

Progress in crop improvement research

•  All the centers have their own on-going groundnut breeding programs operating at different scales and levels of efficiency

•  TL II - a catalytic role in enhancing their efficiency by providing critical inputs and bringing them closer to farmers by promoting frequent farmer-scientist interactions

Tamil Nadu (2009 R season)

•  Foliar diseases resistance breeding at Coimbatore: 15 new crosses, 1351 F2 – F6 populations and 200 germplasm lines (obtained from the DOR, Junagadh) being screened for diseases resistance and agronomic traits

•  Drought resistance breeding at Tindivanam: Besides growing 20 F1s and 20 F2s , 20 new crosses are planned for the 2009 R season

Progress in crop improvement research …..

Karnataka (2009 R season)

•  Chintamani: 150 germplasm accessions from UAS, Dharwad and 22 from ICRISAT obtained, 10 new crosses, 922 F2 – F7 selections in populations 26 crosses

•  Dharwad: 20 new crosses and screening of 6 F2 and 2 F3 populations for resistance to foliar diseases and agronomic traits, 199 new breeding lines from ICRISAT

•  Raichur: 189 F1s, 6 F3 populations, 5 F7 bulks and 13 advanced breeding lines, selected from international groundnut varietal trials supplied by ICRISAT.

Lessons Learnt

•  Delayed onset of monsoon and drought kill farmers’ enthusiasm in participation and implementation of project activities. A lot of persuasion is required to keep their interest alive in the crop and associated field activities.

•  Traders’ preference for high shelling outturn and oil recovery and farmers’ preference for both high pod yield and high fodder yield require breeders’ attention while selecting a genotype in the field.

•  Groundnut, being largely a rainfed crop, is most vulnerable to vagaries of weather. In addition to a regular plan, we always need to have a contingency plan so that the gains made in the past are not wiped out due to natural calamities.

Thank You