Bioeco Balasubramanian En

7/28/2019 Bioeco Balasubramanian En

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Dr. P. Balasubramanian

Professor, Centre for Plant Molecular Biology

Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore

Research Priorities in Indian Agriculture


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Water the most precious commodity in India


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Indiapronetodroughtspells


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Warmer Nights Threaten India's RiceProduction

yAfter 25 years, Kenneth Cassman, a professor ofagronomy at the University of Nebraska and a co-authorin the IRRI project, concluded that "Every 1 oC increasein nighttime temperature led a 10 percent reduction in

yield."

y This is alarming because experts project an increase of4 oC at nighttime. In this situation, the plants would findit hard to respire, reproduce, and would need moreenergy in their processes.

y http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2010/05/05/1/ .
http://www.isaaa.org/kc/cropbiotechupdate/article.asp?xxIDxx=5993&xxURLxx=http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2010/05/05/1/http://www.isaaa.org/kc/cropbiotechupdate/article.asp?xxIDxx=5993&xxURLxx=http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2010/05/05/1/


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Importance of cereals and starchy foods


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Struggling to keep up


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Not much of land is left


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yFixation of heterosis through apomixis

y Improving nutritional status of major crops

y rice, wheat and potato


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Need for more efficiency


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Cheap protein


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Need for furthering biotechnology research

Impending challenges necessitating increased food

production

y burgeoning population

y shrinking land and water resourcesBiotechnology - Viable option

y

Increasing yield by reducing the losses due tobiotic and abiotic stresses

y Gene Revolution


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Agricultural priorities-Strategies and Tools

y Improving yield and quality

y QTL identification and Marker assisted breeding

y Genomics structural and functional genomics

y Bioinformatics and Functional validation

y Transgenics when necessary


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Major Indian Institutes involved in agri research

y NRCPB IARI, New Delhi

y Delhi University (Southcampus)

y NCPGR, New Delhi

y JNU, New Delhiy ICGEB, New Delhi

y TNAU, Coimbatore

y MSSRF, Chennai

y MKU, Madurai

y UAS, Bangalore

y UAS, Dharwad

y

University of Hyderabady PAU, Ludhiana

y DRR, Hyderabad

y GB Pant Univ, Pant Nagary MS Univ., Baroda


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Major problems of priority crops

y Quality improvement wheat

y Hybrid seed production mustard

y Transgenics for biotic stress resistance cotton,

mung bean and tomatoy Abiotic stress resistance rice


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Status of transgenic research in India

y Transgenic insect resistant cotton 2002

y Three more events were approved including one

indigenously isolated gene.

y Research on other crops is in advanced stages ofproduct development

y cauliflower, cabbage, potato, brinjal, tomato, rice,

mustard and bhendi


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Entry of private sector in Agriculture research

y When products are expected to be accompanied by a

strong IPR regime

y Technology-intensive and investment-oriented

y Major investment attractantsy Cotton and vegetables

y

Not all private companies have adequate R&D facil itiesy Concerns about human and animal health

y Often orchestrated


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Slow progress of agbiotech research in India

y Transition from Green Revolution to Gene Revolutiony Misquoted to be against the nature

y Biodiversity concerns often expressed

y ICAR/DBT/SAUs

y as always, exercise caution before adopting newer

technologiesy Spurious seeds-their presence in the market

y

Lacking in moral restrainty No legislation to contain


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Future of agriculture research in India

y

Intensification of genomics research forincreasing yield and stability

yCompletion of genetic mapping in rice and wheat

y Init iation of genetic mapping in grain legumes

yMolecular dissection of abiotic stress tolerance


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Future thrusts in Indian Agricultural Scenario

y Improving the iron content in rice grains

yNutritionally enhanced Indian varieties of potato

yApproaches to senescence retardation in fruits

yWork on plant-microbe and virus interactionsyGene silencing and recombination with a special

reference to containing crop viral diseases


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Think-tank vs. Do-Tank

Role ofMSMEs in taking the fruits of this

collaboration need to be clearly defined


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Leapfroggingy Leapfrogging is a theory of

development in whichdeveloping countries skipinferior, less efficient, moreexpensive or more polluting

technologies and industriesand move directly to moreadvanced ones.

y The best-known example of

leapfrogging is ?????


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Leapfrog technology!

y World's first solar powered stadium: Taiwan in 2009

finished construction on a 50,000-seat solar-poweredstadium that will generate 100% of its electricityfrom photovoltaic technology designed by theJapanese architect, Toyo Ito

The best-known Indian

example of leapfrogging is?????


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Leapfrog technologies

y Mobile phone use already

exceeds land line use inIndia, and by 2007, 150mill ion out of the 200 million

phone lines there will becellular.

y I am hopeful the next leapfrogtechnology will emerge from

this collaboration.


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Oliver Goldsmith in Deserted Village

y 55: But a bold peasantry, their country's pride,

y 56: When once destroy'd, can never be supplied.


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Bioeco Balasubramanian En

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