Romance to Remember: A Journey of 4 Decades Suresh Pande Principal Scientist (Pathology) Event: Seminar Venue: CF Bentley Conference Center Date: 12 April 2013
Nov 22, 2014
Romance to Remember: A Journey of 4 Decades
Suresh Pande Principal Scientist (Pathology)
Event: Seminar Venue: CF Bentley Conference Center Date: 12 April 2013
• Passion for nature
• Passion to profession
• Return to mountains
• Mountains to tropics
• Stint in the desert
• Ahead of time
• Acknowledgement
In this Journey:
Roots: Village Totarani, Dharmsala, Himachal Pradesh
Home: Where it all began ? In the lap of nature
In the lap of nature
Harcourt Butler Shimla
Walking to school
The First Lesson
From the first time that I can remember, I was passionately fond of Nature.
Oh ! It used to make me mad with joy when I saw the clouds come up in the sky one by one.
I felt, even in those early days, that I was surrounded with a companionship very intense and very intimate, though I did not know how to name it.
I had such an exceeding love for Nature that I can not think in what way to describe it; but she was with me, and always revealing to me some fresh beauty.
That’s how perhaps I learnt my first lesson of science.
The Three Questions
Why it is happening ?
How it is happening ?
What makes it happen ?
Mushrooms:
• Spawn • Compost • Casing • Edible • Poisonous
The first opportunity
Passion to Profession: Apple scab
Raw Recruit Researcher
Capping the Wheat Stem Rust before Ug 99
Return to mountains
ARS 1977: IARI Delhi- VPKS Almora
ARS 1977-80: IARI, Delhi- VPKS, Almora
Rust, Bunt, Smut: Wheat, Barley, Oats, and Triticales Blasts: Rice, Finger millet and other minor millets
Foliar diseases: Vegetables and legumes
Mountains to Tropics: ICRISAT 1980-2013
Focus: HPR, On-farm, Capacity building
Crop Period Disease Region
Sorghum 1980-1990 SDM, Charcoal rot, Anthracnose
Asia, Western Africa Southern Africa
Millet 1980-1990 Downy mildew Western, Southern Africa
Finger millet 1980-1990 Blast Eastern, Southern Africa
Groundnut 1990-2000 Rosette, Foliar Western Africa
Chickpea 1990-2013 Wilt, Root rots, Foliar Asia
Pigeonpea 2000-2013 Wilt, Sterility mosaic, Phytophthora blight
Asia
Sorghum Pathology 1980
Sorghum Downy Mildew: Dharwad
Innovation SDM Resistance Screening Technique- ToT- Zambia, Zimbabwe 1980’s
Field Incubator
Sandwich inoculation
News paper and Gunny bags
Infector row
Donor: SIDA
SDM: Panmure, Zimbabwe
SDM: Matopos, Zimbabwe
SDM: Golden valley, Zambia
Demonstrated the effect of: 1. Drought alone 2. Pathogen alone 3. Drought + Pathogen together
Epidemiology of Charcoal rot of Sorghum
Evaluation and Identification of Charcoal rot Resistance Non-senescence sorghums, ICRISAT
Evaluating severity of Charcoal rot in breeding material
Leaf spots, Smut and cooperators /ICRISAT Scientists at Mali
Sorghum Smut
Sorghum: Africa + Asia Collaboration
West Africa: Millet and Finger millet Downy mildew
Foliar diseases, Rosette, On-farm and ICGV 91114
Groundnut Pathology: 1990’s
Fungicides+Host plant resistance
On-Farm + Capacity Building
Farmers Participatory Identification of ICGV 91114
Expansion of ICGV 91114
Rosette of Groundnut Nigeria:
Stint in the Desert
Wheat Cultivation in the Desert
Potato Cultivation in the Desert
After Graduation in Desert, Return to ICRISAT
Golden Era: Opportunities
• Chickpea and pigeonpea diseases
• Changing scenario of diseases / pathogens
• Climate change and emerging diseases
• New science tools and plant pathogens
• Legumes in RWCS: IGP & RRFL
• Succession and mentoring
Chickpea Diseases and Their Management: HPR
Normal scenario (1970-2000)
Changed scenario (2001-2010)
Less frequent
More frequent
Changing Scenario of Chickpea Diseases
Pigeonpea Diseases and Their Management: HPR
Constraints to Chickpea Production
The 6 Bs: • Boron deficiency
• Bhilt (Wilt)
• Botrytis gray mold (BGM)
• Borer (Pod borer)
• Bruchids (storage pests)
• Blue Bull/Boar
ICM
IPM
INM
IDM
Approach Farmers Participatory Integrated Disease Management
On-Farm IDM of BGM in Chickpea, Nepal
0
5000
10000
15000
20000
1997
-98
1998
-99
1999
-00
2000
-01
2001
-02
2002
-03
2003
-04
2004
-05
Year
No
. o
f fa
rme
rs
Adoption
On-farm ICM in Chickpea in Nepal
On-Farm IDM of BGM in Chickpea, Bangladesh
Chickpea area expansion in Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh from 2008-09 to 2011-12.
State
329.28
803.03
728.00
1520.62
Are
a (
ha
)
RRFL: IPPPT– On-Farm
IPPPT expansion at targeted village/ district/state : 2008-09 to 2011-12
Before IPPPT
After IPPPT
Chickpea area expansion at individual house hold
RRFL: IPPPT– On-Farm
Rajesh Dixit (farmer) Bahuribandh (village), Rewa (District), MP
Example: JAKI 315 (30kg seed = 10t)
I Chickpea in RRFL of Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh: IPPPT
Looking Ahead
• Fungal Genomics
• Climate Change
Isolate : Most virulent Platform: Illumuna Hi Seq200
Seq. Coverage 378.6x
Assembly size (Mb) 64.3
Total contig length (Mb) 61.9
Scaffolds 1241
Contigs 3899
Contig N50 (kb) 69
GC (%) 47.97
Predicted protein-coding genes
18104
tRNAs 302
SSR 1464
Transposable elements 4.48%
Gene Statistics of Foc
F. oxysporum f sp. ciceris Whole genome sequencing
0 h 2 h 24 h
Total Gene expressed in each event during conidial morphogenesis
12679 12387 12917 12888
F. oxysporum f sp. ciceris: Transcriptome analysis
6 h
Comparative gene expression between events
Establishment of CoE- CCRPP
CoE- CCRPP: Infrastructure
Establishment of new facilities
Open Top Chamber (OTC)
CoE- CCRPP: Infrastructure
Establishment of new facilities
Open Top Chamber (OTC) Ventilation controlled chamber
Plant Growth Chambers with RH, Temp, CO2 Facility
Acknowledging encouragements
Dave
Acknowledging the Adventures
Acknowledging Mentors, Colleagues
Acknowledging Colleagues in Legumes Pathology
ICRISAT is a member of the CGIAR Consortium
Thank you!