A new potential variety of melon (
Cucumis melo
L.; family Cucurbitaceae) is described here from Rajasthan, North western India. Detailed description, illustration and photo plate are provided to ...facilitate identification of this new variety.
Vigna stipulacea (Lam.) Kuntz., commonly known as Minni payaru is an underutilized legume species and has a great potential to be utilized as food crop. To evaluate and select the best germplasm to ...be harnessed in the breeding programme, we assessed the genetic diversity of V. stipulacea (94 accessions) conserved in the Indian National Genebank, based on morphological traits and microsatellite markers. Significant variation was recorded for the morphological traits studied. Euclidean distance using UPGMA method grouped all accessions into two major clusters. Accessions were identified for key agronomic traits such as, early flowering (IC331436, IC251436, IC331437); long peduncle length (IC553518, IC550531, IC553557, IC553540, IC550532, IC553564); and more number of seeds per pod (IC553529, IC622865, IC622867, IC553528). To analyse the genetic diversity among the germplasm 33 SSR primers were used anda total of 116 alleles were detected. The number of alleles varied from two to seven, with an average of 3.52 per loci. The polymorphic information content values varied from 0.20 to 0.74, with a mean of 0.40. The high number of alleles per locus and the allelic diversity in the studied germplasm indicated a relatively wider genetic base of V. stipulacea. Phylogenetic analysis clustered accessions into seven clades. Population structure analysis grouped them into five genetic groups, which were partly supported by PCoA and phylogenetic tree. Besides, PCoA and AMOVA also decoded high genetic diversity among the V. stipulacea accessions. Thus, morphological and microsatellite markers distinguished V. stipulacea accessions and assessed their genetic diversity efficiently. The identified promising accessions can be utilized in Vigna improvement programme through introgression breeding and/or can be used for domestication and enhanced utilization of V. stipulacea.
The study on Himalayan allium spices was undertaken with specific reference to commercially important taxa belonging to the genus
Allium
viz.
A. stracheyi
Baker
, A. wallichii
Kunth
, A. ...przewaliskianum
Regel and an
Allium
‘new type’. Based on eco-geographical and morphological studies, the ‘new type’
Allium
was identified as ‘neodomesticate’ for the western Himalaya region, Uttarakhand, along with other potential less-known taxa viz.
A. stracheyi, A. wallichii,
and
A. przewaliskianum
that are yet to be cultivated on large scale in India. Data on morphological characters of all four species when was subjected to statistical analysis
Allium
‘new type’ grouped closer to
A. przewaliskianum
as compared to remaining two taxa. The study is aimed to support use of morphological data in species identification besides enhancing knowledge on propagation, post-harvest methods, conservation status and species uses that would facilitate trade related practices for economic enhancement of the farming communities.
An aquatic cash crop, ‘
makhana’
(
Euryale ferox
Salisb.) was studied for predicted habitat suitability through ‘BioClim’ model for the year 1950–2000 and projected climate data for 2050 and 2070 for ...the Indian region based on primary data from survey and exploration for germplasm collection by ICAR-National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources (ICAR-NBPGR), New Delhi, India. A total of 362 diverse ‘
makhana’
or foxnut germplasm accessions were augmented mainly from different districts of Indian state of Bihar and conserved at the National Genebank (NGB) at ICAR-NBPGR, New Delhi. Predicted habitat suitability map of climate for the period 1950–2000 showed that the current locations of the highly suitable areas of cultivation of ‘
makhana’
in Bihar were extended to other states namely- Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal in eastern India. Out of the total highly suitable estimated areas, maximum were located in Bihar (65.0 per cent) followed by Uttar Pradesh (12.3 per cent), Jharkhand (12.2 per cent) and West Bengal (10.5 per cent). Based on future predicted climate data for the year 2050 the habitat suitability map indicated that out of the total high suitable areas, Bihar had maximum area as compared to the other three states. Predicted climate data using ‘BioClim’ variables showed that high suitable areas shifted from major part in Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal and negligible areas bordering Katihar district of Bihar. While predicted climate data for the year 2050 and 2070 showed high suitable areas in West Bengal, especially Malda and Dakschin Dinajpur districts completely shrank due to temperature rise; while Uttar Dinajpur (Goal Pokhar-I, Goal Pokhar-II and Islampur districts) appeared as new areas. In Uttar Pradesh, new districts viz. Balrampur and Shravasti were identified as high suitable areas for ‘
makhana’
cultivation. As ‘
makhana’
is a popular cash crop of eastern part of the country, and has not been cultivated widely in other regions, hence the knowledge on its botany, distribution, cultivation practices and uses are provided.
The entire collection of cultivated barley germplasm accessions conserved in the Indian National Genebank (INGB) was characterized for nine qualitative and 8 quantitative traits to assess the nature ...and magnitude of prevailing genetic variability and to develop a core set. A wide range of variability was observed for days to spike emergence (51-139 days), days to physiological maturity (100-152 days), plant height (45.96-171.32 cm), spike length (3.44-13.73 cm), grain number/spike (10.48-82.35), and 100-grain weight (1.20-6.86 g). Initially, seven independent core sets were derived using 3 core construction tools- MSTRAT, PowerCore, and Core Hunter 3 by employing the maximization method, heuristic sampling, and optimisation of average genetic distances, respectively. The core set-3 generated by Core Hunter 3 by simultaneous optimisation of diversity and representativeness, captured maximum genetic diversity of the whole collection as evident from the desirable genetic distance, variance difference percentage (VD; 87.5%), coincidence rate of range (CR; 94.27%) and variable rate of coefficient of variance (VR; 113.8%), which were more than threshold value of VD (80%), CR (80%), and VR (100%) required for good core collection. The coefficient of variation and Shannon-Weaver diversity indices were increased in the core set as compared with the whole collection. The low value of Kullback-Leibler distance (0.024-0.071) for all traits and quantile-quantile plots revealed a negligible difference between trait distribution patterns among the core set and entire assembly. Correlogram revealed that trait associations and their magnitude were conserved for most of the traits after sampling of the core set. The extraction of the INGB barley core set and identification of promising accessions for agronomically important traits in different genetic backgrounds will pave the way for expedited access to genetically diverse and agronomically important germplasm for barley breeding.
Less-known melons belonging to the genus
Cucumis melo
L. were studied for the Indian region. A total of 39 accessions of distinct types in less-known melons,
C. melo
subsp.
agrestis
var.
agrestis
...(local names-‘choti kachri’, ‘badi kachri’, ‘sukkangai’),
C. melo
subsp.
agrestis
var.
momordica
(‘phunt’, ‘vellari’; snap melon),
C. melo
subsp
. agrestis
var.
conomon
(‘sohthiar’; oriental pickling melon),
C. melo
subsp.
melo
var.
flexuosus
(‘kakdi’, ‘tar’; snake melon) and
C. melo
subsp.
agrestis
var.
alwarensis
(‘arya’) were studied for morphological characters of fruit to identify their genetic resource value. Out of 39 accessions, four taxa were selected for nutritional analysis and the floral diversity study on the basis of research gaps, status of diversity in wild and vulnerability in cultivation, and non-availability of comparative account in the context of diversity in the Indian region. Nutritional components of 12 accessions of four taxa-‘choti kachri’ and ‘badi kachri’, snap melon, snake melon and ‘arya’ were analyzed. Additionally, the floral diversity traits were studied to support marker characters and to classify the subspecies under the respective botanical varieties and cultivar delimitation. Morphologically ‘choti kachri’ and ‘badi kachri’ were identical except for the fruit size and weight; arya and snake melon grouped together with snap melon and other intermediate forms; oriental pickling melon was entirely distinct, more closer to the musk melon but had no fruit aroma. Based on floral diversity study, ‘choti kachri’ and ‘badi kachri’ were grouped together whereas snake melon and ‘arya’ were closer and snap melon showed intermediary position. The result of the nutritional analysis clearly demonstrated variability recorded among accessions for all proximate traits in ‘choti kachri (IC629817) which had the highest proteins (2.16–3.67%), ash content (3.059%), crude fat (0.482%), dietary fibre (4.12%), starch content (3.50%), Fe (4.06 mg/100 g), Zn (1.498 mg/100 g), total phenols (29.5%) and ascorbic acid (25.9 mg/100 g) among the studied melon accessions. On the other hand, ‘badi kachri’ (IC629828) had the least protein, crude fat, Cu, Fe, total phenol and ascorbic acid contents followed by snap melon, snake melon and ‘arya’ with moderate to low values of all nutritive traits. The study would facilitate identification of the distinct morphotypes in each category and grouping the intermediate type and unknown taxa. Fruit nutritional analysis will help in using them for desirable nutritional traits for pre-breeding programmes. Besides, the floral diversity can lead to identification of marker characters in crop improvement programme.
A new species,
Allium negianum
(Amaryllidaceae), belongs to the genus Allium subg. Rhizirideum, sect. Eduardia is described here from the Uttarakhand Himalayan region of India. This taxon grows in ...Malari region of Niti valley in Chamoli district and Dharma valley of Pithoragarh district, Uttarakhand, India. It is a narrowly distributed species and morphologically more closer to
A. przewalskianum
Regel but differentiated by its tunic color of bulb, umbel with lax flowers, peduncle length, perigone colour, size and shape and leaf anatomy. Taxonomic delineation and relationship analysis based on nuclear ribosomal Internal Transcribed Spacers (ITS) region indicated that
A. negianum
is distinct and related to
A. przewalskianum
. This study provided a comprehensive description and comparison with
A. przewalskianum
, an identification key and notes on the distribution of the species.
The genus
consists of more than 184 herbaceous annual and perennial species suitable for multifaceted sustainable food and feed production system in the arid and semi-arid regions of the world. The ...grasspea is a promising source of protein nutrition. However, its potential is not being utilized fully due to the presence of neurotoxin content (β-N-oxalyl-l-α, β diaminopropionic acid, β-ODAP), a causal agent of non-reversible lower limbs paralysis. The high protein contents in seeds and leaves with ~90% digestibility make it sustainable super food to beat protein malnutrition in future. Therefore, it is desired to breed new grasspea cultivars with low β-ODAP contents. Limited research has been carried out to date about this feature. A draft genome sequence of grasspea has been recently published that is expected to play a vital role in breeding and identifying the genes responsible for biosynthesis pathway of β-ODAP contents in grasspea. Efforts to increase awareness about the importance of genus
and detoxify β-ODAP in grasspea are desired and are in progress. Presently, in South Asia, systematic and dedicated efforts to support the farmers in the grasspea growing regions by disseminating low β-ODAP varieties has resulted in a considerable improvement in reducing the incidence of neurolathyrism. It is expected that the situation will improve further by mainstreaming grasspea cultivation by implementing different approaches such as the development and use of low β-ODAP varieties, strengthening government policies and improved detox methods. The present review provides insight into the multifaceted characteristics of sustainable nutritious grasspea in the global and Indian perspective.
Immature fruits of cultivated species of
Luffa
are commonly used as summer vegetable in India. Rich morphological variability occurs in cultivated species of
Luffa
in different growing regions of the ...country. To study morphological variability in cultivated and wild
Luffa
from different agro-ecological regions of India, a total of seventy accessions were assembled. Morphological variations in leaf, fruit and seed characters were found to delimit cultivated and wild
Luffa
species. Cluster analysis revealed two major clusters, one comprising of 36 accessions of
Luffa acutangula
and the other of 30 accessions belonging to
L. aegyptiaca.
A local cultivar “Satputia” (
L. hermaphrodita
) was classified along with cultivated
L. acutangula
and wild
L. acutangula
var.
amara.
Wild species namely
L. graveolens
and
L. echinata
were clustered closer to the
L. acutangula
.
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