Indian Agricultural Research Institute

Genome-wide insights into seed morphometry and breeding ideotypes in durum wheat

Durum wheat ( Triticum turgidum ssp. durum ) is a staple cereal crop that is widely cultivated in the Mediterranean and semi-arid areas. The morphology of the grain plays an important role in determining yield, milling quality, and the suitability for various end-use applications...

Integrating physiological and proteomics signatures for understanding drought, salinity and alkalinity stress tolerance mechanisms in lentil

Abiotic stresses—such as drought, salinity, and alkalinity severely limit global lentil production by impairing physiological processes including osmolytes accumulation, chlorophyll synthesis, H 2 O 2 production and antioxidant activities. However, no proteomic signature studies...

Haplotype diversity and population genetic structure of Aethina tumida, an emerging global beekeeping pest in India

The small hive beetle (SHB) ( Aethina tumida Murray) is an invasive pest of apiculture globally that has invaded many regions over the past three decades. In India, it was first reported in 2022 from honey bee colonies in North 24 Parganas, West Bengal. Investigating the populati...

Decoding cold tolerance in chilli: An integrated assessment of morphological, physiological, biochemical, and molecular responses

This study evaluated multifaceted cold tolerance mechanism in twelve hot pepper genotypes by assessing morphological, physiological, biochemical, and molecular responses associated with cold stress resilience. Considerable genotypic variation was observed across all evaluated par...

Long term manure driven nutrient cycling enhances productivity resilience and food security in semiarid agroecosystems

Understanding the long-term effects of sustained organic inputs is essential for building resilient and sustainable agricultural systems in semiarid regions where soil fertility and productivity are declining. Yet, the multi-decadal impacts of manure additions, especially when co...

Developmental biology and substrate preference of the quarantine pest, mango pulp weevil Sternochetus frigidus (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) under laboratory conditions

The mango pulp weevil, Sternochetus frigidus (Coleoptera: Curculionidae), is a major monophagous and quarantine pest of mango ( Mangifera indica ) in tropical Asia, causing severe yield and quality losses due to its concealed feeding and development within fruit tissues. A labora...

Nutritional and biochemical analysis in vegetable pea germplasm for quality breeding

Garden pea, a model crop for genetic studies and is globally significant for food and nutritional security. To assess its potential, a nutritional evaluation of 94 garden pea genotypes, including four checks, using an augmented block design. Data analysis revealed considerable va...

Urea-loaded nanoclay biopolymer composites integrated with beneficial microbes enhance nutrient uptake and mitigate greenhouse gas emissions

Low nitrogen use efficiency of prilled urea contributes to substantial economic loss and environmental pollution through leaching, denitrification, and ammonia volatilization. This study evaluated urea-loaded nanoclay biopolymer composites (NCBPCs), synthesized from clay-acrylic...

Carbon sequestration and sustainable land management through temperate fruit orchards in Himalayan landscapes: implications for climate-resilient agroecosystems

Anthropogenic disturbances, inadequate land management, and deforestation have intensified the soil degradation in the Himalayan region. Temperate fruit plantations in this area exhibit differential abilities to sequester soil organic carbon (SOC). This study examined the dynamic...

Genetic evaluation of bioactive compounds and mineral nutrients in bitter gourd (Momordica charantia L.) using heterosis and combining ability approach

Bitter gourd is an economically important vegetable of Cucurbitaceae family, rich in bioactive health compounds, minerals and antioxidants, including carotenoids and ascorbic acid. These quality traits exhibit high genetic variability among genotypes but very limited efforts have...

Molecular diversity analysis and development of a core set in wheat using array-based SNP markers

Landrace collections from decades represent sources of variation for wheat improvement to address challenges from climate change and the growing human population. Repatriating wheat landraces and integrating them into modern breeding programs represents a crucial step toward rest...

Genetic and Molecular Basis of Processing Traits and Genetic Improvement Progress in Major Fruit Crops

ABSTRACT Fruit processing plays a critical role in reducing postharvest losses, enhancing value addition, and improving the utilization efficiency of horticultural produce. However, most fruit breeding programs have historically prioritized fresh‐market traits such as yield, appe...

CRISPR/Cas9 Gene Editing of OsSD1 and OsDEP1 Improves Plant Architecture and Yield in Indigenous Black Rice Cultivar Chakhao Amubi

Rice ( Oryza sativa L.) sustains over half of the global population. The black rice landraces of North-East India are agronomically limited by tall stature, lodging, and low yield. We employed CRISPR/Cas9 -mediated multiplex genome editing to improve the elite aromatic black rice...

Belowground microbial stewardship underpins sustainable agroecosystem management

Below every cultivated field lies a civilization of unimaginable complexity. A single gram of productive agricultural soil harbors upwards of a billion bacterial cells, several kilometers of fungal hyphae, and a faunal community spanning nematodes, protozoa, mites and collembolan...

Rock phosphate enriched pressmud compost: A valorized agro-industrial amendment for enhancing phosphorus use efficiency in high-value field crops

Low phosphorus (P) use efficiency of conventional mineral fertilizers underscores the need for resource-efficient P management strategies. Rock phosphate enriched pressmud compost (RPEPC) offers a potential approach for recycling sugar-industry by-products while providing a gradu...

Immunosenescence and immune–organ axis dysfunction: Potential of algal bioactives and nutritional interventions for healthy ageing

Aging-associated immunosenescence disrupts various immune pathways-signaling, cellular, metabolic, epigenetic, and inflammatory mechanisms-leading to impaired bidirectional interactions between the immune system and organs. This dysfunction exacerbates geriatric conditions, inclu...

Molecular characterization of vitellogenin and its receptor with CRISPR-based sgRNA validation in the legume pod borer, Maruca vitrata (Geyer) (Lepidoptera: Crambidae)

Abstract Maruca vitrata , the legume pod borer, causes yield losses of up to 80% in grain legumes. Increasing insecticide resistance and environmental concerns necessitate sustainable pest management alternatives. In the present study, the complete vitellogenin (Vg) coding sequen...

Flood susceptibility mapping of the Subarnarekha River Basin using multicriteria flood conditioning factors in GIS-AHP integrated framework

ABSTRACT Floods are one of the most damaging natural disasters in the world, causing significant socioeconomic disruptions, especially in countries like India that are controlled by the monsoon. This study used an integrated method that included remote sensing (RS), Geographic In...

Farm-level climate adaptation and socio-economic determinants: A CART analysis of farmers in Haryana, India

Climate change poses serious challenges to agricultural sustainability in India's semi-arid regions, particularly in intensively cultivated states such as Haryana. Despite growing interest in farm-level climate adaptation, empirical evidence on the non-linear, interactive socioec...

Environment-specific selection of pearl millet genotypes by using an integrated MGIDI–WAASB framework across a global pearl millet diversity panel

Context Pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum L.) is a key dryland staple crop suffering significant yield losses under heat and drought stress. Both marginal and productive ecologies of pearl millet cultivation require distinct ideotypes for breeding, whereas strong genotype × enviro...