The Experts below are selected from a list of 270 Experts worldwide ranked by ideXlab platform
Manish N. Raizada - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
-
Genetic diversity and genomic resources available for the small millet crops to accelerate a New Green Revolution.
Frontiers in plant science, 2015Co-Authors: Travis L. Goron, Manish N. RaizadaAbstract:Small millets are nutrient-rich food sources traditionally grown and consumed by subsistence farmers in Asia and Africa. They include finger millet (Eleusine coracana), foxtail millet (Setaria italica), kodo millet (Paspalum scrobiculatum), proso millet (Panicum miliaceum), barnyard millet (Echinochloa spp.), and little millet (Panicum sumatrense). Local farmers value the small millets for their nutritional and health, tolerance to extreme stress including drought, and ability to grow under low nutrient input conditions, ideal in an era of climate change and steadily depleting natural resources. Little scientific attention has been paid to these crops, hence they have been termed “orphan cereals”. Despite this challenge, an advantageous quality of the small millets is that they continue to be grown in remote regions of the world which has preserved their biodiversity, providing breeders with unique alleles for crop improvement. The purpose of this review, first, is to highlight the diverse traits of each small millet species that are valued by farmers and consumers (e.g. nutritional quality) which hold potential for selection, improvement or mechanistic study. For each species, the germplasm, genetic and genomic resources available will then be described as potential tools to exploit this biodiversity. The review will conclude with noting current trends and gaps in the literature and make recommendations on how to better preserve and utilize diversity within these species to accelerate a New Green Revolution for subsistence farmers in Asia and Africa.
Ajay Parida - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
-
De-novo transcriptome analysis unveils differentially expressed genes regulating drought and salt stress response in Panicum sumatrense
Scientific Reports, 2020Co-Authors: Rasmita Rani Das, Seema Pradhan, Ajay ParidaAbstract:Screening the transcriptome of drought tolerant variety of little millet ( Panicum sumatrense ), a marginally cultivated, nutritionally rich, susbsistent crop, can identify genes responsible for its hardiness and enable identification of new sources of genetic variation which can be used for crop improvement. RNA-Seq generated ~ 230 million reads from control and treated tissues, which were assembled into 86,614 unigenes. In silico differential gene expression analysis created an overview of patterns of gene expression during exposure to drought and salt stress. Separate gene expression profiles for leaf and root tissue revealed the differences in regulatory mechanisms operating in these tissues during exposure to abiotic stress. Several transcription factors were identified and studied for differential expression. 61 differentially expressed genes were found to be common to both tissues under drought and salinity stress and were further validated using qRT-PCR. Transcriptome of P. sumatrense was also used to mine for genic SSR markers relevant to abiotic stress tolerance. This study is first report on a detailed analysis of molecular mechanisms of drought and salinity stress tolerance in a little millet variety. Resources generated in this study can be used as potential candidates for further characterization and to improve abiotic stress tolerance in food crops.
T. Basavaraj Naik - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
-
Effect of different levels of fertilizers on growth and yield of little millet (Panicum sumatrense Roth ex Roem and Schult)
International Journal of Farm Sciences, 2018Co-Authors: U Divyashree, M. Dinesh Kumar, S. Sridhara, T. Basavaraj NaikAbstract:A field experiment was conducted during 2016 in the agronomy field of College of Agriculture, University of Agricultural and Horticultural Sciences, Shivamogga, Karnataka. The experiment was laid out in a randomized complete block design with twelve treatments having three replications. The treatments comprised combinations of three levels of nitrogen (10, 20 and 30 kg N/ha), two levels of phosphorus (10 and 20 kg P/ha) and two levels of potassium(0 and 10 kgK/ha). Among the different combinations of NPK fertilizers tested application of 30 kg N and 20 kg P2O5 with or with out 10 kg K2O performed better for achieving growth and yield components compared to lower levels of fertilizer application. The application of 30: 20: 10 kg NPK/ha achieved taller plants (71.27 cm), more number of leaves (40.87/plant), more tillers (10.87/plant), higher leaf area (619.44 cm2/plant) and total dry matter accumulation (24.25 g/plant). Similarly better yield parameters like number of productive tillers/plant (9.40), panicle length (13.43 cm), number of grains/panicle (592) and test weight (3.39 g) were also achieved in the same set of treatment. Application of 30: 20: 10 kg NPK/ha achieved highest grain (1580 kg/ha) and straw (1603 kg/ha) yields apart from higher profit (Rs 8657) and was found economically feasible over recommended nutrient level of 20: 20 kg NP/ha and remained best among the tested treatments.
Megha Patil - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
-
Processing of minor millets: A review
International Journal of Farm Sciences, 2018Co-Authors: Anoop Gupta, Parv Nayak, Megha PatilAbstract:Minor millets such as kodo millet (Paspalum scrobiculatum L) and little millet (Panicum sumatrense) are smallseeded grasses that grow well in dry zones as rainfed crops under marginal conditions of soil fertility and moisture. These crops are cultivated with lesser inputs and are unique due to their short growing season. Millet grains are nutritious with good quality protein and are rich in minerals, dietary fiber, phyto-chemicals and vitamins. Millets occupy an important place in the diet of people in many regions of the world. Although these are nutritionally superior to cereals their utilization as food is still mostly confined to the traditional consumers and population of lower economic strata. The statistical documentation on various aspects of processing and utilization of minor millets is generally poor and mostly fragmented compared to major cereal grains such as rice and wheat. The climate change, water scarcity, population growth, inadequate access to enough food and absence of local agrofood systems present, there is a challenge to scientists and nutritionists to investigate the possibilities of producing, processing and utilizing the potential of minor millets as nutri-cereals. The husk on the minor millets is tightly attached with the endosperm thereby making its removal difficult during de-husking operation. Very small size of grains is another challenge in the husk removal process. One of the barriers to increase millet processing and its value-added products in our country is unavailability of efficient de-huskers. However the special features of the millets, their beneficial uses and health consciousness of the consumer have made food scientists and engineers to develop various food products and mechanize the processes. The present paper reviews the essential engineering properties such as physical and frictional properties, nutritional content, traditional and modern de-husking practices and value-added food products developed from millets.
S Bala Ravi - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
-
Enhancing food and income security of rural families through production, processing and value addition of regional staple food grains: Abstracts
Quality Assurance and Safety of Crops & Foods, 2012Co-Authors: S Bala Ravi, M. S. SwaminathanAbstract:This paper is based on a research project on local crops being currently implemented by the M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation with the support of the Canadian International Food Security Research Fund (CIFSRF). The primary research problem is how far the local crops could be leveraged to enhance food security through participatory research interventions aimed at increased productivity and profitability and how far value chain built on these crops could enhance the income to poor farm families. Examining the extent of re-tooling of the interventions to make them women-centric for reducing their drudgery in cultivation and post-harvest processing and how enhanced consumption of these crops would improve the nutritional status are other aspects of the research problem. The important group of local crops being studied are three of the six small millets or the ‘nutri-cereals’, namely, finger millet (Eleusine coracana), little millet (Panicum sumatrense) and foxtail millet (Setaria italica). These grains are nutritionally superior to other grains for their higher levels of calcium, iron, fibre, certain limiting essential amino acids and vitamins and also nutraceutically in view of their low glycaemic index and higher anti-oxidant activity. The research examines how participatory seed selection could be used to increase productivity and how integrated method from use of quality seed to better crop management and introduction of a value chain approach could contribute to improved availability of nutritionally superior food and increased income. The study could successfully induct locally suited simple machineries to eliminate the drudgery of women in post-harvest processing of these grains, how drudgery reduction promotes consumption of these grains and how it promotes village level value addition of grain. These interventions could establish tangible benefit to the communities in terms of food availability, improved nutrition and income and better conservation of local genetic diversity of these crops.
-
Mobilizing Neglected and Underutilized Crops to Strengthen Food Security and Alleviate Poverty in India
Indian Journal of Plant Genetic Resources, 2010Co-Authors: S Bala Ravi, Bhag Mal, T.k. Hrideek, At Kishore Kumar, Thara Prabhakaran, Stefano PadulosiAbstract:The M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation, Chennai in collaboration with Bioversity International, Rome has been implementing a project on neglected and underutilized crops with the support of the International Fund for Agricultural Development, Rome. The neglected and underutilized crops chosen for this study included finger millet (Eleusine coracana), Italian or foxtail millet (Setaria italica) and little millet (Panicum sumatrense). Two locations where these crops have been traditionally under cultivation and intrinsically linked with food security, livelihood and cultural identity of local tribal communities, were chosen as target sites. These crops by virtue of their extremely high resilience to the harsh agro-climatic conditions, particularly in marginal soils, hilly terrain and under aberrant rainfall, are well adapted to offer a dependable level of food security to the poor. They are also valued for their better nutritious profile of the grains and high quality straw. The grains have high bio-available minerals, particularly calcium and iron, vitamins, dietary fibre, and other phyto-chemicals. Their unique physico-chemical composition renders them slow digestible and with low glycemic index, which is a valued nutraceutical property in food grains. The long shelf life of these grains is also an attribute preferred by the communities living in regions characterized by poor communication.
-
Mobilizing Neglected and Underutilized Crops to Strengthen Food Security and Alleviate Poverty in India
Indian Journal of Plant Genetic Resources, 2010Co-Authors: S Bala Ravi, Bhag Mal, Stefano Padulosi, Kishore Kumar, Tr Prabhakaran, Kolli Hills, Tamil NaduAbstract:The M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation, Chennai in collaboration with Bioversity International, Rome has been implementing a project on neglected and underutilized crops with the support of the International Fund for Agricultural Development, Rome. The neglected and underutilized crops chosen for this study included finger millet (Eleusine coracana), Italian or foxtail millet (Setaria italica) and little millet (Panicum sumatrense). Two locations where these crops have been traditionally under cultivation and intrinsically linked with food security, livelihood and cultural identity of local tribal communities, were chosen as target sites. These crops by virtue of their extremely high resilience to the harsh agro-climatic conditions, particularly in marginal soils, hilly terrain and under aberrant rainfall, are well adapted to offer a dependable level of food security to the poor. They are also valued for their better nutritious profile of the grains and high quality straw. The grains have high bio-available minerals, particularly calcium and iron, vitamins, dietary fibre, and other phyto-chemicals. Their unique physico-chemical composition renders them slow digestible and with low glycemic index, which is a valued nutraceutical property in food grains. The long shelf life of these grains is also an attribute preferred by the communities living in regions characterized by poor communication. A unique aspect of this study was that major activities were carried out in farmer participatory mode with a location specific blend of traditional and scientific know how. Major activity components and their outcome in enhancing food and nutritional security and income generation of the communities discussed in the paper are participatory seed selection, shift from marginal to modern crop management, seed selection and quality seed production and sharing, promotion of local landraces, value addition of grain and value chain development to achieve enhanced income, particularly to farm women, multifaceted capacity building, strengthening of common property local infrastructure and creation of community institutions for building sustainability to the change. The paper also discusses the increasing relevance of these crop species in the context of advancing climate change.
