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Introduction: Banded sheath blight (Bsb) disease, caused by Rhizoctonia solani , is an emerging problem in barnyard millet cultivation. One of the significant goals of pathogenomic research is to identify genes responsible for pathogenicity in the fungus. Methods: A virulence profiling-based approach was employed and six R. solani isolates were collected from various ecological zones of India. The morphological parameters and virulence of all of the six R. solani isolates were investigated. The most virulent strain was designated as RAP2 and its genome has been sequenced, assembled, and annotated. Results: The RAP2 genome is 43.63 megabases in size and comprises 10.95% repetitive DNA, within which 46% are retroelements, 8% are DNA transposons, and 46% are unidentified DNA. The Gene Ontology (GO) annotation of RAP2 proteins revealed that "phosphorylation", "membrane", and "ATP binding" have the highest gene enrichment in the "biological process", "cellular component" and "molecular function" domains, respectively. The genome comprises a majority of secretory proteins in the pectin lyase fold/virulence factor superfamily, which break down plant cell wall polymers to extract saccharides. The RAP2 genome is comparable to R. solani , which infects maize and rice, but it diverges further from soybean in terms of nucleotide-level genetic similarity. Orthologous clustering of RAP2 protein sequences with R. solani infecting maize, rice, and soybean yields 5606 proteins shared across all genomes. GO analysis of 25 proteins specific to the RAP2 genome found enrichment in the ethylene response, which can cause spore germination and infection in host plants. Discussion: Interestingly, a 28-bp deletion in the RAP2 strain's cutinase domain was discovered in the cutinase protein, which might be important in the infection process, perhaps rendering the enzyme inactive or allowing the pathogen to infect barnyard millet while avoiding host defense. This study sheds light on the genetic makeup of R. solani , allowing researchers to discover critical genes related with pathogenicity as well as potential targets for fungicide development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pigeonpea, a predominant protein source for vast vegetarian population is constrained by numerous biotic and abiotic stresses. Inefficient exploitation of pigeonpea germplasm has limited its utilization. Therefore it is important to identify and select breeding material from germplasm with sufficient genetic variability to utilize in hybridization programmes. In this regard ~200 F2 plants each from four different crosses were evaluated in Kharif-2019 at University of Agricultural Sciences Bengaluru. They were assessed for genetic variability, heritability, genetic advance as per cent of mean and trait association. High phenotypic and genotypic coefficient of variation was noticed for pods plant-1, clusters plant-1 and seed yield plant-1. High heritability coupled with higher genetic advance as per cent mean was noticed for secondary branches plant-1, clusters plant-1 and pods plant-1. Seed yield plant-1 showed highest significant positive correlation with pods plant-1 and clusters plant-1, indicating these traits were the primary yield determinants in pigeonpea. Path coefficient analysis revealed that secondary branches plant-1 showed highest positive direct effect on seed yield plant-1 followed by pods plant-1 and clusters plant-1, thus selection based on these traits would be rewarding. Among the four crosses evaluated, highest numbers of transgressive segregants were identified from the cross BRG-1 × BDN-2 followed by HY3C × BDN-2 for yield and its related traits. The identified transgressive segregants could be evaluated for further exploitation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Blast disease causes significant damage to millets (pearl millet, finger millet and foxtail millet) and rice in India. This study investigates strains of Pyricularia, the causal agent of blast disease, in rice and millets in India in terms of their diversity, host preferences and phylogeny. One hundred and thirty‐six Pyricularia isolates causing rice and millet blast were collected from 46 locations in India. They displayed morphological diversity irrespective of host or location. All Pyricularia isolates were separated into two major clusters by a multilocus sequence‐based phylogenetic tree, which also demonstrated that most isolates are grouped according to their host associations. In contrast, a few finger millet isolates were found to be grouped with foxtail millet isolates. We explored how Pyricularia isolates behaved when exposed to rice and millets. Finger millet isolates were shown to be pathogenic on a wide variety of millets, whereas rice isolates were only found to infect rice and wheat. The majority of the blast isolates of millets were shown to be pathogenic on common weed species of the millet ecosystem, such as Echinochloa crusgalli, Eleusina indica and Erogrotis gagantica. Our findings emphasize the importance of pathogen surveillance in both cultivated crops and weed hosts, as well as the possible risk of blast fungus infection in Indian millets due to host expansion. Blast disease control programmes in India will be greatly enhanced by the knowledge gained in this study on the diversity and host association of Pyricularia strains. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Finger millet [Eleusine coracana (L.) Gaertn.] is an annual herbaceous small millet crop with nutraceutical value grown in diverse environments. It is a crop of antiquity with great historical, cultural and nutritional importance, particularly in Asia and Africa. Utilization of diverse germplasm is important in breeding programme to improve the yield of the crop. In this regard, 224 finger millet germplasm accessions representing world collections were characterized for various quantitative traits adopting multivariate analysis. Wide variation was observed for most of the traits indicating their importance for direct selection. Among the quantitative traits evaluated, number of productive tillers had a significant positive association with grain yield per plant. Principal component analysis indicated that the first two principal components accounted 56.7 per cent of the total variability. Principal component analysis revealed that days to 50 per cent flowering, plant height, number of productive tillers, main ear length, number of fingers per ear and grain yield per plant contributed most to genetic diversity. Two hundred and twenty-four finger millet germplasm accessions evaluated for seven quantitative traits were grouped into 10 clusters. Thus, the grouping of accessions shall be of practical value to finger millet researchers to select and tap the genetic potential of elite accessions from different clusters as donor parents in crossing programmes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

New Proso millet variety GPUP 28 was developed at Project Coordinating unit, ICAR-AICRP on Small Millets, University of Agricultural Sciences, GKVK, Bengaluru for cultivation in Zone 5 and 6 of Karnataka. It has been evolved through hybridization between two released varieties GPUP 8 and K1. This variety has desirable characteristics of both the parents. This new variety matures in 80-85 days. It has intermediate compact with globose-elliptic shaped inflorescence. Grain is oval shaped with golden yellow colour possesses higher test weight. This variety is moderately resistant to leaf blight and resistant to brown spot diseases. GPUP 28 contains more grain calcium (127.7 ppm) content compared to the check GPUP 21. This variety has iron content of 28.8 ppm, 11.6 per cent protein, and 24.2 ppm of Zinc. Fodder contains high crude fiber (39.91 %) and crude fat (0.62 %) content. New variety GPUP 28 recorded an average grain yield of 29.43 q/ha in station trials, 27.8 q/ha in multilocation trials and 12.76 q/ha in farm trials with mean grain yield of 23.33 q/ha. Across all the trials GPUP 28 registered an average yield of 23.33 q/ha with 20.84 per cent increased yield over check variety GPUP 21. In All India Co-ordinated trials, GPUP 28 yielded 1643 kg/ha across the locations. GPUP 28 ranked 2nd and recorded 13.38 per cent increased seed yield over the check GPUP 21 in AICRP trials. This new variety is recommended for release in annual plant scientists group meeting held at UAS, GKVK, Bengaluru on 1-3rd March 2021, Annual ZREP workshop of Zone-6 held on 5th April 2021, Annual ZREP workshop of Zone-5 held on 8th April 2021 and State varietal evaluation committee (SVEC) meeting held on 13th to 16th December 2021. NBPGR, New Delhi has issued national identity number IC 635735 for this variety. Because of its superior performance in Zone 5 and 6 of Karnataka this variety has been recommended for cultivation in Southern (Zone 6) and Eastern (Zone 5) Dry Zones of Karnataka state. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]