Germplasm Field Day on Chickpea organized at ICAR-NBPGR, New Delhi 28 March 2022

The ICAR-National Bureau of Plants Genetic Resources, New Delhi organised the “Chickpea Germplasm Field Day” at the Issapur Farm, New Delhi on 28th March, 2022. The program was to showcase the variability in chickpea germplasm. Total 5084 accessions of chickpea consisting of Chickpea composite core of ICRISAT and Indian chickpea core including trait specific germplasm were grown for characterization. 1000 accessions were also grown for evaluation against drought conditions. These experiments are being carried out under DBT-Funded project “Characterization of Chickpea Germplasm Resource to Accelerate Genomics-assisted Crop Improvement” coordinated by NIPGR.
Dr R K Gautam, Head, Division of Germplasm Evaluation, ICAR-NBPGR welcomed the participants and chief guest of the program, Dr Subhra Chakraborty. Dr Ashok Kumar, Director, ICAR-NBPGR, interacted with the participants and highlighted the importance of Germplasm Field Days in enhancing the germplasm utilization. He discussed with the chickpea breeders and scientists and stressed on identifying novel traits, biofortification and other niche areas for the crop improvement. Dr Subhra Chakraborty, Director, NIPGR apprised about the genesis and ongoing activities of DBT-Funded Chickpea project. Dr Shiv Kumar Agrawal, Coordinator, ICARDA, South Asia also shared his experiences and interacted with the participants. Dr Swarup K Parida, Staff Scientist, NIPGR and PI of the DBT Funded Chickpea project interacted with the participants during the program. Chickpea breeders and scientists from various ICAR institutes, SAUs and ICARDA participated in the programme. Progressive farmers from the adjoining villages also participated and evinced keen interest in the chickpea germplasm.