OAR@ICRISATBringing hope to marginal environments: chickpea improvement at ICRISAT-ICRISATauthorThe heartland of the CGIAR’s renewed vision is to reduce poverty and food insecurity, particularly in the marginal environments that have largely been bypassed by previous research. The constraints of harsh environments and limited farm resources of the poor in many ways present a greater challenge than even the heroic achievements of the Green Revolution. But it is the most direct path to poverty reduction. The accomplishments of ICRISAT’s partnership-based chickpea research-fordevelopment thrust over the past quarter century constitute a strong validation of this bold new direction. Over 100 improved varieties have been released, including a new type of adaptation that has enabled the crop to extend its range far south of its historical zone; adding a second crop – where previously only one crop per year was grown – through varieties that mature on residual soil moisture alone; resistance to the fusarium wilt disease; integrated control options for botrytis gray mold disease; enhanced root mass for drought resistance; an understanding of resistance mechanisms against an intractable pest, the helicoverpa pod borer insect; and molecular marker and gene transformation techniques to significantly accelerate breeding progress in the coming years. All these scientific and development accomplishments have been underpinned by intensive partnerships that have built national capacities that will enhance payoffs for decades to come. Chickpea is by far the most important leguminous food grain, or pulse, in the diets of the peoples of South Asia. This is the world’s most concentrated pocket of poverty, home to over half a billion desperately poor.....ChickpeaGenetics and Genomics2002International Crops Research Institute for Semi-Arid TropicsMonograph

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