May - Aug - Indian Agricultural Research Institute

Nilgiri Wheat News
(May – August, 2012)
IARI, Regional Station, Wellington
Vol 4 (2)
HW 1098 (Pusa Nilgiri) - India's first
mutant semi dwarf dicoccum wheat
for Gujarat, Maharashtra, Karnataka
and Tamil Nadu
M. Sivasamy 1 , Jagdish Kumar 1 , P. Jayaprakash 1 , V.K.Vikas 1 ,
Rebekah Nisha 1 , John Peter 1 , Vinod 2 , Sanjay Kumar 2 , G.P.
Singh 2 ,.R.K. Sharma 2 , Rajbir Yadav 2 ,Vinod Prabhu2,
S.C.Mishra 3 , S. A. Desai 4 , Kalappanavar 4 ,.B.N Patil 4 ,
R.R.Hanchinal 4 , S. Bojan 1 , K. Sivan 1 and R.Suresh 1
1 IARI, Regional Station, Wellington, 2 Division of Genetics,
IARI, New Delhi, 3 ARI, MACS, Pune, 4 UAS, Dharward
India's first mutant semi-dwarf dicoccum
HW 1098 developed at IARI, Regional
Station, Wellington employing gamma
irradiation was identified for release
during the 51 st AICW&BIP scientists'
meet held at Durgapura, Jaipur on 24-27,
August, 2012. The area under dicoccum
wheat is increasing steadily because of
its increased demand in the recent past
as health food. Varieties viz., NP200,
NP201 and NP 202 released during
1960's were widely cultivated for its
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nutritional quality. The semi dwarf
varieties released in recent times so far
has the high yielding potential but they
have invariably used the dwarfing genes
derived from durum which in-turn alters
its dicoccum quality maintained by the
varieties like NP 200, NP201 etc., to
certain extent. And this attributed to a
strong linkage drag associated with
dwarfing genes from durum. The variety
HW 1098 is a direct mutant of NP 201
employing gamma irradiation technique
which has the ideal plant height,
resistant to rust diseases, with high
HW 1098 ( Pusa Nilgiri) - a dicoccum
wheat variety for health food
yielding ability combined with better

quality as comparable to parent NP 201.
With the current market price ruling
high for dicoccums due to their
therapheutical value, cultivation of HW
1098 is likely to be more remunerative
to the resource poor farmers.
HW 5216 (Pusa Thenmalai) - a bread
wheat variety with diverse gene
sources to combat rust diseases at foci
areas (Southern Hill Zone) identified
for release
M. Sivasamy 1 , Jagdish Kumar 1 , P. Jayaprakash, V.K.Vikas 1 ,
Rebekah Nisha 1 , John Peter 1 Vinod 2 , Sanjay Kumar 2 , G.P.
Singh 2 , R.K. Sharma 2 , Rajbir Yadav 2 , J.B.Sharma and
Vinod Prabhu 2 , S. Bojan 1 , . K. Sivan 1 , Satya Prakash 1 and
R.Suresh 1
1 IARI, Regional Station, Wellington, 2 Division of Genetics,
IARI, New Delhi
In the 51 st AICW&BIP wheat workshop
yet another high yielding, multiple
disease resistant wheat variety developed
at IARI, Regional Station, wellington
got identified for release for Southern
hill zone which carries diverse gene
sources conferring multiple disease
resistance. The areas suitable for
cultivation of this variety include
Southern hills viz., The Nilgiri, Palnani,
Kodaikanal, Thalawadi, Yercaud,
Servaranya, Koll hills, Javadu and
M.M.hills. Areas adjoining these hills
include Theni, Dindigul, Coimbatore,
Erode, Salem, Thirupur, Namakkal,
Dharmapuri, Krishnagiri, Vellore,
Thruvannamalai and Vilupuram districts
in Tamil Nadu and Chamrajnagar,
Mysore, Kodagu, Bengaluru rural, Kolar
and Hassan districts in Karnataka. The
Southern hills are known as the main
foci for leaf and stem rust and acts as
source for fresh epidemics of rusts to the
plains of India where wheat is cultivated
in winter. Although Southern hill is
small zone in area wise but strategically
very important zone for India,
particularly for controlling the rust.
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Therefore, containing the rust inoculum
through continuous effort by
diversifying genetic basis of rust
resistance and releasing in the Southern
hills is very important. Hence
development of high yielding, rust
resistant wheat varieties and their release
and saturation in these areas is of
national importance in order to arrest the
dissemination of uredospores to the
plains of the country.
The agro-ecological conditions
prevailing in the SHZ allows wheat to be
grown throughout the year as relay crop
and all stages of crop growth are present
at any point of time in a year.
Cultivation of susceptible wheat variety
to rust diseases acts as a green bridge
through which disease multiply and
survive throughout the year. Therefore
release of wheat variety with high degree
rust resistance will help in containing the
rust inoculum in Sothern hill zone. The
variety HW 5216 confers high degree of
rust resistance to black and brown rust
both under natural and artificial
epiphytotic conditions. Also the variety
HW 5216 gives adult plant field
resistance to
yellow rust and
powdery mildew
as well.
Since the
proposed variety
HW 5216 carries
HW HW 5216 5216 - A A hhigh
h high
igh yielding yielding and
and
rust rust resistant resistant bread wheat variety
for for for SHZ
SHZ
diverse and
pyramided gene
complex, it is
expected to give durable resistance
which is evident from the adult plant
response to stem and leaf rust over four
years of testing. The proposed variety is
postulated to carry
Sr31+Lr26+Yr9+Pm8. Lr 26 alone is
not effective in India for leaf rust
resistance. Therefore in addition to

Sr31+ complex, HW 5216 is expected
to carry other genes particularly for leaf
rust and it could be attributed to
Thinopyrum ponticum - derived gene
complex Lr24+Sr24, since one of the
parent (HW 3083) carries this gene
complex. In Southern hill areas and
areas adjoining hills farmers are now
looking for an alternate, viable, less
water requiring grain crop which can
produce them both grain and fodder.
Better awareness to take balanced diet
with rich nutritional quality the demand
for wheat is increasing steadily in
Southern states which is evident from
the demand for breeder seed of released
wheat varieties in this region in the
recent past.
Hybrid necrosis in wheat (Triticum
aestivum L.) -" Evolutionary
significance or a potential barrier for
gene flow"
V.K. Vikas, M. Sivasamy, Jagdish Kumar, P.Jayaprakash, P.
Nallthambi and C.Uma Maheshwari
Inter and
intra
specific
crosses
in wheat
often
produce
different
Necrotic plants (2 rows in centre)
along with normal plants on the sides
kinds of hybrid weakness such as hybrid
necrosis, hybrid chlorosis and hybrid
dwarfness, among which hybrid necrosis
is more frequently met with. Hybrid
necrosis in wheat is the pre mature
gradual death of leaves and leaf sheath
caused by two complementary genes Ne1
and Ne2, located on chromosome arm of
5BL and 2BS respectively when brought
together in a hybrid combination. One
hundred and five bread wheat varieties
(T. aestivum L.) released by the Central
Varietal Release Committee (CVRC) for
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different wheat growing zones of India
were studied for the frequency and
distribution of necrotic genes present in
them. These varieties were crossed to
two T.aestivum L. testers namely, C306
(Ne1Ne1ne2ne2) and HD 2329 (ne1ne1
Ne2Ne2) to determine their necrotic
genes. Sixty five varieties (62%) showed
the presence of Ne2 gene and only nine
varieties (8.5%) had Ne1 gene in their
background. Thirty one varieties
(29.5%) were non carrier for both
necrotic genes.
Most of the Ne1 carriers are of
Indian origin and their pedigree revealed
the involvement of old land races or
varieties as parents. Moreover most of
the indigenous varieties (pre green
revolution period) carry Ne1 gene and
India is originally a Ne1 region. Later the
predominance of Ne2 gene in Indian
varieties of T. aestivum happened after
the introduction of semi dwarf Mexican
varieties due to direct selection from
CIMMYT germplasm and other exotic
germplasm which are mostly Ne2 carriers
and also the extensive use of these
germplasms in the hybridization
programme with indigenous varieties.
Thus the necrotic gene, Ne1 was
gradually replaced with Ne2 in the
modern bread wheat varieties.
To know further about hybrid
necrosis i.e. Why hybrid necrosis occurs
in wheat species? and Why there is
predominance of necrotic gene Ne2 in
the modern Indian cultivars? During the
course of evolution, species maintained
isolation from other species to maintain
their uniqueness/purity/identity and to
avoid mix up with other species i.e.
speciation. One of the above isolation
mechanisms was maintenance of
different ploidy level between species as
observed in wheat species which acted
as a barrier for free gene flow. Other

mechanisms like pre zygotic and post
zygotic barrier also play a vital role in
the speciation process. Hybrid necrosis
phenomenon is one among the post
zygotic barrier speciation process which
act as a barrier for either inter or intra
specific gene flow. During the process of
breeding by human being for biotic and
abiotic stresses, many useful genes were
transferred from species at different
ploidy level to the target species. So
some of these useful genes get
transferred along with the necrotic genes
(linkage drag). Later high incidence of
necrosis allele in breeding lines was
observed due to the selection for linked
beneficial traits mainly rust resistance
genes. In short, hybrid necrosis is a
evolutionary significant mechanism to
maintain its species purity.
In wheat, few genes that confer
resistance to rust diseases are located in
the same chromosomal arm where
Ne2(2BS) gene is present viz.,
Lr13,Lr16+Sr23, Lr23, Sr19,Sr36, Sr40,
Yr31, Yr32 etc. Among these, leaf rust
resistance genes Lr13 and Lr23 had
been used extensively in the wheat
breeding programme and currently stem
rust resistance Sr36 is being used in the
breeding programme. These correlations
suggest that selection pressure exerted
by the pathogen or breeding for disease
resistance might directly or indirectly
contribute to the predominance of Ne2
gene which lead to the evolution of
deleterious epistatic interactions that
could give rise to gene flow barrier in
wheat. Thus the occurrence of hybrid
necrosis is of great concern to wheat
breeders as it often interferes in the
choice of elite parents from different
geographical regions and thus imposes
restrictions on the productivity of
crosses. So, a evolutionary significance
phenomenon for speciation when
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utilized by human being for their
advantage becomes a potential barrier
for gene flow.
Wheat rust surveys in Nilgiris
Jagdish Kumar, P. Nallthambi, C.Umamaheshwari, M.
Sivasamy, P. Jayaprakash, V.K. Vikas, John Peter and R.
Nisha
Three pathotypes viz. 77-5, 77-7 and 77-8 of
brown rust (Puccinia triticina) and two
pathotypes viz. 40A and 40-1 of black rust
(P.graminis tritici) of wheat prevailed in
Nilgiri hills. Pathotype 77-5 and 77-8
prevailed in almost equal proportions
followed by race 77-7 in brown rust. Races
40A and 40-1 in black rust dominated the
field flora. Ug 99 and its variants could not
be observed in the Ug99 trap nursery.
Pathotype 78S84 of yellow rust (P.
striiformis) also existed in Nilgiris.
Occurrence of wheat rusts on
Barberry grove in Nilgiris Hills
P. Nallathambi, Jagdish Kumar, C. Uma Maheshwari,
Sandeep Kumar, John Peter and K. Jayakumar
Berberis leaves with aecia (left) and enlarged view
of an aecial cup on lower surface of barberis leaf
(right)
Systematic surveys were conducted in
Thottapetta, Arakadu, Mynala,
Kenthorai, Thummanahatty and
Upathali area of Nilgiri hills in Tamil
Nadu during June and July, 2012.
Different species of Barberry were
observed with rust pustules. A total of 22
random samples of leaves infected with
rusts have been collected from the
interior area of forests in these locations.
Rust pustules containing aeciospores
were cross inoculated on one week old
seedlings of various species of wheat

including Triticum monococcum,
Triticum dicoccum, Trticum aestivum
and rye (Secale cereale). The
pathogenesis studies under glass house
conditions indicated the infective nature
of only five isolates on Triticum
dicoccum and Trticum aestivum. Both
brown and black rust pathogens
(uredinospores) were observed under
microscope and purified further using
susceptible lines of wheat (var. Agra
local). This is the first report from the
IARI, RS, Wellington to establish wheat
rusts from natural barberry grove
adapted in Nilgiri hills. Further research
to establish Koch’s postulates on
barberry as well as wheat species are
under progress.
Standardization of seed germination
and seedling establishment of
Barberry spp. from Nilgiri Hills
P. Nallathambi, Jagdish Kumar, C. Uma Maheshwari, M.
Sivasamy, P. Jayaprakash, V.K. Vikas and K. Jayakumar
Barberry seedlings grown in paper
cups
Barberry (Barberry spp.) is a long-lived
woody perennial in Nilgiri hills of Tamil
Nadu in India. It acts as alternate host
for the wheat rust pathogens (stem and
stripe rust in USA) in the absence of
wheat. In order to understand the
complete life cycle of the pathogen, it is
imperative to know the biology of the
rust pathogen in alternate host. Since the
information on sequential survival of
5
rusts in Wheat and barberis is lacking in
Nilgiri hills, we initiated the work by
cross inoculating the wheat and barberis
seedlings respectively with aeciospores
and teleutospores. Matured fruits of
barberis were harvested from the random
barberry groves in the natural habitat at
Dodapetta, Arakadu, Mynala, Kenthorai,
Thummanahatty and Upathali area of
Nilgiri hills in Tamil Nadu during June
and July 2012. Ripened fruits were
sorted out and cleaned. Two set of
experiments were laid out in a
completely randomized block design
under glass house conditions. In first set,
whole fruits were used for sowing in
small pots with natural acidic soil
amended with well decomposed
farmyard manure (1:1) and in second set;
seeds were extracted from the fruits
which have been already dried under
shade. Cumulative analysis of data
revealed that the naked seeds expressed
maximum germination than the seeds
entrenched along with fruit pulp. Rapid
germination was noticed in bold seeds
extracted from relatively larger fruits
than small fruits. Seedling vigour and
uniformity were positively correlated
with the size of the fruits and seeds.
Overall germination percentage was
ranging from 5 to 88 per cent in
irrespective of the samples and location.
All the seedlings survived after
germination without any seedling
mortality which is a common
phenomenon in most of the perennial
species. Based on this performance,
large scale multiplication of seedlings
are under progress at this station for
further research on wheat rust
perpetuation in India.

A breeding strategy to develop
multiple disease resistance in wheat
varieties including Fusarium head
blight (FHB) resistance at IARI, RS,
Wellington
P.Jayaprakash , M. Sivasamy, Jagdish Kumar, , V.K.Vikas,
P.Nallathambi, C.Umamaheshwari
Presently Fusarium head blight is
considered as minor disease in India but
there are incidences where minor
diseases has assumed the status of major
diseases such as leaf blight, powdery
mildew, tan spot etc. Hence an
anticipatory breeding strategy was
initiated at IARI, RS, Wellington. Out of
the 14 resistance sources screened
initially Sumai-3 derived resistance was
chosen as source.
The back-cross breeding strategy was
adopted to introgress the QTL into
selected wheat lines which already carry
specific rust resistance genes. Resistant
lines for multiple disease resistance
including Fusarium head scab (FHB)
were picked at BC3F2 stage. The Sumai-
3 derived resistant lines (infection level
of 0-1 in the scale of 0-5) were selected
under high head scab incidence at
Wellington. The final constitution of
lines will be made during Rabi 2012-13
crop season. From our observations at
F1 stage indicated that the resistance
derived from Sumai-3 does not express
at BC1 and BC2 stage leading to a
conclusion of suppression of resistance
at F1 stage.
Screening and molecular confirmation
of NBPGR wheat germplasm for LTN
and APR genes-Lr34, Lr46 and Lr67
Aparna M, M. Sivasamy, Jagdish Kumar, John Peter, R
.Nisha, P. Jayaprakash, V.K Vikas P. Nallathambi and C.
Umamaheshwari and E.Puuniakotti
Nearly 36 wheat germplasm maintained
at IARI, Regional station selected from
NBPGR germplasm nursery during
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Kharif, 2011 were screened for the
presence of the leaf tip necrosis (Ltn), a
morphological marker linked to the APR
genes Lr34, Lr46, and Lr67. These lines
were then confirmed molecularly with
reliable STS (Sequence Tagged Site) and
SSR (Simple Sequence Repeats) markers
to know the presence of these genes
either alone or in combination and also
subjected to Seedling Resistance Test
(SRT). The marker analysis of these
wheat germplasm and SRT correlations
showed 75% of the plants possessed at
least one of these slow rusting and
durable resistant genes. These confirmed
lines can be used as effective donor
source to incorporate long-lasting
durable resistance in adapted and high
yielding cultivars.
Seed demand and seed production -
targets achieved
Jagdish Kumar, M.Sivasamy, P.Jayaprakash, V.K.Vikas,
Satyapraksh and K.Sivan
IARI Regional Station, Wellington has
released three new high yielding, disease
resistant wheat varieties over the last 5
years for South India. The wheat variety
HD 2833 (Pusa Wheat-105) for late
sown, irrigated conditions and
CoW(W)1 and COW2 (dicoccum) for
timely sown, medium fertility conditions
of non traditional wheat growing areas
of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka were
released. Due to the efforts taken by
Government of India through IARI, RS,
Wellington by conducting Front line
demonstrations (FLD's) to popularise
wheat in South India, particularly non
traditional areas, the demand for these
varieties is steadily increasing. Through
DAC / DWR there was an indent of 40
quintal breeder seed and 2 quintal
nucleus seed. In addition there was
additional seed demand received from

TNAU, Farmers and KVK's located in
these regions. Therefore nearly 6 tonnes
of breeder and foundation class seeds
were targeted for production under
IARI-Revolving fund programme and
could achieve 7.5 tonnes production
including the recently identified
dicoccum variety HW 1098 (Pusa
Nilgiri). Seed material was lifted by
National Seed corporation(NSC - 5q),
State Seed Farm Corporation of India
(SFCI-5q) and Maharashtra State Seed
Corporation (10q). The seed quantum of
20q indented by Jharkhand state is kept
ready for lifting. Further the seed
required for 12ha FLD's (12q) and
demand from TNAU/KVK to the tune of
4 tonnes were also met. The farmers in
these region were looking for an
alternate viable cereal crop which gives
both grain and fodder and wheat has
been adopted by them as choice crop.
Summer off-season nursery report
P. Jayaprakash, M. Sivasamy, Jagdish Kumar, Vikas V.K.,
P. Nallathambi and C. Uma Maheswari
This year, total 42 research
institutes/organizations planted their
summer nursery materials at IARI
Regional Station, Wellington, out of
which 10 were from State Agricultural
Universities. Besides ICAR Institutes,
private companies such as Krishidhan
Seeds, Syngenta, Vibha Seeds, etc., have
also utilized the summer nursery facility.
The participation of private companies
were entertained on the basis of
consultancy project mode as per the
guidelines of the Institute. Rajasthan
State Seed Certification Agency have
planted their grow out test for crops such
as wheat, barley, mustard and maize. In
total 32,540 lines were raised during this
season which include wheat, mustard,
barley, maize, sunflower, safflower etc.
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News
Honorable Secretary, DARE and DG,
ICAR, Dr. S. Ayyappan visited station
on 13th June, 2012
Project Director (Wheat), Dr. Indu
Sharma visited station on 3rd May, 2012
Project Director (Wheat), Dr. Indu
Sharma inspecting rust resistance
evaluation trials in polyhouse at
IARI, RS, Wellington