The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh News : ICRISAT to improve groundnut variety

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Jan 05, 2005

Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh

ICRISAT to improve groundnut variety

By Our Staff Reporter

HYDERABAD, JAN. 4. The International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) has launched research to enhance the production of B-carotenes in groundnut. The research, part of the Global Challenge Programme of the Consultative Group for International Agricultural Research (CGIAR), will help combat Vitamin "A" deficiency among resource poor consumers in the semi-arid tropics.

A press release said on Monday that the research was aimed at biofortification of crops to combat malnutrition due to deficiency of nutrients such as iron, zinc and vitamin "A" in food crops. The CGIAR recently launched the programme on biofortification. ICRISAT is one of the 15 international agricultural research institutes that are part of the CGIAR.

Genetic base

At ICRISAT, tissue culture and transformation methods have been optimised to obtain high frequency shoot regeneration from cotyledon and leaf explants of groundnut. Technology is now being used to produce new transgenic groundnut with higher levels of B-carotenes. ICRISAT scientists hope that such groundnut will form an important genetic base for incorporating resistance to other biotic and abiotic constraints to the productivity of this important crop of the semi-arid tropics.

Groundnut being oil-rich and rich in zinc and iron, but deficient in B-carotenes, offers attractive options to enhance its content by utilising recombitant technologies as shown recently for rice (golden rice). Moreover, enrichment of B-carotenes in the diet can facilitate the uptake of other important minerals like iron.

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