Seed Production in Oilseeds

Directorate of Oilseeds Research isthe only organization exclusivelycommitted topromotegreater
productivity and profitability of oilseedcrops, viz sunflower,safflowerandcastorwiththesimultaneous concernfor public health, protection ofenvironment and sustenance of theirproduction. DOR had its beginning asthe All India Coordinated ResearchProject on Oilseeds in April 1967 அண்ட் subsequently elevated to the status of Directorate on 1 August 1977. At thisDirectorate, molecular markers havebeen developed for assessing thegenetic purity of hybrids in sunflower and castor

1. Seed Production in Oilseeds
Oilseed crops occupy a major area under
cultivation next to cereals in India and cultivated
both under irrigated and rainfed conditions. One
of the major factors for the poor spread of high
yielding varieties and hybrids for yield
enhancement is non-availability of quality seed.
Further, hybrid seed production is highly skilled
and crop and location-specific and the ICAR and
SAUs have developed low input cost hybrid seed
production technology for all important annual
oilseed crops where heterosis has been exploited.
The course aims to acquaint the scientists, subject
matter specialists and technical personnel of
public and private sector, seed producing agencies
about the latest technology on production of
various classes of seed in oilseed crops.
Faculty
Principal and Sr. Scientists of the institute will
constitute the faculty.
Course Contents
● Imparting skills both in theoretical and practical
aspects on maintenance and breeder seed
production of varieties and the parental lines of
hybrids of various oilseed crops.
● Production and protection technology, certified
hybrid seed production, post-harvest
management, seed certification standards,
genetic purity assessment, etc.
● Lectures on breeding, seed technology, agronomy,
pathology and entomology in the respective crops
and field visits, group discussions and practicals.
Course Director : Dr A J Prabhakaran
Principal Scientist (Pl. Breeding)
Duration : 3 weeks
Course fee : US $ 3000 per trainee
No. of trainees : 15–20
per course
Accommodation : Institute’s Guest House/Hotel in
City
Eligibility : Scientists, Subject matter
specialists and Technical
personnel engaged in seed
production and research
30 ICAR International Training Programmes 2010
2. Hybrid Purity Assessment using Molecular Markers in
Sunflower, Safflower and Castor
It is well known that the success of improved
variety/ hybrid in the farmers’ fields depends upon
the availability of seeds with high genetic purity
and seeds of provenance is the most critical input
which decides the effect of all other inputs in
increasing the productivity. Therefore, assessing
the genetic purity is of utmost importance before
the seed reaches the farmers field. Also, in the
context of IPR, identification of the cultivar has
assumed increased significance. Conventionally,
the purity of seeds is assessed using morphological
markers in the field-based ‘Grow-Out-Test’ (GOT).
However, this method has several disadvantages
including the environmental influence, limited
variability observed for the characters,
subjectivity, etc. DNA-based markers hold greater
promise with several advantages, viz. high
polymorphism, insensitivity to environment,
stability, developmental stage independence etc.
Several molecular markers have been developed
and used successfully for varietal discrimination.
Once the specific molecular markers are identified
for each variety or hybrid, they could be used
successfully to assess the genetic purity and thus
could avoid the laborious GOT.
Faculty
Principal and Senior scientists of the Directorate
having expertise in different disciplines will
constitute the faculty.
Course Contents
● Isolation of genomic DNA
● Quantification of genomic DNA
● Gel electrophoresis
● Screening of RAPD primers to identify the markers
giving robust PCR profiles
● Identification of male specific RAPD marker
● Validation of identified RAPD markers at individual
plant level
● Screening of SSR primers to identify male specific
markers
● Validation of the identified SSR marker at
individual plant
Course Director : Dr V Dinesh Kumar
Sr. Scientist (Bio-technology)
Duration : 2 weeks
Course fee : US $ 2700 per trainee
No. of trainees : 8–10
per course
Accommodation : Institute’s Guest House/Hotel in
City
Eligibility : Scientists, Subject matter
specialists and Technical
personnel engaged in seed
certification and purity
assessment

2. Hybrid Purity Assessment using Molecular Markers in
Sunflower, Safflower and Castor
It is well known that the success of improved
variety/ hybrid in the farmers’ fields depends upon
the availability of seeds with high genetic purity
and seeds of provenance is the most critical input
which decides the effect of all other inputs in
increasing the productivity. Therefore, assessing
the genetic purity is of utmost importance before
the seed reaches the farmers field. Also, in the
context of IPR, identification of the cultivar has
assumed increased significance. Conventionally,
the purity of seeds is assessed using morphological
markers in the field-based ‘Grow-Out-Test’ (GOT).
However, this method has several disadvantages
including the environmental influence, limited
variability observed for the characters,
subjectivity, etc. DNA-based markers hold greater
promise with several advantages, viz. high
polymorphism, insensitivity to environment,
stability, developmental stage independence etc.
Several molecular markers have been developed
and used successfully for varietal discrimination.
Once the specific molecular markers are identified
for each variety or hybrid, they could be used
successfully to assess the genetic purity and thus
could avoid the laborious GOT.
Faculty
Principal and Senior scientists of the Directorate
having expertise in different disciplines will
constitute the faculty.
Course Contents
● Isolation of genomic DNA
● Quantification of genomic DNA
● Gel electrophoresis
● Screening of RAPD primers to identify the markers
giving robust PCR profiles
● Identification of male specific RAPD marker
● Validation of identified RAPD markers at individual
plant level
● Screening of SSR primers to identify male specific
markers
● Validation of the identified SSR marker at
individual plant
Course Director : Dr V Dinesh Kumar
Sr. Scientist (Bio-technology)
Duration : 2 weeks
Course fee : US $ 2700 per trainee
No. of trainees : 8–10
per course
Accommodation : Institute’s Guest House/Hotel in
City
Eligibility : Scientists, Subject matter
specialists and Technical
personnel engaged in seed
certification and purity
assessment

3. Recent Advances in Production Technology of
Oilseed crops
Horizontal expansion of area under oilseeds is
limited due to the declining per capita arable land
and competing crops. Many efficient cropping
systems involving oilseeds have been identified for
different agro-ecological regions of the country.
Many newer and non-traditional areas, such as
paddy-fallows offer great potential for extending
profitable cultivation of oilseeds. The requirement
of production factors for cropping systems differs
from that of managing the sole crops. Concerted
research efforts in working with many aspects of
oilseeds including cropping systems have resulted
in identification of location-specific technologies.
Adopting recommended oilseeds production
technologies in cropping system would result in
efficient resource utilization and crop production
with economic gain and sustainability.
Faculty
Principal and Senior scientists of the institute will
constitute the faculty
Course Contents
● Lectures on concepts of cropping systems
● Choice of varieties/hybrids, fertilizer
management, weed, insect pest and disease
management including economics of oilseeds
raised under monocrop, intercrop and sequential
cropping systems in diversified agro-ecological
situations
Course Director : Dr S N Sudhakara Babu, Principal
Scientist (Agronomy)
Duration : 3 weeks
Course fee : US $ 3000 per trainee
No. of trainees : 15–20
per course
Accommodation : Institute’s Guest House/Hotel in
City
Eligibility : Agronomists involved in oilseed
based cultural management
programmes

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4. Bio-intensive Integrated Pest Management in Oilseed
crops
Spodoptera, Heliothis, jassids, Alternaria and
downy mildew are the major insect pests and
diseases of sunflower. Red hairy caterpillar and
semilooper are the major insect pests and wilt
and Macrophomina root rot are the major diseases
of castor. Wilt, Alternaria and aphids are the major
biotic stresses of safflower. These pests pose a
serious threat to the production of these oilseed
crops. In the recent past, the over reliance and
indiscriminate use of pesticides has led to acquired
pesticide resistance in pests, pest resurgence and
development of secondary pests besides
environmental pollution and various health
hazards. The plausible approach is therefore, the
Integrated Pest Management to minimize the
problem of various pests.
Course Contents
● Theoretical lectures on concept of IPM; IPM
approaches in Sunflower, Castor and Safflower
etc.; use of bio-control and microbial agents,
botanical pesticides; management of weeds etc.
● Interactions, group discussions, field visits and
practicals
Course Director : Dr. Harvir Singh, Principal
Scientist (Agril. Entomology) and
Head (Crop Protection)
Duration : 3 weeks
Course fee : US $ 3000 per trainee
No. of trainees : 15–20
per course
Accommodation : Institute’s Guest House/Hotel in
City
Eligibility : Research workers, extension
personnel involved in crop
protection measures in oilseeds

5. Hands on Training on Mass Production and Quality
Testing of Various Bio-pesticides/Bio-agents
The approach to insect pest and disease
management has seen a significant change over
the years from chemical control to integrated pest
management (IPM) with emphasis currently on Biointensive
integrated pest management (BIPM). The
shift in this paradigm is an outcome of the
continuing search for eco-friendly pest
management strategies driven by the impact of
the ill-effects of injudicious use of chemical
pesticides on human health and environment. The
immediate need for sustainable, eco-friendly pest
management has been felt very strongly providing
an impetus to research and development of
microbial pesticides. Majority of the microbial
pesticides can be easily multiplied on artificial
media with an immense scope for ensuring their
timely availability - a pre-requisite for their
effective integration into the BIPM modules. It is
in this context that expertise development for
effective handling and exploitation of the potential
microbial agents gains utmost importance.
Faculty
Principal and Senior scientists of the institute form
the faculty.
Course Contents
● Lectures on the potential microbial agents
● Hands on training on various microbial techniques
- Isolation, identification, maintenance and
storage
● Mass multiplication of Bacillus thuringiensis,
entomopatho-genic fungi (Nomuraea rileyi,
Beauveria bassiana, Metarhizium anisopliae etc.),
fungal and bacterial anatagonists for plant disease
management (Trichoderma spp and Pseudomonas
spp)
● Fermentation and downstream processing
● Formulation and quality testing
● Characterization through morphological and
molecular techniques
● Interactions, group discussions and visits to
microbial agents production units
Course Director : Dr P S Vimala Devi, Principal
Scientist (Agril. Entomology)
Duration : 3 weeks
Course fee : US $ 3000 per trainee
No. of trainees : 15–20
per course
Accommodation : Institute’s Guest House/Hotel in
City
Eligibility : Scientists, subject matter
specialists and technical
personnel involved in microbial
control of crop