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ICRISAT’s Varshney bags ASA 2018 fellowship for genomics contributions
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Saturday, 24 November, 2018, 08 : 00 AM [IST]
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Our Bureau, Mumbai
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 The American Society of Agronomy (ASA) conferred its prestigious 2018 fellowship on Rajeev K Varshney, research programme director, genetic gains, ICRISAT, in Baltimore, USA for his meritorious contributions to genomics and molecular breeding for crop improvement.
Fellow is the highest recognition bestowed by the ASA. Varshney is the only Indian scientist and one of three non-US scientists to have received the fellowship this year. Only up to 0.3 per cent of the society’s active and emeritus members receive this honour each year.
“All our success was made possible by our collaborations across the globe. With support from donors and partners worldwide, we, at the ICRISAT’s Center of Excellence in Genomics and Systems Biology (CEGSB), have made rapid strides in genomics research and sequenced genomes of nine crops,” he added.
“This includes pearl millet, groundnut, chickpea and pigeonpea, which are important for the nutrition and livelihoods of smallholder farmers in the drylands of sub-Saharan Africa and India,” said Varshney.
The CEGSB at the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) has been leading genomics and molecular activities for over a decade now.
Genomic resources, tools and technologies developed by CEGSB in collaboration with several international partners have been successfully utilised in developing superior lines through molecular breeding products, not only at ICRISAT, but also several other institutes, such as ICAR-Indian Institute of Pulses Research, Kanpur (India), ICAR- Directorate of Groundnut Research, ICAR-Indian Agricultural Research Institute, Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research and Egerton University in Kenya.
As a result of the intensive efforts of several collaborators, superior lines of chickpea for drought tolerance and disease resistance and of groundnut for foliar disease resistance and high oleic acid have been developed. These lines are at advanced stages in field trials for release as superior varieties.
“It is a benediction for the global agricultural and scientific community that the importance of genomics breeding for advancements in agriculture is being expansively recognised,” said Peter Carberry, director general, ICRISAT.
“Varshney’s efforts in leading several international genome sequencing consortia to decode the DNA of dryland crops will give way to many more significant breakthroughs to the benefit of the smallholder farmers across the globe,” he added.
The ASA is a scientific and professional society of agronomists and scientists of related disciplines. The society was founded in 1907 with the objective to increase and disseminate knowledge concerning soils, crops, and the conditions affecting them.
Two daughter societies - the Soil Science Society of America (SSSA) and the Crop Science Society of America (CSSA) - were subsequently formed.
Varshney, the first Indian to receive the Young Crop Scientist award from CSSA in 2013, also became its elected fellow in 2015 for his work in the area of crop science.
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