Page 53 - New Cloth Market December 2022 Digital Edition

Indian Scenario of Cotton Hybrid Technology, Reseach Projects & Recommendations

21 host plants. Dr. L. Mahalingam, Pro-
fessor, Dept of Cotton, TNAU, Coim-
batore and Dr. (Mrs.) J. Annie Sheeba,
Senior Scientist, ICAR-CICR, RS,
Coimbatore were the rapporteurs of the
session.
Dr. K. S. Subramanian, Director of Re-
search, TNAU, presented a special lec-
ture on “Nanotechnology in Cotton
Research”. In his lecture, he deliber-
ated various applications of nanotech-
nology in agriculture and how these
applications can be extrapolated to
cotton. He opined that the advances
in nanotechnology in the field of seed
technology viz., nano diagnostics – e- Dr A H Prakash, Project Coordinator (Cotton Improvement) presenting re-
Nose technology for quality assess- search highlights of AICRP on Cotton trials
ment by establishing relationship be-
cross bred species, diverse genetic concerns related to DNA fingerprinting
tween VOC and seed quality; bioimag-
composition, strong to weak substruc- such as maintenance of quality stan-
ing of seeds to generate spectral sig-
ture and presence of common alleles dards.
nature and nZnO enabled seed invigo-
across groups. Seed purity testing of
ration can be effectively used to im- The Chairman Dr. P. K. Chakrabarty,
crop varieties (to identify admixtures)
prove the productivity of cotton. For Member, ASRB mentioned that using
hybridity testing of commercial hybrids
drought management, nano emulsion CRISPR-Cas genome editing technol-
to ensure genetically pure seed, inves-
based foliar sprays and, chitosan- ogy, a wild type tomato is converted
tigating the declared parentage of va-
based gel for soil moisture and encap- into domesticated one. Similar ap-
rieties, enforcement of protection of
sulation of seeds with nano fibre, would proach can be followed in cotton to
plant varieties and farmer’s rights Act,
be viable options in cotton. For nutri- exploit the wild type cultivars in cotton
2001, support and improvement of the
ent Management, nano capsules for to improve the productivity in cotton.
effectiveness of the DUS testing pro-
micronutrient management, and nano He also emphasized that formulation
cedure, investigation on infringement
urea for drone technology can be ex- and standardizing the nanofertilsers
on plant breeder’s rights and protec-
plored. The early detection and cure of like nanourea for drone technology is
tion of plant biodiversity are the major
plant diseases could be made possi- impertinent to cope up with advances
applications of DNA fingerprinting as
ble with nanotechnology. Smart deliv- in technology.
mentioned by him. He also mentioned
ery of desired biomolecules into plants
about the molecular profiling tech- The Co-chairman Dr. R. K. Singh, ADG
can be made possible through nano
niques such as RFLP, RAPD, AFLP, (Commercial Crops) emphasized the
silica based delivery systems like nano
SSR, SRAP and SNP and opined that importance of nanotechnology in im-
chip technology and nano-silica de-
the specific tool selected depends on proving the yields of cotton and role of
rived from bagasse. Artificial Intelli-
several criteria including precision, DNA fingerprinting in identifying spe-
gence to detect whitefly incidence and
technology available, cost of assay cific cultivars in cotton.
improvement of stability of coloured
etc. He enumerated that a total of 648
cotton can also be done by nanotech-
varieties of 48 crops from various In- The Interactive session with stakehold-
nology. He also explained about the
stitutes had been barcoded so far. In ers (PPP) was chaired by Dr. T.R. Shar-
cost benefits of nanotechnology.
cotton 162 varieties from 66 lots have ma, DDG (CS), ICAR, New Delhi and
Dr. Mukesh Kumar Rana, Principal been barcoded. GEAC has been insist- Co-Chaired by Dr. C. D. Mayee, Chair-
Scientist, Molecular Genetics, NB- ing on DNA evidence to prove back- man, Programme Advisory & Monitor-
PGR, New Delhi, in his lecture on DNA ground genotype of transgenics for over ing. The Committee Members were: 1.
Finger Printing in Crops, explained 15 years now. He also briefed about Dr. R. K. Singh, ADG (CC), ICAR-New
the importance of DNA fingerprinting the new initiative of formation of Ex- Delhi 2. Dr. Y. G. Prasad, Director, ICAR-
in identification of specific cultivar of pert Opinion Committee taken under CICR, Nagpur 3. Dr. (Mrs) Sujata Sax-
plants. The challenges of DNA finger- the chairmanship of Dr. H. S. Gupta to ena, Director, ICAR-CIRCOT, Mumbai
printing in plants as explained by him deal with scientific technical or legal 4. Dr. K. S. Subramanian, Director of
are multitude of species, diverse re- issues related to DNA fingerprinting of Research, TNAU, Coimbatore 5. Rep-
quirements, vegetatively propagated to crop varieties. He also expressed his resentative from NSAI 6. Representa-
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