Thrust Areas

Strategic Policy Model

Thrust

  • Accelerated & High-Precision Crop Breeding by employing modern Plant Breeding approaches: prioritizing Rainfed Agriculture
  • Risk efficient plan to tackle the outbreak of yellow rust in wheat by involving diverse gene-pools & ultra modern breeding approaches
  • Development of hybrids of rice and maize by utilization of Himalayan gene pools
  • Projection of basmati rice and red rice & enhancement of disease resistance and nutritional level of different rices
  • Special attention to pulses and oilseeds improvement in hills
    • Chickpea : ascochyta blight & fusarium resistance, drought & cold
    • Rajmash : anthracnose and angular leaf spot resistance
    • Urdbean : cercospora & varieites for intercropping
    • Sesame : phytophthora resistance
  • Breeding programmes for insect pest resistance in rice, maize & pulses
  • Strengthening of research programme in temperate grasses (red & white clover, tall fescue, Lucerne etc.)
  • Breeding efforts in High value & Low volume crops like Kalazira and saffron
  • Breeding strategy for
    • changing climatic scenario in mountains
    • organic & low input management
    • participatory plant breeding
  • Refinement of new protocols for addressing fundamental research issues
  • Focus by every breeder on nucleus seed production
  • Concerted efforts to protect breeders' & farmers' crop varieties by PPV & FRA
  • Establishment of CSKHPKV Plant Germplasm Resource Network involving its Research Centre's, KVKs & the NBPGR
  • Commercialization of the breeders' technology through Public-Private Interface
  • Synthesize a Strategic Policy Model for Crop Improvement in Himachal Hills and efforts to bring it in operation

Our Strength

  • Efficient technology & Expertise for crop improvement
  • High- tech Molecular Cytogenetics & Tissue Culture Lab providing facilities for cutting edge research in innovative spheres
  • Opened new horizon in the sphere of Doubled Haploidy Breeding & Chromosome Engineering and taking in this area amongst all the agricultural Universities and ICAR institutes of the country
  • Multilocational and Niche based evaluation facility at various Research Centres in the entire State & Off season facilities at the centres located in the tribal areas
  • Addressing the crop varietal development issues in a systematic manner covering varied agroclimatic regions of the Hill State
  • Established linkages with world renowned Labs
  • Extending facilities and high- tech expertise to other Institutions/ Universities
  • Attracting fellowships and adhoc projects from various national and international agencies
  • Recognition of the work at national and international fora
  • Placement of students in reputed Institutes/Universities/MNCs

Mandate

  • UG & PG teaching in the sphere of Plant Breeding & Genetics
  • Creation of opportunities for pursuing innovative and cutting edge research by the PG scholars & faculty of the Department
  • Conservation, documentation and sustainable utilization of Himalayan PGRs
  • Development of superior crop varieties and their nucleus & breeder seed for the diverse regions of the State
  • Technology refinement for accelerated and high precision crop improvement
  • Protection of Plant Breeder s' and farmers' crop varieties under PPV & FRA
  • Establish linkages with the globally renowned (India & Abroad) Labs/ Institutes to exchange the faculty & research scholars for sharing knowledge & expertise in innovative areas of Plant Breeding
  • Open new horizon by Public- Private Interface to commercialize our technology and provide opportunity to test the technology of the private sector for further recommendations