Department of Plant Breeding and Genetics

• The department has state-of-art, air-conditioned smart class rooms, acoustically designed conference hall equipped with OHP, Smart writing board and LED light systems.
• Fully furnished molecular labs with advanced research instruments like Real time PCR.
• Rain-out shelter for conducting drought related research.
• Deep water tank for screening submergence tolerant genotypes.
• Crossing block with photoperiod calibration facility for carrying out basic and advance research in crops that do not flower under current photoperiod conditions.
• Forage Garden.
• Various farm instruments for conducting on-farm research (tractor, mechanical weeder, sprayer etc.)
• On-farm storage house for research materials and threshing floor.

Molecular Lab –I	Molecular Lab –II
Conference Hall

Achievements:

Varieties: More than 60 varieties of different crops have been released by the department. Some of the popular varieties developed in different crops are given below:

Cereals:

Variety : Rajendra Shweta Year of Recommendation/ Notification: 2004 Salient Features: It is a medium duration (135-140 days) dwarf (90-100 cm) variety suited to medium land ecosystem having medium slender fine grain type with yield potential of 40-50 q/ha. It is moderately resistant to Sheath blight disease and better choice of cultivation in place of Sonam and BPT 5204.
Variety : Rajendra Suwasini Year of Recommendation/ Notification: 2003 Salient Features: It is a semi dwarf scented rice variety which matures in 120-125 days. Its grains are long slender. It is most suitable for Biryani & Polao. Its yield potential is 45-50 q/ha. It is suitable for medium irrigated land.
Variety : Rajendra Mahsuri 1 Year of Recommendation/ Notification: 2002 Salient Features: It is a long duration (145-150 days) dwarf (100-110 cm) variety, suited to shallow lowland ecosystem having medium slender grain type with yield potential of 50-60 q/ha. It is moderately resistant to Sheath blight and Bacterial leaf blight diseases. It is a better replacement of Nati Mahsuri (MTU 7029) in the State.
Variety : Rajendra Bhagwati Year of Recommendation/ Notification: 2010 Salient Features: It matures within 110-112 days. It has been recommended for irrigated up land. It has 45-50 q/ha yield potential.  Its grains are fine, long slender and mild scented.
Variety : Swarna Sub-1 Year of Recommendation/ Notification: 2010 Salient Features: It matures within 140-145 days. It has been recommended for low land. Its yield potential is 50-55 q/ha.
Variety : Rajendra Nilam Year of Recommendation/ Notification: 2017 Salient Features: It is a short duration (110-115 days) with plant height 95-100 cm, high yielding (35.00 q/ha) aerobic rice variety. Suitable for upland and mid land condition. It has short and bold grains with good cooking quality. 30-40 per cent water saving can be achieved as transplanting is eliminated with crop being grown in non-puddled and non-flooded condition.
Variety : Rajendra Saraswati Year of Recommendation/ Notification: 2020 Salient Features: It matures within 110-112 days. It has been recommended for irrigated up land. It has 45-50 q/ha yield potential.  Its grains are fine, long slender and mild scented.

Wheat:

Variety : Rajendra Genhu-1 Year of Recommendation/Notification: 2020 Salient Features: It is a late sown wheat variety of early duration (110-117 days) with plant height 72-87 cm and its average yield potential is 45.00 q/ha. It is resistant to major diseases and insect pests prevalent in Bihar.
Variety : Rajendra Genhu-3 (WB02) Year of Recommendation/Notification: 2021 Salient Features: It is a biofortified wheat variety of medium duration (126-137 days) with plant height 95-100 cm and its average yield potential is 50.00 q/ha). It is resistant to major diseases and insect pests prevalent in Bihar.

Maize:

Year of Recommendation/ Notification: 2001 Salient Features: It matures within 90 days in kharif season and 155 days in rabi season. The plants are medium tall, sturdy and resistant to lodging. Each plant bears usually two well filled ears having good husk cover. Grains are white flint bold with increased quantity of tryptophan and lysine. Grains are highly suitable for infant and animal food. It gives yield of about 80 q/ha during the rabi season.
Variety/Hybrid : Shaktiman-2 Year of Recommendation/ Notification: 2004 Salient Features: Medium tall (178 cm) and has an average ear height (69.0 cm). The plant sheds pollen in 108 days in rabi season and matures within 150 days. The leaves are narrow and dark green, tolerant to rust and turcicum Leaf blight diseases. It has good level of resistance against downy mildew, leaf blight and rust. Kernels of this hybrid are white flint having high quantity of tryptophan, yield potential in rabi is 85 q/ha.
Variety/Hybrid : Shaktiman-3 Year of Recommendation/ Notification: 2006 Salient Features: The plants are of medium stature with broad and dark green leaves. It matures within 95 days in kharif season and 155 days in rabi season. Plants are resistance to leaf blight, downy mildew and rust. This QPM hybrid has 9.63 per cent protein in grain, 0.73 per cent tryptophan and 2.96 per cent lysine in grain protein with orange yellow flint kernels, yield potential  70 q/ha in kharif and 90 q/ha in rabi.
Variety/Hybrid : Shaktiman-4 Year of Recommendation/ Notification: 2006 Salient Features: The parents are of medium stature with broad, curled and dark green leaves. Plants usually bears two big cobs having semi flint grains of orange yellow colour and also a good level of resistance against major diseases and pests. It has 9.88 % protein, 0.93 % tryptophan and 3.78 % lysine in grain protein, yield potential 75 q/ha in kharif and 95 q/ha in rabi.
Variety : Saktiman-5 Year of Recommendation/Notification: 2019 Salient Features: Plant Height- 155-160 Height- 165-170 Yield- 105-107 q/ha.
Variety/ Hybrid : Rajendra Hybrid Makka-3 Year of Recommendation/ Notification: 2008 Salient Features: It  is a single cross yellow kernel colour hybrid, recommended for kharif, matures within 75-80 days, shows resistance against major diseases and pests. It is suitable for high density cropping.

Small Millets:

Variety : Rajendra Kauni-1(Foxtail Millet) Year of Recommendation/ Notification: 2017 Salient Features: Its average yield is 24.50 q/ha. It is erect; having light green colour leaves medium lobe, brown colour panicle, brown awns with medium attitude with height of 122-140 cm. It matures in 81 days. It possesses high degree of resistance against leaf blast, rust, smut, brown spot, downy mildew and leaf blight. It has superior quality with high iron content (15.45 mg/100g) and zinc (5.02 mg/100g).
Variety : RAU-8 (Finger Millet) Year of Recommendation/ Notification: 2008 Salient Features: Its average yield is 35.00 q/ha. It is erect, having green colour leaves, brown colour panicle, with height of 98-105 cm. It matures in 115 days. It possesses high degree of resistance against leaf blast, rust, smut, brown spot, downy mildew and leaf blight. It has superior quality with high iron content.
Variety : Rajendra Madua-1  (Finger Millet) Year of Recommendation/ Notification: 2020 Salient Features: Its average yield is 38.0 q/ha. It is erect, having light green colour leaves, brown colour panicle with height of 105-116 cm. It matures in 118 days. It possesses high degree of resistance against leaf blast, rust, smut, brown spot, downy mildew and leaf blight.

Pulses

Variety : Rajendra Arhar 1 Year of Recommendation/ Notification: 2019 Salient Features: It is suitable for upland and mechanical harvesting with 28-30 q/ha average yield. It matures within 200-245 days. It is high yielding, erect and determinate, large pod bearing zone, long green black streak pod with bolder seed than Pusa-9, resistance against sterility mosaic disease and moderately  resistant  against wilt.

Rapseed and Mustard

Variety : Rajendra Suflam Year of Recommendation/ Notification: 2006 Salient Features: Plant height is 145 cm. and matures 108 days. Its oil content is 39.7%. It is bold seeded. Its average yield is 1631 kg/ha. It has tolerance to stag head and downy mildew. It has attractive plant type with more basal branches, bold pods bearing bold seeds. It has plasticity for late sowing dates

Sugarcane

Variety : Rajendra Ganna-1 Year of Recommendation/Notification: 2020 Salient Features: The average cane yield of plant crop is 101.60 tons/ha. Average sucrose in juice is 18.17%.

Faculty awards/honours:

Various national and international awards are conferred on eminent scientists of the department.

Student’s awards/achievements:

Many students of the department are recipient of awards and accolades from various prestigious registered professional societies and national organizations (ICAR & CSIR) that includes:

• ICAR-JRF
• ICAR-SRF
• ICAR-NET
• CSIR-JRF & LS
• Young Scientist/Researcher awards
• Many of the students are serving in various capacities in ICAR, SAUs, MNCs and Nationalised banks.

Research activities:

National and international projects:

• QTL to variety: Marker assisted Breeding of Abiotic Stress tolerant Rice Varieties wit major QTLs for drought, submergence and salt tolerance sponsored by D.B.T., New Delhi (DBT INDIA-IRRI Network project)
• Stress tolerance rice for poor farmers of Africa and South Asia-IRRI sponsored by IRRI, Philippines.
• ‘Biofortification of Rice’ sponsored by International food policy research institute, U.S.A.
• RKVY Project entitled “Development of Aerobic rice for sustainable rice production in Bihar”
• Project entitled “State Coordinated Trials of Rice”
• ‘Hybrid rice project’ Sponsored by RAU, Pusa.
• ‘Assigned to look after the work of hybrid rice testing trial’ sponsored by RAU, Pusa.
• ‘Rice Wheat cropping system under changing climatic scenario’ sponsored by RPCAU, Pusa.
• Project entitled “Biofotification of Wheat” funded by BMGF
• Project entitled “Development of heat tolerant, high yielding and climate resilient wheat cultivars by utilizing genomics, molecular and physiological information and resources” sponsored by USAID, USA.
• RKVY Project entitled “Pre-breeding and genetic enhancement for climate resilience in bread wheat”
• Project entitled “State Coordinated Trials of Wheat”
• RKVY Project “Enhancing Yield Potential through Pre-Breeding in Barley”
• University funded project entitled “Molecular characterization of Little Millet genotypes”.
• BMZ/GTZ/ICRISAT collaborative project “Sustainable conservation and utilization of genetic of two underutilized crops- finger millet and foxtail millet”
• NAIP project entitled “Improving livelihood security in salt affected districts of Bihar”
• ‘Sugarcane Breeder seed production programme’ sponsored by Cane Development Department, Govt. of Bihar
• ‘Strengthening and Renovation of Tissue cultue Laboratory’ at SRI, Pusa sponsored by Cane Development Department, Govt. of Bihar
• AICRP on Rice
• AICRP on wheat
• AICRP on fodder crops and utilization
• AICRP on Potato
• AICRP on Small Millets

National and international collaboration:

Department have collaborations with various national and international organizations like:

• HarvestPlus
• International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI)
• Department of Biotechnology (DBT)
• International Rice Research Institute
• International Crop Research Institute for Semi-arid Tropics (ICRISAT)

Publication:

Technical bulletins:

• Narayan A., Giri G. S., Singh R. S., Sudhanandini, Prasad R. and Singh P.P. (2020) Technical bulletin on tuber crops technologies.

Text books:

• Biometrical Genetics … A students’ guide by Banshidhar, Priyanka Jaisawal, Mithilesh Kumar Singh, Rajesh Kumar, Satish Kumar Singh, Nilanjaya. New Delhi Publishers, New Delhi, ISBN: 978-93-88879-98-9.
• Advances in Genetics, Breeding and Biotechnology by Ashish Narayan. Parmar Publication.
• Krishi Vigyan published by SCERT, Patna for I.Sc. (Ag.) students of class XI & XIIth .

Lab manuals:  Practical manual for Fundamental of Genetics by Ashish Narayan.

Extension Activities:

Ongoing various extension activities:

• Department organizes various extension activities like-
• Front Line Demonstrations (FLDs) of newly developed varieties on farmers’ field on large scale.
• Farmers’ Fair.
• Farmers Meeting.
• Distribution of seeds of newly developed varieties for their rapid adoption (Minikit trials).

Seminars/conferences/workshops/trainings/Brainstorming sessions organized:

• Trainings for scientific cultivation of various crops are organized to train the farmers.
• Conferences to spread awareness on various contemporary problems in agriculture are organized time to time.
• Scientists are delivering invited lectures in various training programmes organized by external agencies and NGOs.