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Dr. Rajendra Prasad Central Agricultural University, Pusa

In the imperial Gazetteer of India 1878, Pusa was recorded as a government estate of about 1350 acres in Darbhanba. It was acquired by East India Company for running a stud farm to supply better breed of horses mainly for the army. Frequent incidence of glanders disease (swelling of glands), mostly affecting the valuable imported bloodstock made the civil veterinary department to shift the entire stock out of Pusa. A British tobacco concern Beg Sutherland & co. got the estate on lease but it also left in 1897 abandoning the government estate of Pusa. Lord Mayo, The Viceroy and Governor General, had been repeatedly trying to get through his proposal for setting up a directorate general of Agriculture that would take care of the soil and its productivity, formulate newer techniques of cultivation, improve the quality of seeds and livestock and also arrange for imparting agricultural education. The government of India had invited a British expert. Dr. J. A. Voelcker who had submitted as report on the development of Indian agriculture. As a follow-up action, three experts in different fields were appointed for the first time during 1885 to 1895 namely, agricultural chemist (Dr. J. W. Leafer), cryptogamic botanist (Dr. R. A. Butler) and entomologist (Dr. H. Maxwell Lefroy) with headquarters at Dehradun (U.P.) in the forest Research Institute complex. Surprisingly, until now Pusa, which was destined to become the centre of agricultural revolution in the country, was lying as before an abandoned government estate. In 1898. Lord Curzon took over as the viceroy. A widely traveled person and an administrator, he salvaged out the earlier proposal and got London’s approval for the appointment of the inspector General of Agriculture to which the first incumbent Mr. J. Mollison (Dy. Director of Agriculture, Bombay) joined in 1901 with headquarters at Nagpur The then government of Bengal had mooted in 1902 a proposal to the centre for setting up a model cattle farm for improving the dilapidated condition of the livestock at Pusa estate where plenty of land, water and feed would be available, and with Mr. Mollison’s support this was accepted in principle. Around Pusa, there were many British planters and also an indigo research centre Dalsing Sarai (near Pusa). Mr. Mollison’s visits to this mini British kingdom and his strong recommendations. In favour of Pusa as the most ideal place for the Bengal government project obviously caught the attention for the viceroy.

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Subject: Agricultural Biotechnology × End date: 2017 × Start date: 2017 × Thesis Type: Ph.D ×
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    ThesisItemOpen Access
    Biotechnological development of Panama wilt resistance in local cultivars of banana
    (RAJENDRA AGRICULTURAL UNIVERSITY, BIHAR PUSA (SAMASTIPUR), 2017) Kumari, Anita; Kumar, Harsh
    Biotechnological development of resistance to Panama wilt, the most important disease caused by Fusarium oxysporum f.sp. cubense, was explored in four important local cultivars of banana namely Robusta, Alpan, Malbhog and Kothia employing tissue culture studies and genetic transformation. Using tissue culture, efficient micropropagation protocol and disease resistance utilizing somaclonal variation were developed. Biological control and management of the disease was done utilizing endophytic association of nonpathogenic strain of Fusarium oxysporum. The culture of shoot apices and male flower buds resulted in their establishment and swelling, and callogenesis, caulogenesis, differentiation of shoots and roots from them. Elongation of existing shoots was observed from shoot apices and somatic embryogenesis from floral buds only. The best medium for caulogenesis was BM19 (MS+1.14 µM IAA+19.97 µM BAP) for cultured shoot apices and medium BM8 (MS+22.19 µM BAP) for cultured male flower buds. The best medium for somatic embryogenesis was BM20 (MS+18.10 µM 2,4-D+5.37 µM NAA+ 5.71 µM IAA+ 1mg Biotin). The cultivar Robusta was the best for all tissue culture responses except somatic embryogenesis followed by either cultivar Alpan or cultivar Malbhog. The cultivar Kothia showed the least tissue culture responses. However, the best response for somatic embryogenesis was observed in cultivar Kothia followed by cultivars Malbhog, Alpan and Robusta respectively. The subculture of in vitro developed multiple shoots on medium BM19 resulted in cent percent shoot multiplication with a high multiplication rate. An efficient micropropagation protocol was developed for banana cultivars. The Panama wilt resistance was developed in two susceptible cultivars Alpan and Malbhog exploiting somaclonal variation. Endophytic nonpathogenic Fusarium oxysporum strains were found effective in biocontrol of wilt disease in banana. Genetic transformation of callus and regenerating shoots was done using GUS and eGFP marker gene constructs and it was confirmed using histochemical GUS assay and fluorescence microscopy respectively, and by molecular validation using specific SSR primer pairs. Thus, the work established a suitable protocol of the genetic transformation, which can be used for the development of Panama wilt resistance in local cultivars of bananas.