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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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20201
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Subject: Plant Breeding × Author: Bijarania, Subhash × Start date: 2020 ×
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    ThesisItemOpen Access
    Genetic divergence and character association study in soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merrill]
    (DRPCAU, Pusa, 2020) Bijarania, Subhash; Pandey, Anil
    Soybean [(Glycine max (L.) Merrill] a fast expanding horizontally: protein + oil source miracle crop, increasingly adopted by farmers, offers opportunity in non-traditional States like Bihar under diverse growing situations in different cropping systems, against abiotic stresses and also as contingent crop, utilized for diversified food and feed purposes. With an aim to understand genetic variability, genetic divergence, character association and cause-effect relationship 30 soybean genotypes were collected. Field Trial (kharif 2019) conducted at TCA, Dholi, Bihar in Randomized Complete Block Design accommodating 30 genotypes randomly in three replicates. These genotypes evaluated for twenty-seven traits: five phenological, nine agro-morphological, eight physiological traits (from field trial) and five physiological traits from laboratory experiment recorded and subjected to statistical and biometrical analyses. Considerable variability revealed usefulness of existing genetic variability for all 27 attributes amongst which vigour index II, seedling dry weight, specific leaf weight and 100- seed weight was trust worthy (GCV in close correspondence with PCV; high h2bs & high GAM reflecting Additive gene action) for selection criteria. Positive association of flowering traits (DT→ DFB→ DFF→ DC) and uncorrelated with DPM can be precisely utilized in selection. Late physiological maturity increases seedling dry weight, plant height, clusters and seeds per pod while reduces leaf area index, seed weight and dry matter efficiency. With an increase in primary branches corresponding more secondary branches, cluster/plant, seed weight and effective rainfall use efficiency noticed. Effective rainfall use efficiency positively with PB, SB, C/P, GER,SL, HI while growing degree days negatively with SB,PH,MSL,P/P,LAI,SW and C/P. Towards polygenic complex trait Grain Yield per Plant(GYPP)high positive correlation and highest positive direct effect of ERUE and vigour index I considered as selection criteria. D2 –statistic (Tocher method) framed (generalized distance –based) nine clusters: largest with eight and five were oligo-genotypic. HI>GYPP>GER>SDW contributed maximum towards total divergence. From most divergent clusters, 21 crosses involving cluster v genotypes (PS-1347, RKS-18, PS-1092, NRC-142, VLS-94, NRC-136, & Shalimar Soybean-1) with monogenotypic cluster VII (AMS-2014), VIII(RSC-11-15) and III(RSC-10-71) suggested for future hybridization. Genetic divergence and geographical distribution were incomparable mainly due to free sharing of breeding lines. Eight Principal Components explaining 85.02 percent cumulative (Spatial distance-based) variability was obtained. These PCs were best sources for specific traits, viz. ERUE, GYPP, SL, V1(PC1); DT, DFB, DFF, DC(PC2); P/C, HI, DME (PC3); SDW, V2(PC4); PB, LAI(PC5); SLW(PC6); P/P(PC7) ; DPM, SB, C/P, LAI(PC8). Yield (GYPP) related best genotype was NRC-136(In PC1, PC3 & PC7) followed by SL-955 (PC1& PC5); NRC-128(PC1, PC2 & PC6). For phenol-agro-morpho-physiological traits best source was RSC-10-71(PCs: 2, 3, 4, 6& 8) along with SL-688(PCs: 4, 5, 7 & 8); Shalimar Soybean-1 (PC3, PC7); RSC-11-17 (PC2& 3); RSC-11-15 (PC2& 6) and AMS-2014(PC2 & 7). NRC-136, Shalimar Soybean-1(common in PCA& Cluster V: Tocher) RSC-10-71(common in PCA& ClusterIII : Tocher), RSC-11-15(common in PCA& Cluster VIII : Tocher) and AMS-2014(common in PCA& Cluster VII : Tocher) may prove their merit as diverse parents for pheno-agro-morpho-physiological traits as explained earlier toward redesigning (for yield, earliness, effective rainfall use efficiency, germination, growth and vigour) the soybean plant types. NRC-136 and SL-955 with high grain yield, vigour, emergence, seedling, flowering –maturity traits were beneficial for cultivation on farmers’ fields in Bihar.