Experiments on catchment and command relationships were initiated at 15 locations under AICRPDA net-work to quantify the runoff potential under extreme rainfall events.

In order to pilot test customized agro-advisories at block and village level, 25 districts have been selected wherein AICRPAM centres and KVK together will operate. These 25 KVKs are part of the 100 KVKs selected for technology demonstration and are included in the automatic weather station net-work.

Real-time crop contingency plans are being implemented at 23 locations in response to climate variability both at on-station and on-farm to generate data on the feasibility and profitability

Field phenotyping and seed multiplication of 111 maize and 186 pigeon pea lines obtained from NBPGR, DMR, CYMMIT and IIPR is underway.

From several SSR markers reported in literature for drought tolerance in maize, 50 markers were selected to assess homozygosity and genetic diversity in maize germplasm and four out of these were analyzed in 60 lines. Polymorphism was evident in case of one marker across the tested lines.

Paralogues in the maize genome of specific genes RBOHS, WRKY and MBF1c implicated in abiotic stresses have been identified using bioinformatic tools and their phylogenetic tree has been constructed.

Collection, compilation and analysis of long term historical data on Crop-Pest-Disease-Weather, across different AICRP centres of groundnut and pigeonpea is in progress.

Collection of cadastral data required for mapping hot spot locations of pests and diseases of groundnut and pigeon pea has been initiated and a field experiment for testing of DSS for late leaf spot on groundnut has been grounded.

Six rain water harvesting structures (ponds) with different catchments with land management system (Contour bunds) have been established at GRF with different lining materials. Runoff and sediment load are being monitored under different rainfall intensities to quantify the impact of extreme events.

Experiments on conservation agriculture and carbon sequestration have been initiated at Institute research farms on maize, pigeonpea and in net-work mode with 3-5 AICRPDA centres on rainfed rice and cotton.

Indicators of vulnerability assessment such as (1) Exposure: Change in rainfall, Change in minimum temperature and Change in maximum temperature; (2) Sensitivity: percent irrigated area, area under cereals, productivity of cereals, organic C content of soil, water holding capacity of soil, pest incidence and density of population; and (3) Adaptation capacity: human development index (Education, health and income), cropping intensity and livestock population have been identified and data at district level have been collected.

During the Rabi 2010-11 season, a core set of genetic resources numbering 300 of wheat, was assembled and phenotyped for adaptive morphological and physiological traits for drought and heat stress in open field conditions. Seven crosses were attempted involving the resistant donor and well adapted agronomic lines lacking tolerance based on the inter-relationship between physiological traits and grain yield under stress environment.

In studies on role of apoplastic Ca++ for improving high temperature tolerance in chickpea, foliar application of Ca improved tolerance for short term exposure.

Indian rice fields covering an area of 43.86 million ha emitted 3.3 million tons of CH4. Total N2O emission from agricultural soils of India was 0.14 million tons. Nitrogenous fertilizer contributed 70% of N2O emission.

New cultivars tolerant to at least three weeks of submergence were identified viz. AC37887, AC42087, IC258990, AC42088, IC258830, AC38575, AC42091 and AC20431. Survival percentage of these genotypes was more than 80%.

Ninety six genotypes were screened for anaerobic germination tolerance. Two Genotypes namely AC606 and AC691were found tolerant with greater than 80% anaerobic germination. AC38575, AC37887, IC258990, IC258830, AC42087 and AC20431-B showed more than 80 percent survival even after 21 days of submergence.

The net ecosystem exchange (NEE) of rice paddy grown in shallow submergence was monitored through Eddy Covariance based carbon dioxide flux monitoring systems. NEE ranged between 3.5 µ mol CO2m-2s-1 to -18.7 µ mol CO2m-2s-1, where positive sign indicates net CO2 emission into the atmosphere from the soil-plant system and negative sign denotes net CO2 assimilation or uptake by the crop.

The daily average of NEE over the cropping season varied from 1.30 µ mol CO2m-2s-1 to -8.78 µ mol CO2m-2s-1 where as it varied from 1.35 g C m-2 d-1 to -9.11 g C m-2 d-1 indicating that more the negative values of NEE more is the atmospheric CO2 assimilation in to the rice paddy system and more positive values of NEE, more is the CO2 emission in to the atmosphere from soil-plant system.

Two hundred and fifty lines of rice were planted for screening for heat tolerance including CMS, restorers and hybrids and 10 crosses were made between tolerant and sensitive lines.

Various physiological parameters such as chlorophyll content, fluorescence, stem remobilization, stomatal index, trichome number, pollen viability and stigma receptability were assessed in relation to grain yield and heat tolerance in a set of 25 germplasm lines.

Field screening of 15 rice genotypes for nitrogen use efficiency was undertaken and grouped. Identification of genes and QTL related to NUE has been initiated. Intensive studies utilizing wild and land races on these aspects is also initiated to produce climate resilient rice genotypes.

BPH adults were collected from west Godavari during May 2011 and technique is being standardized for rearing on young seedling. In a preliminary study, DRR local population recorded 1% macropterous (long winged forms). In contrast, West Godavari population had 10% winged adults. 4th generation is being characterized for virulence features in respect of popular varieties in West Godavari population.

In vitro regeneration protocol is being standardized for the wheat cultivar HD 2894.

Screening of 210 bacterial isolates from Indo Gangetic plains and hot water springs for temperature tolerance is progress with an aim to isolate genes conferring tolerance in heat stress.

Construction of substractive cDNA library for heat stress in wheat (cv. Raj 3765) is in progress.

One hundred genotypes of each blackgram and green gram with diverse genetic back ground are being evaluated at different centres (Kanpur, Durgapura, Vamban) during summer in order to ascertain their level of thermo-tolerance and wider adaptability.

Promising genotypes for thermo-tolerance and wider adaptability were identified in green gram i.e. ( IPM 02-3(Red), IPM-02-16, IPM 02-3(Black), IPM-9901-10, IPM 02-3(Green), IPM-04-14, EC 470096, 2K-14-9, 2K-14-5, PDM-288.) and black gram (PDU-3, IPU 94-1, IC 106088, STY 2867, IPU 99-18, IPU 99-16, IPU 90-32, UH 99-144, UH 32-3, IPU 557).

Multilocation trial using 146 minicore from ICRISAT and about 100 pigeonpea genotypes with early and late flowering background are being conducted at Ludhiana, IIPR, Khargone , Badnapur and Gulbarga.

A total of 36 centres representative of different agroecologies for crops of rice(7), pigeonpea(10), groundnut(6), tomato(7) and mango (6) have been integrated for real time pest surveillance under NCIPM. Detailed work plan was drawn up for collection of pest distribution and weather data.

Data sheet formats, and guidelines for surveillance, and surveys have been finalised through crop specific work plan meetings on rice, pigeonpea, mango, groundnut and tomato.

Explorative surveys in Etah and Kanpur districts of UP indicated the emergence of hither to unreported insect pest Begrada hilaris (Burn) on tomato crop.

Thermal stability of cotton stalk was found to be higher than pigeon pea stalk when biochar generation was studied. However, the char obtained from pigeon pea had a higher oxidation temperature as compared to cotton stalk indicating better thermal stability for char of pigeon pea stalk.

A study conducted to assess the char produced during open field burning of crop residues (wheat straw) in three villages namely Sadalatpur, Barbatpur and Mandideep of Raisen district of Madhya Pradesh, revealed that the amount of char from CR burnt fields varied from 67 to 129 kg/ha.

An electrical heating system, insulation system and fuel feeding system were designed for development of entrained gasifier.

Seventy eight varieties of upland rice were sown in the green house to screen for high temperature tolerance. 13 varieties could survive at 39oC and showed proper post germination growth.

With a view to screen maize genotypes under heat stress, 105 genotypes were tested for germination at 50oC.

Isolation of rice blast fungus was done in order to study the host pathogen interaction under varied temperature regimes in 12 rice varieties collected from different parts of NE region.

Interventions such as intercropping, cover crops, fodder grasses, hedge rows on the risers, residue management and conservation tillage in the hill slopes has been undertaken under this experiment for soil and water management.

Five villages of Ri-Bhoi district of Meghalaya viz. Mawlaisnai, Khyndewso, Jatalong, Marmain and Umwangthem were surveyed for collecting information on indigenous pig germplasm.

Survey was carried out to identify the indigenous chicken of Ri-Bhoi district, Meghalaya. Local germplasm of poultry were found to be medium size, multi coloured birds having normal plumage.

Database on rainfall and temperature, stream flow and groundwater levels for Odisha state revealed that due to alteration in the hydrological cycle the severity of droughts and intensity of floods increased.

The tree biomass (above and belowground) in baseline in Sultanpur district of UP is 8.56 t ha-1 and crop biomass varied from 10.57 to 84.56 t ha-1 under different crops grown in the districts except sugarcane. The contribution of individual tree species in total tree population in the district is in order of Eucalyptus tereticornis (35.19%) Mangifera indica (23.33%) Azadirachta indica (5.05%) Madhuca latifolia (4.87%) Delbergia sissoo (3.93%).

As per estimate of CO2 fix model, the existing biomass in trees is 8.74 t ha-1 and after 25-years the biomass in trees would be 15.47 t ha-1. The soil carbon in the districts under different agroforestry practices would be 26.76 t ha-1 after 25 years.

Soil samples were collected after the harvest of wheat from different long term tillage and nutrient management experiments in rice-wheat cropping system in the Indo-Gangetic Plains to quantify carbon sequestration potential and analysis is in progress

Ten lines of green gram obtained from NBPGR were planted in pots for screening of abiotic stress tolerance.

Out of 256 lines screened earlier for high temperature tolerance adopting CMS technique and yield per plant under field conditions, a total of 8 lines including 3 F1 hybrids (Arka Ananya, Arka Rakshak and Arka Samrat) were screened for heat tolerance under field conditions during summer 2011.

Graft combinations (tomato plants grafted on two brinjal varieties) tolerant to excess moisture were identified

Thirty six banana accessions including wild types (AA=11, AAA=4, AB=2, AAB=7, ABB=4, BB=8) have been planted in pots for screening under water limiting conditions.

In case of the fruit fly, Bactrocera dorsalis, maximum and minimum temperatures significantly affected population increase (r = +0.51 and+ 0.73, respectively). Regression model with weather factors alone accounted for a coefficient of determination of 62%.

Surveys on the influence of weather conditions on flowering phenology and production of mango were conducted at Krishna, Khammam, Vizianagaram and Warangal districts of Andhra Pradesh; Kolar district in Karnataka; Krishnagiri, Vellore, Dindigul, Theni and Dharmapuri districts of Tamilnadu.

Two hundred and twenty five lines of tomato are being screened for heat tolerance under open field and net house conditions in terms of growth, physiological and biochemical traits and tolerance index.

Five AICRP centres have been finalized as partners for taking up the activities (pest and disease dynamics) on mango. A workshop was organized and formats for minimum data sets finalized work plan drawn up on.

Screening of 100 genotypes of mango has been carried out for relative resistance to insect pest and diseases in relation to phenological parameters and weather data. Less susceptible, moderately susceptible and highly susceptible genotypes were identified for each pest/ disease.

Morphological measurements of Tharparkar, Sahiwal, Kankrej cattle and Murrah, Tarai & Nili Ravi buffaloes viz. face length, face width, ear length, chest girth, punch girth, body length and body weights have been obtained.

Information on skin coat and colour of different cattle and buffalo breeds such as skin thickness and hair length, hair density has been recorded.

Blood and cell samples are being processed for identifying unique traits in Indigenous cattle and buffaloes (proteome and transcriptome) from climate hotspots. Sample of heat challenged animals are being collected for further analysis.

Experiments on animal feeding and supplementation to alleviate thermal stress have been initiated.

A standard questionnaire was developed for collecting disease, prevalence data and climatic parameters. Districts covering all agro-climate zones and states/UT have been selected by random sampling method for collecting such data.

Liaison has been established with resource persons for obtaining disease data from selected districts

Indian Veterinary Research Institute has been registered with IMD for getting long term climate data

Time series data on Sea Surface Temperature (~ 100 years), wind speed and chlorophyll a concentration (13 years) has been collected for the coastal waters of Kerala, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh (source: ICOADS, INCOIS & SeaWiFS). Increase in annual average SST and seasonal strengthening of wind speed and chlorophyll concentration are recognised in the coastal waters.

With increasing temperature in sub-surface waters, the surface-living Indian mackerel and oil sardine are extending their distribution to sub-surface waters, as evidenced from increasing catches in bottom travel nets.

Data mining indicates that for the period from 2007 to 2009, percentage of hatching of the shrimp Penaeus semisulcatus decreases in higher temperatures.

Maximum hatching of the shrimp was obtained when the water temperature was around 27°C. An increase of 3°C rise in temperature resulted in a decrease in hatching by 6.5% and a further increase of 3°C resulted in a decrease in hatching by 15.5%.

An increase of 3°C resulted in a decline in the survival of the larval stages, namely, nauplii, zoea and mysis of the shrimp by 8.3 , 73.4 and 75% respectively.

In the sand lobster Thenus orientalis, the incubation duration reduced from 39-41 days in low temperatures (25-27oC) to 32-35 days in higher temperature (28-30oC). At 28-30oC, the hatching efficiency is higher. However, at seawater temperature > 30oC, the larvae (naupliosoma) are disfigured with crumpled legs, and die.

Proformae for data collection on Indian major carps, Hilsa and mullets maturity studies, fish spawn assessment from rivers, schedule for hatchery survey were designed.

Fish samples of Indian major carps (Labeo rohita, Catla catla, Cirrhinus mrigala), have been collected from West Bengal, Orissa, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Assam & Tripura during March, April, May and June, 2011. Analyses were carried out on their length weight relationship, gonadal maturity, gonadal morphology, oocyte development stages in relation to weather data.

Preliminary indications depict a trend of early gonadal maturity during the month of March/April. The ovaries of Cirrhinus mrigala especially and to a lesser extent L.rohita are in pre-spawning phase and are representing a good proportion of stages VI-VII oocytes (23 - 53%).

Mature C. mrigala were subjected to enhanced temperature of 34°C and its impact on the gonadal maturity in terms of oocyte morphology, liver and ovarian cholesterol level are being investigated.

All the major minerals showed a decreasing trend up to 1 week in low salinity and thereafter an increasing trend and the values reached to control level (28%) in 2 weeks.

The commercially available feed samples are being analysed for their nutrients and mineral content in order to supplement the deficiencies for different salinities.

One pair of black PVC columns were placed vertically 10 cm deep in the sediment and leaving 10 cm above the water at three different places viz., water pumping area, centre of the pond and sluice gate in a shrimp aquaculture pond (stocking density - 75,000 PL/ha and DOC - 135 days) and incubated for 24 hours. SR was high at sluice gate area followed by centre of the pond and water pumping area and is correlated with easily oxidizable organic carbon content of 0.52, 0.55 and 0.58%, respectively.