Research work that won an Indian scientist an international award could help eliminate a disease of pigeonpea, or tur dal, that costs farmers of India and Nepal more than $300 million annually.
The identification of the virus causing sterility mosaic disease (SMD) in pigeonpea -- 90 percent of its global production is in the Indian subcontinent -- is expected to lead to better pest management benefiting thousands of marginal farmers.
The disease spread by the eriophyid mite was long considered a difficult scientific problem of this century as it caused heavy losses to farmers of pigeon pea, known scientifically as Cajanus cajan.
P. Lava Kumar of the Hyderabad-based International Crops Research Institute for Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) won the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) Young Scientist Award for his work in identifying the SMD virus.
ICRISAT said Kumar's "outstanding research achievements have resolved vital questions unanswered for more than seven decades".
One of 15 centres belonging to the CGIAR system, ICRISAT is guided by the principle of 'science with a human face' and harnesses the power of technology for development, food security, poverty alleviation and environmental protection, aimed at empowering poor rural families of the semi-arid tropics.
ICRISAT is also part of the Rice-Wheat Consortium, which shares expertise with international organisations like the International Rice Research Institute, Manila, the Philippines, and the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR).
The consortium is helping farmers plant different crops such as quality protein maize, pigeonpea, mungbean, chickpea, lentil, faba beans, potatoes and vegetables for increasing incomes and household nutrition security.
This, in combination with improved practices such as zero tillage, resulted in an estimated benefit of US$100 million for India and Pakistan in 2003, ICRISAT claims.
--Indo-Asian News Service