Ramasamy Perumal

Sorghum and pearl millet breeding research program for the semi-arid regions of Kansas to increase the yield potential through the development of elite parental lines and hybrids with chilling, heat and drought tolerance (pre-flowering and post-flowering resistance), non-lodging and diseases resistance (Fusarium stalk rot, charcoal rot and grain mold - sorghum), and herbicide tolerance in pearl millet. The program also evaluates exotic germplasm to find new genetic sources for use in the development of improved lines. Other research focuses are: i) develop sorghum and millet hybrids for direct commercialization in partnership with private industries ii) develop breeding specialty sorghums with adapted traits background and high anti-oxidant properties for drug discovery against colon-cancer treatment in sorghum iii) develop high yielding grain and forage pearl millet parental lines and hybrids for improved grain micronutrient (iron and zinc) contents and forage quality traits. Collaborative research efforts are being continued with crop physiology, plant pathology, research chemist and genomics scientists from national (K-State, Texas A&M University, USDA, Manhattan, Kansas and Lubbock, Texas) and international (SRM University, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University and ICRISAT, India) institutes. The program integrates classical, molecular marker and predictive breeding approaches to achieve the targeted goals.