Email: pk.bhati@cgiar.org

A huge amount of nitrogen-based fertilizers is used in modern agriculture. Wheat is one of the top three crops whose production largely depends on the application of nitrogen fertilizer. However, around 70% of fertilizer applied in the field is not absorbed by the crops. Unabsorbed nitrogen leads to water pollution or adds to the existing greenhouse effect. To improve NUE, a new JICA-CIMMYT-BISA-ICAR partnership was initiated in 2022 through a JICA funded project for the Establishment of Nitrogen-Efficient

Wheat Production Systems in Indo-Gangetic Plains by the Development of BNI Technology. It aims to enhance nitrogen retention and reduce nitrous oxide emissions in the wheat-growing zone, particularly in the Indo-Gangetic plains of India. The focus is on developing new wheat varieties with the BNI trait. For this, field trials were conducted using BNI and non-BNI lines at the three BISA research farms – Ludhiana (Punjab), Jabalpur (Madhya Pradesh), Samastipur (Bihar), and three ICAR institutions (IIWBR Karnal, IARI New Delhi and CSSRI Karnal).

Evaluation trials included 3 BNI lines, 3 BNI parents, and 3 local checks. Simple lattice design with 2 replications, 4 nitrogen treatments (0% N2, 50% N2, 75% N2, and 100% N2 of recommended doses), standard package of practices, and propiconazole 25EC fungicide spray to avoid infection of spot blotch and stripe rust were used in these trials. More than 20 traits were recorded. It was found that BNI Vorobey showed 7-8% grain yield superiority under 75% N2 compared to normal Vorobey. A strong breeding pipeline involving BNI lines and population wheat varieties of India is being developed for releasing BNI wheat varieties in near future.

In addition to this, the research consortium successfully identified molecular markers from the de-Novo sequence of the Leymus recemosus that enable a clear-cut identification of translocated segments conferring BNI and non-translocated segments of non-BNI-wheat varieties. The newly identified molecular markers will enhance the efficiency of the breeding process.

The development of BNI technology and its introduction in wheat varieties demonstrates a way forward towards sustainability and innovation that could fundamentally alter the course of agricultural development.