Wheat Research Station

Junagadh Agricultural University
Junagadh-362 001 Gujarat (India)

Year of Establishment :

Wheat Research Station, J.A.U., Junagadh was established in the year 1960 with the approval of the Wheat Research Scheme by the Government of Gujarat. The centre is representing the whole Saurashtra region i.e. seven districts viz. Junagadh, Jamnagar, Rajkot, Amreli, Bhavnagar, Surendranagar and Porbandar of Gujarat state. The main objectives of this station are to develop high yielding, dwarf, high fertilizer responsive, disease resistant wheat varieties with better grain quality of bread and macaroni durum wheat for different production conditions. Simultaneously, the research work on new production technology and plant protection technologies for the newly released varieties of wheat for this area is also conducted regularly. This station was strengthened by sanctioning of the scheme "All India Coordinated Wheat Improvement Project" by Indian Council of Agricultural Research, New Delhi from 09/07/1987. This provides an ample scope for testing newly developed varieties under wide range of environmental conditions. Further, this station has been strengthened by sanctioning of the plan scheme entitled "Strengthening Research in Wheat" by State government under 11^th five-year plan from 2008. The main objective of this scheme is to generate high temperature tolerant genotypes of T. aestivum and T. durum wheat suitable for early sowing.

Introduction :

Junagadh is a main wheat research station of Junagadh Agricultural University located in Saurashtra region and sub-centre for Gujarat state. The climatic conditions of the station represent the tropical-subtropical climates characterized by fairly cold, dry and short winter, hot and dry summer and comparatively low precipitation during monsoon season. This station is also working as a Regional Research Station of Central Zone for wheat crop.

Mandate :

Testing of various national/international nurseries and selection of better genotypes for utilization in hybridization programme.
Development of new crosses and growing various segregating generations for selection of better individual plants in aestivum and durum wheat.
Testing of various genotypes developed at this station and conduct different experiments for their performance in the zone
Screening wheat genotypes for their reaction against the brown and black rusts.
Productivity enhancement and maintenance through developing varieties tolerant to various biotic and abiotic stresses by adopting intensive hybridization programme.
Monitoring of wheat diseases and pests in the Saurashtra region of the state. Breeder seed production programme of recommended varieties of wheat.

Objectives :

Collection, evaluation, characterization and conservation of wheat germplasm and wheat biodiversity.
Developing variety with high yield potential, better quality and resistance to biotic and abiotic stresses.
Developing efficient eco-friendly techniques for achieving high production, productivity and conservation of natural resources.
Evolving better and efficient management system for management of pests and diseases.
Nucleus and breeder seed production and advisory services.

Thrust areas :

In Saurashtra region, winter is very short. To compensate winter spell and crop growth stage, the sowing time of wheat is recommended during the second week of November. However, the farmers of this region generally prefer early sowing because of shortage of irrigation water at the ripening stage of wheat i.e. during February-March. Such practice greatly affects the initial growth and ultimately results in poor yield. Under these situations, the development of early heat tolerant, early to medium maturing and rust resistant varieties is highly required. Likewise, durum wheat produced in Saurashtra region possesses superior grain quality but farmers are reluctant to accept the durum wheat because of longer maturity period than bread wheat. Keeping these facts in view, the further research work should be aimed at :

Enhancing productivity and profitability of wheat by developing varieties with higher yield through incorporation of genes from different sources.
Continuously updating the tolerance against biotic and abiotic stress through incorporation of resistance genes from various germplasm sources.
Development of high yielding and early maturing varieties suitable for early sowing especially in Saurashtra region
Development of varieties suitable for restricted irrigations.
Collection, evaluation and maintenance of germplasm and elite breeding materials for crop improvement.
Development of facilities for the creation of artificial epiphytotic conditions for different races of black and brown rusts of wheat in order to screen large number of entries
Technology development for higher production based on integrated nutrient management, efficient water management and improving tillage technology and post harvest care

Infrastructure :

Total area of farm	:	20.25 ha
Farm area under cultivation	:	18.40 ha
Area under farm structure/ buildings	:	1.85 ha
Irrigated area	:	18.40 ha
Source of irrigation	:	Dug well-3 and Water storage sump

Research Activities:

Crop Improvement :

Strengthening of genetic resources, which include collection, evaluation and maintenance of germplasm for making use in breeding programme.
Development of new genetic materials and selection of desirable individual plants from various segregating generations for developing genotypes with high stable yield, better grain quality and resistance various biotic and abiotic stresses.
Testing of newly developed genotypes under various categories of trials such as PET, SST, LST, NIVT and AVT in early, timely and late sowing conditions.
Seed multiplication of different varieties on large scale to cater the need of farmers and various seed producing agencies.
Dissemination of the newly developed varieties and technologies on the farmer's fields through demonstrations.

Resource Management :

To find out the optimum time of sowing and response of fertilizers for newly developed genotypes in relation to yield and quality.
To study the response of genotypes to limited irrigations.
To determine the optimum irrigation requirement of newly developed varieties to get maximum yield

Crop Protection :

To study the naturally occurrence and intensity of stem and leaf rusts in Trap Plot Nurseries conducted at Mangrol village of coastal area.
To screen the wheat entries of various centers of India which included in coordinated trials for stem and leaf rusts under artificially created epiphytotic conditions.
To screen the newly developed wheat genotypes and advanced bulks of Junagadh and Vijapur centers for stem and leaf rusts by creating artificially epiphytotic conditions.
To survey of various mondies and farmer's fields of different areas of Saurashtra region to monitor the infection of karnal bunt and black point diseases of wheat grains
To maintain and multiplication of rust races in micro plot of this station.
To create artificial epiphytotic conditions for the stem and leaf rusts in all the breeding materials, various breeding nurseries and germplasm.

INFORMATION OF UNIT HEAD

Name of Unit Head	Dr. A. G. Pansuriya Research Scientist (Wheat) Ph.D. (Genetics and plant Breeding)
Office No.	(285)- 2672080-90, Fax: (285)-2672004
E-mail	This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Faculty Profile :

Sr.	Name	Designation	Specialized Subject	Contact
1.	Dr. I.B. Kapadiya	Asstt. Research Scientist	Plant Pathology	-
2.	Dr. Chandrakant Singh	Asstt. Research Scientist	Plant Physiology	-
3.	Shri. V.L. Kikani	Asstt. Research Scientist	Agronomy	-
4.	Mr. D.M. Vekaria	Agriculture officer	Plant Breeding	-
5.	Mr. K.L. Patel	Agriculture officer	Agri. Diploma	-

Technical Staff:

Sr.	Name	Designation
1.	Shri. M. G. Chavda	Agril. Supervisor
2.	Shri. G. P. Patoliya	Agril. Assistant

Agro-climatic information of the Center

(a)	Name of the Agro-climatic Zone	:	South Saurashtra Agro-climatic Zone
(b)	Rainfall	:	The average seasonal rainfall from the year 1985 to 2020 is about 898.8 mm with maximum of 1758 mm in the year 2020 and minimum of 138.2 mm in1987.
(c)	Soil	:	The soil of the center is medium black and calcareous varying from 25 to 75 cm in depth.
(d)	Temperature	:	The annual temperature ranges from 15⁰ C in winter to 45⁰ C in summer with an average minimum of 17.9⁰ C and maximum of 34.8⁰ C.
(e)	Geographical Details	:	Of the total geographical area in the district, about 64.1 % is cultivated. Irrigation is limited to only about 11 % of the cultivated area. Out of total 1600 km coastal line in the state, 210 km falls under the Junagadh district. The climate of Junagadh district can be classified as semi-arid. Junagadh district lies between 210 30' N latitude, 700 30' E longitudes at an altitude of 61 m above mean sea level.

Schemes Operating

Sr.	Name of Scheme	Budget Head	Type of Scheme	Funding Agency
1.	Project for Research in Wheat	5004	Non-Plan	State Govt.
2.	All India Co-ordinated Wheat and Barley Improvement Project	2004	ICAR	State 25% ICAR 75%
3.	Strengthening Research in Wheat at Junagadh	12583	Plan	State Govt.

Other Agency Funded Projects (Ongoing)

Sr.	Name of project	Budget Head	Year	Funding Agency
1.	Evaluation of bioefficacy of ACTIROOT (Biostimulants) on growth and yield of maize	18013-19	2023	AGRONUTRITION, FRANCE through KANBIOSIS PVT. LTD, Pune

Other Agency Projects (Completed)

Sr.	Name of project	Budget Head	Year	Funding Agency
1.	Evaluation of plant growth regulator Mepiquat chloride 5% AS in wheat	18013-17	2018-19 & 2019-20	Gharda Chemicals Limited, Mumbai
2.	Bio-efficacy evaluation of Mesotrione 48 %SC against broad leaf weeds of wheat and its residual effects on succeeding crops	18013-18	2020-21	Gharda Chemicals Limited, Mumbai

Research Recommendations made for the Farmers

(I) New Varieties

Following wheat varieties have been developed by this station and released for production conditions in the state as well as Central Zone

S.No.	Name of Variety	Year of Release	Salient Features
1.	J 1-7	1971	19% higher yield than K.sona. Pink aurical, brown colour ear-Timely sown irrigated
2.	J 24	1974	11.55% higher yield than K.sona. Pale green aurical, brown colour ear, pubescent -Timely sown irrigated
3.	J 18	1977	9% higher yield than K.sona green foliage, brown colour ear, glabrous - Late sown irrigated
4.	J 40	1978	5% higher yield than K.sona. Pale green leaf, white colour ear, glabrous- Timely sown irrigated
5.	GW 2 (Rainfed )	1983	7% higher yield than A-9-30-1. Pale green leaf, brown colour ear, glabrous-Rainfed
6.	GW 405	1985	8% higher yield than Lok-1. Gloomy and deep green leaves, white ear, labrous-Late sown irrigated.
7.	GW 496	1989	5% higher yield than K.sona. Bloomy and pale green leaves, white ear, glabrous, lustrous grain -Timely sown irrigated.
8.	GW 503	1989	11% higher yield than GW 89. Bloomy green leaves, white colour ear, glabrous- Timely sown irrigated.
9.	GW 366	2007	12%, 10% and 6% higher grain yield than Lok-1, GW 190 and GW 322 respectively. Pink auricle, curved peduncle and top dense ear head. Bold and lustrous grains -Timely sown irrigated.
10.	GJW 463	2016	The variety GJW 463 (Gujarat Junagadh Wheat 463) is recommended for early sown irrigated conditions of Saurashtra region and timely sown irrigated conditions of Gujarat state. The variety has attractive plant type with good tillers and recorded 55.75q/ha grain yield under early sown irrigated conditions of Saurashtra region, while it has recorded 50.91q/ha grain yield under timely sown irrigated conditions of Gujarat. It has amber coloured lustrous grains. It has hectoliter weight of 79.1 kg/hl, protein content of 12.7% and sedimentation value of 43.4 ml and micronutrients Fe, Zn, Mn and Cu content of 31.9, 23.8, 22.4 and5.9 ppm, respectively with good chapatti making quality. This variety is notified in the gazette of India as per notification no. S>O. 2805(E), dated 29/08/17 received from Dr. Arun Gupta's, IIWBR, Karnal, email dated 05/09/17.

Agronomy: The following crop production technologies recommendations were made by this station.

1. Sowing time of wheat is very important and it affects the grain yield to great extent in this area. Middle of November is recommended for sowing of wheat in Saurashtra region to obtain maximum yield.

2. The results of an experiment on nitrogen and phosphorus requirements indicated that wheat crop required 120 kg nitrogen and 60 kg phosphorus. It is recommended to apply half dose of N and full doze of P2O5 at the time of sowing and remaining half doze of N at 21 days after sowing

3. To control the weeds in irrigated wheat, Pendimethalin should be sprayed @ 1 kg a.i./ha as pre- emergence application.

4. The farmers of South Saurashtra agro-climatic zone following groundnut- wheat crop sequence are advised to apply FYM 15 t/ha to kharif groundnut followed by 120 kg N and 60 kg P2O5/ha to wheat for getting higher yield and economic returns.

5. In the areas of South Saurashtra Zone where irrigation water is not a limiting factor, farmers are advised to irrigate (50 mm) the wheat crop at weekly interval (Total 14 irrigations) in order to get maximum yield and net return. However, on the basis of net ICBR, ten irrigations are recommended. The first irrigation should be given immediately after sowing of seeds in dry soil followed by next irrigation at 6 days after sowing for better germination. The rest of the irrigations should be given at an interval of 8 to 10 days.

6. The farmers of South Saurashtra Agro Climatic zone growing wheat in medium blacl calcarious soil are recommended to spray multi micro nutrient formulation Grade 4 @ 1% (three sprays 30,45, and 60 DAS) or application of micro nutrients as per soil test value in addition to recommended dose of fertilizer (120-60-00 N-P2O5-K2O Kg/ha) for getting higher yield and net returns.(2012 in collaboration with Department of Soil Science and Chemistry.)

7. The farmers of South Saurashtra Agro Climatic zone growing wheat under irrigated condition are advised to spray growth promoter Brassinolide (BS) @ 0.01 mg/L at milk-dough stage to obtain higher grain yield and net return.(2015 in collaboration with Department of Genetics and Plant Breeding)

8. The farmers of South Saurashtra Agro Climatic zone growing wheat are advised to apply 60 Kg Potash and 40 Kg Sulphur (in form of phosphor gypsum) per hectare as basal and ecommended dose of N and P (120-60 N-P2O5 Kg/ha) to wheat crop for getting maximum yield and return.(2016 in collaboration with Department of Soil Science and Chemistry).

9. The farmers of South Saurashtra Agro-climatic Zone growing wheat in medium black calcareous soil are recommended to apply nitrogen @ 120 kg/ha in three splits (¼ as basal + ½ at 20 to 25 DAS + ¼ at 35 to 40 DAS) instead of two splits in addition to recommended dose of P2O5- K2O (60-60 kg ha-1) for getting higher yield, net return and improve nutrient use efficiency.

10. The farmers of South Saurashtra Agro-climatic Zone growing wheat are recommended to adopt drip irrigation at 0.8 Etc in flat bed for acquiring higher yield, higher net return and save irrigation water over broad bed furrow and flood irrigation.

Drip irrigation system details are as under

Details of drip system	Operating time
Lateral spacing : 90 cm Inline dripper spacing: 40 cm Dripper discharge: 2 lph Operating pressure : 1.2 kg/cm2 Operating frequency: Alternate day	a) November : 1 hour b) December : 1 hour 30 min c) January : 2 hours d) February : 2 hours 15 min

(2021 in collaboration with Res. Testing & training Centre, JAU, Junagadh)

Achievements :

Seed production :

Year wise breeder seed production of wheat varieties from 2004-05 onwards

Breeder seed produced (kg)
Year	GW 366	GW 496	LOK-1	GW 503	GJW 463	Total
2004-05	-	6080	3560	880	-	10520
2005-06	-	7480	3680	-	-	11160
2006-07	10400	6080	2800	1400	-	20680
2007-08	7040	2520	9880	-	-	19440
2008-09	26760	12640	15800	-	-	55200
2009-10	52160	23740	11900	720	-	88520
2010-11	63040	32120	-	-	-	95160
2011-12	54680	15880	-	-	-	70560
2012-13	14560	3880	-	-	-	18440
2013-14	22000	-	-	-	-	22000
2014-15	20840	7760	6800	-	-	35400
2015-16	14250	3640	7800	-	-	25690
2016-17	31560	11520	2760	-	-	45840
2017-18	12800	7000	6500	-	2480	28780
2018-19	33120	5520	7160	-	4700	50500
2019-20	46180	5200	2440	-	4600	58420
2020-21	6920	6760	3440	-	6880	24000
2021-22	5845	3320	3000	-	7020	19185
2022-23	5340	5300	2600	-	6680	19920
Total	427495	166440	90120	3000	32360	719415

Front Line Demonstration

FLDs conducted on new varieties and biofertilizers improved technologies during 2004-05 to 2020-21

Year	No. of demonstrations
2004-05	15
2005-06	20
2006-07	10
2007-08	8
2008-09	8
2009-10	13
2010-11	16
2011-12	6
2012-13	6
2013-14	12
2014-15	5
2015-16	10
2016-17	10
2017-18	15
2018-19	25
2019-20	75
2020-21	10
Total	264

Transfer of Technologies :

The technologies developed at this research station are being disseminated to the various extension agencies, NGO's, farmers and students in the following ways.

Organizing "Wheat Production Week" at the station.
Participating in the 'Krushi Mela', farmer's days and Agril. Exhibitions organized by University or other agencies
Updating Government officers in pre-seasonal training, diagnostic team visits and other training programmes.
Conducting demonstration plots at the station and organizing field days on farmers field.
Educating students and farmers during visit of this station.
Through TV, Radio broadcasting, literature, press note, personnel/spot field diagnosis and correspondence through letters, emails, what's app etc.
Conducting Wheat Front Line Demonstrations and mini kit demonstrations on farmers field to popularize the varieties and latest production technology.
Scientists of this Station are participating in “Krushi Mahotsav” every year during May-June.
Quality seed production of wheat variety GW 366, GW 496, Lok-1, GJW 463 and GW 451

Future outlook :

Target :

1. To improve yield ceiling with superior quality parameters and tolerance/resistance to biotic and abiotic stresses.

2. To promote durum wheat cultivation by creating market facility to sell durum wheat production

3. Enhancing productivity and profitability of wheat by developing varieties with higher yield through incorporation of genes from different sources

4. Continuously updating the tolerance against biotic and abiotic stress through incorporation of resistance genes from various germplasm sources.

5. Development of high yielding and early maturing varieties suitable for early sowing especially in Saurashtra region.

6. Development of varieties suitable for restricted irrigations.

7. Collection, evaluation and maintenance of germplasm and elite breeding materials for crop improvement.

8. Development of facilities for the creation of artificial epiphytotic conditions for different races of black and brown rusts of wheat in order to screen large number of entries.

9. Technology development for higher production based on integrated nutrient management, efficient water management through micro irrigation and improving tillage technology and post harvest care.

10. To give more emphasis on durum wheat cultivation by creating marketing facility to sell durum wheat.

PUBLICATIONS

No.	Details	No. of Publications
1.	Researchpaper published	120
	a. International Journal	59
	b. National Journal	61
2.	Popular article	45
3.	Booklet published	05
4.	Book/Book chapters	20
5.	Paper published in seminar/symposium/conference	25

Useful Links :

1) Wheat Doctor (http://wheatdoctor.cimmyt.org)

2) ઘઉંની ખેતીના પ્રશ્નો અને તેના જવાબો

3) Overview Wheat Research Station, JAU, Junagadh

: Contact :

Dr. A. G. Pansuriya

Research Scientist(I/c.)
Wheat Research Station
Junagadh Agricultural University
Junagadh -362 001

Telephone : 91-285- 2672080-90

Ext-327 & 471 (Office)

Fax : 91-285-2672004

E-mail : This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

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