Research Projects

India is the largest producer, consumer, and exporter of spices, including cumin, which is grown in arid and semi-arid areas of Rajasthan and Gujarat. Gujarat and Rajasthan are the top two producers of cumin in India, with higher production and productivity in Gujarat. Drought is a major production constraint in cumin, and no significant research has been done on drought stress tolerance in India. Experimental results using Iranian cumin genotypes reveal that drought stress reduces seed yield, plant biomass, number of seeds per plant, and oil content. Understanding agronomic, physiological, and biochemical traits associated with drought tolerance in cumin can help breeders in varietal development programs. This study proposes to phenotype Indian cumin genotypes under drought stress to understand their agronomic, physiological, biochemical response and molecular characterization. Genotypes available in Agriculture University, Jodhpur, and genotypes procured from NBPGR, New Delhi, and NRC seed and spices, Ajmer, will be evaluated under drought stress. Field evaluation will be conducted at 30% soil moisture of field capacity. Molecular markers can supplement variability analysis and genotype identification in cumin genotypes, as only few DNA marker-based diversity analyses of Iranian cumin genotypes are available for Indian cumin genotypes. Molecular characterization of cumin genotypes will help the cumin breeding program in India. Genotype grouping using agronomic and molecular markers will be helpful for developing strategic breeding programs in cumin.