Research Projects

The Himalayan agro-ecosystem is home to unique crop biodiversity, with maize being a key factor in the diet and cultural habits of the Kashmir Himalayan region's high altitudes. Maize landraces in the Apline region, originating and evolving over millions of years through selective breeding by tribal farmers, have preserved genetic variation, which is crucial for maize breeding by providing novel genes for crops adapted to extreme environments. However, these landraces have been used to a limited extent in current maize breeding programs due to their lack of proper characterisation and low agronomic characteristics compared to elite material. To better manage and conserve genetic resources, molecular techniques are needed to characterize the genetic diversity of landraces and their relation with elite germplasm. Double Haploid (DH) technology is the fastest and most efficient route to produce completely homozygous lines for maize, allowing the development of homozygous inbred lines in a single year. This method reduces the length of breeding cycles and increases genetic gain. A comparative biochemical and molecular investigation between cold tolerant Gurez Local and cold susceptible GM6 has been published, encouraging further research to identify genes conferring cold stress tolerance in maize. A doubled haploid population of about 200 individuals will be used to identify genomic regions associated with cold stress tolerance.