ICRISAT, Horticulture Innovation Australia ink research pact

An agreement for joint research and development (R&D) of plant genomics was signed between Horticulture Innovation Australia (HIA) and the Hyderabad-headquartered International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid-Tropics (ICRISAT) today.
The memorandum of understanding (MoU) would allow researchers from ICRISAT and HIA to undertake joint research and development in plant genomics, officials said.
The agreement was signed by HIA Director David Cliffe and ICRISAT Director General William Dar.
"We are excited that HIA and ICRISAT will not only do high quality research through this collaboration, but also high-impact research, that is expected to benefit millions of farmers as well as consumers globally," Dar said.

HIA Director Cliffe said that his organisation is glad to begin collaboration with ICRISAT in the area of modern genome science including sequencing, genotyping and functional genomics, that would help advance the horticulture industry in Australia as well as worldwide.
"We have completed genome sequencing of reference genomes of leading legume crops like chickpea and pigeonpea, having sequenced genomes of more than 1,000 lines of these legumes. We are very keen to work with HIA to accelerate their efforts in the area of genome sequencing and analysis," Director of ICRISAT's Centre of Excellence in Genomics and Research Programme on Grain Legumes Rajeev Varshney said.

"The application of genomic tools has tremendous potential in reducing breeding cycles of horticultural crops for the benefit of Australian industries," HIA official Alok Kumar, who negotiated the research partnership between ICRISAT and HIA, said.
HIA General Manager David Moore as well as several researchers from the Queensland Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry; the University of Queensland; and the Queensland University of Agriculture & Technology (QUT) are in India as part of the HIA-led delegation.
Both ICRISAT and HIA have committed to explore other areas of research in a number of horticultural crops.