Crop Improvement and Biotechnology

Our history

Crop Improvement Division of IISR possesses world's largest germplasm collection in various spices. A total of 25 high yielding and high quality spices varieties have been released. Vegetative and micro propagation techniques were standardized.

The Division of Crop Improvement has had a long and lustrous history that spans some 40 years. Since its inception, the Division has provided a home to innovative scientists who had made it their lives' work to reduce poverty through spices crop improvement research. Significant advancements in spices science and technologies would not have been possible had it not been for Crop Improvement Division's commitment.

Name of Head of the Division	Period of service	Specialization
Dr. J. Rema	Feb 2018 – till date	Horticulture Science
Dr. B. Sasikumar	Dec 2013- Jan 2018	Plant Breeding
Sri. B. Krishnamoorthy	Jan 1999- Nov 2013	Plant Breeding
Dr. P.N. Ravindran	1995- Jan 1999	Botany and Cytogenetics

At present eleven scientists belonging to disciplines like Economic botany, Genetics and cytogenetics, Horticulture, Plant breeding and Plant biotechnology are working in this Division.

Name	Designation	Specialization
Dr. J. Rema	Principal Scientist & Head in Charge	Horticulture
Dr. R. Ramakrishnan Nair	Principal Scientist	Genetics & Cytogenetics
Dr. K.V. Saji	Principal Scientist	Economic Botany
Dr. T. E. Sheeja	Principal Scientist	Plant Biotechnology
Dr. D. Prasath	Principal Scientist	Horticulture Science
Dr. P. Umadevi	Scientist	Plant Biotechnology
Ms. S. Aarthi	Scientist	Horticulture
Mr. V A. Muhammed Nissar	Scientist	Horticulture
Dr. M. S. Shivakumar	Scientist	Plant Breeding
Ms. H. J. Akshitha	Scientist	Horticulture
Mr. Honnappa Asangi	Scientist	Spices, Plantation, Medicinal and Aromatic Plants
Mr. K. P. Premachandran	Technical Officer	Senior Technical
Mr. Hareesh B. T.	Technical Assistant	Technician
Research Fellows
Ms. Prashina Mol P.	PhD Scholar	Biotechnology
Ms. Aparna R.S.	DBT JRF	Biotechnology
Ms. Sumayya Hassan	PhD Scholar	Botany
Ms. Aswathi A P	CSIR-UGC JRF	Biological Sciences
Dr. Bhabhina N M	Senior Research Fellow	Nanoscience and Technology
Ms. Dona Ann Jose	Senior Research Fellow	Horticulture

Spices-breeding research begins with its Germplasm Bank, a remarkable living catalogue of genetic diversity comprising over 5000 unique collections of black pepper, ginger, turmeric and tree spices.

We've developed a number of varieties better suited to Indian growing conditions, with good productivity and desired quality characteristics.

The spice crops on which crop improvement research is being conducted include

Black pepper (Piper nigrum Linn.),
Cardamom (Elettaria cardamomum Maton),
Ginger (Zingiber officinale Rosc.),
Turmeric (Curcuma longa Linn.),
Cinnamon (Cinnamomum verum J. Presl.),
Cassia (C. cassia Nees ex Blume),
Clove (Syzygium aromaticum (L.) Merrill & Perry),
Nutmeg (Myristica fragrans Houtt.),
Allspice (Pimenta dioica (L.) Merrill & Perry),
Garcinia (Garcinia gummi-gutta (L.) N. Robson and G. indica Choisy) and
Vanilla (Vanilla planifolia Jacks. ex Andrews).

Genetic diversity

Indian Institute of Spices Research possesses world's largest germplasm collection in various spices.

Crop	Germplasm status
Black pepper	2695
Ginger	659
Turmeric	1270
Cardamom	442
Cinnamon	336
Nutmeg	484
Clove	223
Garcinia	116
Vanilla	93

Conserving germplasm

Spices germplasm at the Gene Bank is conserved in the field gene bank at ICAR-IISR, Experimental farm, Peruvannamuzhi, Kerala. We continually assess our procedures to ensure that we are doing our best to conserve this vital genetic resource for future generations.

Sharing germplasm

We supply samples of various types of spices germplasm to any researcher upon request, according to the conditions of the ICAR.

Genetic information

The data on all spices germplasm conserved at ICAR-IISR are managed and maintained by an information system known as the SpiceGene.

Spices germplasm registered with NBPGR, New Delhi

S. No	Crop	Reg. No	Traits
1	Black pepper	INGR 03091 INGR 370011 INGR 06026 INGR 08099 INGR 08100	Field tolerance to foot rot disease High oleoresin and bold berries High caryophyllene Transexual species, male changed to bisexual. Noval spike variant with 100% proliferating spikes
2	Cardamom	INGR 06027 INGR 06028 INGR 06029 INGR 06030	Compound panicle type. High yield, 25.5 branches/panicle Basal branching of panicle with green bold capsules. Katte mosaic virus resistant, Rhizome rot resistant
3	Ginger	INGR 432866	High essential oil (3.5%)
4	Turmeric	INGR 296550	Good yield (14.9 kg) with 7.5% curcumin
5	Clove	INGR 04112	Dwarfness
6	Cassia	INGR 05029 INGR 06031 INGR 08045	High oleoresin (10.5%) High bark oil (4.9%) high cinamaldehyde (90.5%) High cinamaldehyde content in bark oil (81.5%) and leaf oil (80.5%)
7	Nutmeg	INGR 10142	High sabinene

Black pepper:

Germplasm collections obtained over the years through explorations are being maintained at ICAR-IISR as well as in other alternate sites viz., Appangala and Chettali of Karnataka for developing improved varieties for yield, quality, abiotic and biotic stresses.
Two accessions, INGR 8099- P. thomsonii (IC 398863) - for its unique character for sex change and INGR 8100- P. nigrum (IC 563950) – a novel spike variant with proliferating spikes, were registered with NBPGR, New Delhi.
Endangered species viz. P. barberi and P. hapnium were located and collected from Sabari hills.
The catalogue consists of characterization and evaluation data of 530 accessions was prepared.

Cardamom:

Germplasm collections obtained over the years through explorations are being maintained at IISR Regional Station, Appangala, Karnataka.
Four germplasm accessions bearing unique characters have been registered with NBPGR, New Delhi.

Ginger:

Germplasm repository at ICAR-IISR is the largest collections with several unique collections. Six hundred and sixty eight accessions are being maintained in field germplasm conservatory.
Acc. 195, a tetraploid having 2n=44, showed mean pollen fertility of 67.73% by glycero-carmine staining and 60.31% by in vitro germination and is suitable for future studies on induction of seed set.

Turmeric:

The germplasm collected over the years have been conserved in the field gene bank and were characterized for yield, quality, and resistance to pests, diseases and drought.
Molecular genetic fingerprints of sixteen Curcuma species using RAPD and ISSR technique revealed high degree of polymorphism among the accessions.
A total of 140 microsatellites containing genomic DNA fragments were isolated adopting the selective hybridization method with di and trinucleotide biotinylated probes.

Tree spices:

The germplasm holdings of three important tree spices, nutmeg, clove, cinnamon including cassia, garcinia and allspice are being conserved.
Cassia C1 (IC 370415) has been registered as INGR 05029 with NBPGR, New Delhi for its high oleoresin content (10.5%) besides a dwarf clove accession.
The cassia elite line A1 (IC 370400) has been registered with NBPGR for high cinnamaldehyde content in bark oil (81.5%) and leaf oil (80.5%).
Nutmeg accession, A11/25 was found to be promising for high yield. Nutmeg accession A9-71 (IC-537220), as a source of high sabinene (45.0% sabinene in nutmeg oil and 41.9% sabinene in mace oil) was registered with NBPGR.

Vanilla:

Vanilla germplasm are being maintained in the repository, which includes a flower colour variant collected from Andaman and Nicobar islands.
Comparative anatomical analysis of different vanilla species was carried out.
Interspecific hybridization was made between Vanilla planifolia and V. aphylla.
Fifty interspecific hybrids each of V. planifolia x V. tahitensis, V. tahitensis V. planifolia and selfed progenies of V. tahitensis were established ex vitro.
Chromosome number analysis of two interspecific hybrids between V. planifolia and V. tahitensis showed 2n=30 in one (PT-5) and 2n=32 in other (PT-17).
Protocols for micro propagation through direct shoot multiplication as well as callus regeneration were standardized.

Better spices varieties

Twenty nine improved varieties of spices crops have been released.

Crop	Varieties released
Black pepper	Sreekara, Subhakara, Panchami, Pournami, PLD-2, IISR Thevam, IISR Girimunda, IISR Malabar Excel, IISR Sakthi, Arka Coorg Excel
Ginger	Appangala - 1, IISR Avinash, IISR Vijetha, Appangala-2
Turmeric	Suguna, Suvarna, Sudarsana, IISR Prabha, IISR Prathiba, IISR Kedaram, IISR Alleppey Supreme, IISR Pragati
Cardamom	IISR Varada, IISR Mahima and IISR Rejatha
Cinnamon	IISR Navashree and IISR Nithyashree
Nutmeg	IISR Viswashree, IISR Kerala Shree

Black pepper:

The genetic stock has lead to release of nine improved varieties such as Sreekara, Subhakara, Panchami, Pournami, PLD-2, IISR Thevam, IISR Girimunda, IISR Malabar Excel and IISR Shakthi.
Assembly and functional annotation of sequences derived from the transcriptome of P. colubrinum and P. nigrum helped in the identification of many genes involved in defense and secondary metabolism.
Mining of markers from genomic data of black pepper and small cardamom and their profiling to supplement DUS testing.
The defense related and host genotype specific R genes were identified for Phytophthora resistance in black pepper.
Peptide based database has been developed in black pepper
Identified number of antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) from black pepper.
Putative transgenic black pepper plants with osmotin gene conferring resistance to drought and Phytophthora capsici has been developed. In vitro and in vivo propagation methods were standardized. Plantlets developed through micropropagation were established in farmers’ field in Kerala and Karnataka.
Delineation of piperine and piperlongumine biosynthesis pathway in Piper

Cardamom:

The improved varieties such as Appangala-1, IISR Vijetha, IISR Avinash and Appangala-2 (hybrid) have been developed.
Molecular profiles were developed for 100 accessions of small cardamom germplasm using ISSR markers.
Characterization of export grade cardamoms from India, Sri Lanka and Guatemala based on physical, biochemical parameters and molecular techniques revealed the superiority of Indian produce.
Delineation of terpanoid pathways with special reference to synthesis of 1,8 cineol in small cardamom,alpha phellandrine in black pepper and functional analysis of specific genes by in vitro enzyme assays.

Ginger:

Three varieties namely, IISR Varada, IISR Rejatha and IISR Mahima were released for high yield and quality.
Cross specific amplification of rice microsatellites markers was successfully done in ginger.
Identified three potential mutants aganist bacterial wilt and rhizome rot through gamma ray irradiation.

Turmeric:

Eight high curcumin and high yielding varieties, Suvarna, Sudarsana, Suguna, IISR Prabha, IISR Prathiba, IISR Alleppey Supreme, IISR Kedaram and IISR Pragati were released for commercial cultivation.
Open pollinated seedling progenies generated over the years are being evaluated for their yield and quality characters.
Efficient protocol for plant regeneration through organogenesis and somatic embryogenesis was standardized.
A PCR based method was developed to detect adulteration of turmeric powder with wild Curcuma species.

Tree spices:

Two high quality cinnamon varieties, Navashree and Nithyashree and two nutmeg varieties, Viswashree and Keralshree were released.
Performance of nutmeg on M. malabarica continued to be better than other rootstocks for productivity.
Green chip budding with orthotropic buds was standardized in nutmeg on Myristica fragrans rootstock with 90-100% success.

Vanilla:

Comparative anatomical analysis of different vanilla species was carried out.
Interspecific hybridization was made between Vanilla planifolia and V. aphylla.
Fifty interspecific hybrids each of V. planifolia x V. tahitensis, V. tahitensis x V. planifolia and selfed progenies of V. tahitensis were established ex vitro.
Chromosome number analysis of two interspecific hybrids between V. planifolia and V. tahitensis showed 2n=30 in one (PT-5) and 2n=32 in other (PT-17).
Protocols for micro propagation through direct shoot multiplication as well as callus regeneration were standardized.

The major research programmes handled by the scientists of the Division are genetic resources: collection and characterization, breeding for better varieties: conventional and biotechnological approaches.

Some of the ongoing research programs are:

Project I: Conservation, characterization and sustainable utilization of genetic resources of spices

Gen. XXVIII (813): Conservation and characterization of Piper germplasm (2008-2020) [K. V. Saji, B. Sasikumar, Sheeja T. E, Sharon Aravind, Akshitha and M. S. Shivakumar]

Gen. XIX (813): Conservation, characterisation, evaluation and improvement of Zingiber and Curcuma sp. (2007-2020) [Dr. D. Prasath, Dr. B. Sasikumar, Dr. K.V. Saji & Ms. H.J. Akshitha]

Gen. XXXIII (813): Identification of core collection, characterization and maintenance of cardamom germplasm (2012-2017) [Ms. Akshitha, H. J., Dr. Ankegowda, S. J., Dr. Mohammed Faisal Peeran and Dr. Sharon Aravind]

Project II: Development of trait specific and improved varieties of spices through conventional breeding and biotechnological approaches

Gen. XXXI (813): Breeding black pepper for high yield, quality and resistance to stresses (2012-2017) [Dr. B. Sasikumar, Dr. Johnson K. George, Dr. K. V. Saji, Dr. T.E. Sheeja, Dr. T. John Zachariah, Dr. R. Suseela Bhai, Dr. K.S. Krishnamurthy, Dr. S. Devasahayam & Ms. S. Aarthi]

Gen. X (813): Breeding cardamom for high yield and disease resistance (2007-2018) [Ms. Akshitha H J, Dr. Mohammed Faisal Peeran, Dr. C. M. Senthil Kumar and Mr. Narendra Chaudhary]

Gen. XXVI (813): Evolving high yielding and high quality nutmeg clones by selection (2007-2021) [Dr. J. Rema, Dr. K.V. Saji, Dr. B. Sasikumar, Ms. S. Aarthi & Mr. V.A. Muhammed Nissar]

Gen. XXXIV (813): Induction of variability in ginger through induced mutation for yield and disease resistance (2012-2017) [Dr. D. Prasath, Dr. R. Ramakrishnan Nair & Dr. R. Suseela Bhai]

Gen. XXXV (813): Genetic improvement in turmeric through seedling selection and hybridization (2013-2020) [Dr. R. Ramakrishnan Nair & Ms. S. Aarthi]

ICAR-CIB 1. Mining and validation of candidate gene markers and screening of antimicrobial peptides of black pepper and small cardamom (2015-17) [Dr. Johnson K. George, Ms. P. Umadevi, Dr. K.V. Saji, Dr. Sharon Aravind, Dr. Dinesh Kumar, Dr. Sarika, Dr. M.A. Iquebal & Dr. U.B. Angadi (IASRI)]

Biotech. XIII (813): Development and deployment of Antimicrobial peptides against Phytophthora capsici from tree spices (2016-2018) [Ms. P. Umadevi, Dr.Johnson K. George, Dr. R. Suseela Bhai & Dr. C. Sarathambal]

The global genebank of spices

The global Genebank, maintained by ICAR-IISR, holds more than 5000 spices accessions that include traditional cultivars, released varieties and wild relatives of various spices. It is the biggest collection of spices genetic diversity in the world. ICAR-IISR—in partnership with national programs—works to ensure the long-term preservation of spices biodiversity as part of a global strategy to conserve spices genetic resources.

Laboratories

The laboratories found within the division of crop improvement are some of the finest facilities for spices crop improvement research in the world.

The Central Facility for Advanced Research in Biotechnology, which houses the Molecular Genotyping Laboratory; Spices Genomics Facility; Tissue Culture Unit, provides the latest technology for improvement in spices.

DUS testing facility

Protection of plant varieties in India is covered under “Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers Varieties Act, 2003’, a suigeneris system of plant variety protection. To facilitate this, DUS test guidelines have been developed for black pepper, small cardamom, ginger and turmeric and DUS testing centre has been established at IISR, Kozhikode, Kerala by the PPV&FR Authority, New Delhi.