ICAR-IIVR, organized a Global Youth Awareness Talk on Food Security.

14 June 2023, Varanasi

ICAR-Indian Institute of Vegetable Research, Varanasi in association with Y20 (G20 Sub-theme) organized a Global Youth Awareness Talk on Food Security on the topic Abiotic Stress Management in Vegetable Crops: High-Temperature Stress.

The speaker of this event was Prof. PV Vara Prasad, Director of the Feed the Future Sustainable Intensification Innovation Lab at Kansas State University, USA. Dr. Prakash Kumar Jha, Assistant Professor, Mississippi State University, USA also participated in this event. Dr. TK Behera, Director ICAR-IIVR welcomed the speaker and briefly highlighted the on-going activities of the ICAR-IIVR, Varanasi.

Dr. Jha highlighted about the activity of Y20 in the country. He also spoke about the Ph.D. and Post-Doctoral opportunity in USA. Prof. PV Vara Prasad, in his talk highlighted the impact of high temperature on crops and how this climate change will affect crop production in general and production of vegetable crops in particular.

He focused his lecture on two very important vegetable crops tomato and pepper, and the mechanism associated with heat stress tolerance in these crops. He said that anthesis (flowering) is the most vulnerable stage to heat stress and it can be managed to a greater extent through different practices. Development of heat stress tolerant varieties is the best solution for getting higher production in the heat stress environment.

Dr. Nagendra Rai, Head, Division of Crop Improvement, ICAR-IIVR, Varanasi informed the speaker that the institute has developed two high temperature tolerant tomato cultivars Kashi Adbhut and Kashi Tapas that can produce fruits under high temperature.

(Source: ICAR- Indian Institute of Vegetable Research, Varanasi)