Agricultural university’s bajra section bags Best Pearl Millet Research Centre Award

For the third time in a row, the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) has awarded the Best Pearl Millet Research Centre Award to the bajra section of Chaudhary Charan Singh Haryana Agricultural University (HAU), Hisar, for its performance in the 2024-25 session.

The award was conferred on the institute by Indian Council of Agricultural Research-Indian Agricultural Research Institute (ICAR-IARI) at a joint annual group meeting of the All-India Coordinated Research Project (AICRP) on pearl millet, sorghum and small millets.

HAU Vice-Chancellor BR Kamboj congratulated the university’s scientists on the achievement. He said, in recent years, the institute had done commendable work for the development of marketable hybrids/varieties, identification of new disease factors in pearl millet, hybrid seed production and commercialisation.

The Vice-Chancellor said the bajra section was one of the leading pearl millet centres in the country.

The section had, so far, developed 18 hybrids and four varieties, he added, stating that centre had released the world’s shortest duration landmark hybrid, HHB 67; the first marker assisted developed hybrid, HHB-67 Improved; the first public sector hybrid, HHB-216 on A-4 cytoplasm; two biofortified (high grain iron and zinc) hybrids, HHB-299 and HHB-311; and a MAS variant; hybrid HHB-67 Improved 2.

He said 14 non-exclusive license MoUs had been signed with 10 private seed organisations from 2011 to 2025 for the production and marketing of seeds of nine pearl millet hybrids developed by the university.

Research Director Rajbir Garg said, in 2002, the biennial ICAR Team Research Award was conferred on the section for its contribution to the field of pearl millet improvement. In 2003, it was honoured with the Chaudhary Devi Lal Best All-India Coordinated Research Project Award by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research. The Best AICRP Pearl Millet Centre Award had been conferred on the section five times by ICAR-AICRP, he said.

Head of Department (bajra section, genetics and plant breeding) Anil Yadav said pearl millet was an important crop for grain and fodder, and was mainly sown in Mahendragarh, Rewari, Bhiwani, Charkhi Dadri, Hisar and Jhajjar districts. These areas received less rainfall and had high temperatures — suitable for pearl millet.

Hybrid seeds were being produced on a large scale by the university’s MoU partners, he added.