PAU gets Rs 4 crore grant for precision breeding in guava

Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) has won a highly competitive Rs 4 crore project from the Department of Biotechnology, Government of India, focused on biotechnology-driven precision-predictive breeding in guava.

Known as the “apple of the tropics,” guava is valued for its high nutraceutical properties. The university holds a rich collection of guava germplasm featuring valuable traits. Key breeding goals include developing fruit with coloured skin and flesh, fewer seeds, softer seeds and longer shelf life to enhance the crop’s commercial value.

A team of ten PAU scientists, led by Dr Amandeep Mittal as Project Co-ordinator and Principal Investigator-I, alongside Principal Investigator-II Dr Naresh Kumar Arora and Co-Principal Investigators Dr Manav Indra Singh Gill, Dr Parveen Chhuneja, Dr Inderjit Singh Yadav, Dr Rajbir Singh Boora, Dr Rimaljeet Kaur, Dr Kirandeep Kaur Kang, Dr Pawan Kumar Malhotra and Dr Daljinder Singh, would conduct the research.

Under the project titled “Pangenomics and SNP array development for mapping genetic factors controlling nutraceutical and processing traits in guava (Psidium guajava L),” PAU aims to improve the guava genome of the Allahabad Safeda variety, generate a pangenome of Indian-origin guavas and develop a SNP array for predictive breeding. The objectives include enhancing shelf life, increasing sweetness, reducing seed core size with softer seeds, and developing anthocyanin-rich elite cultivars for nationwide cultivation. The project is budgeted at Rs 3.96 crore over five years.