Hyderabad, Sept. 24 -- In a major breakthrough against devastating groundnut disease, the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) and partners mapped 13 genomic regions and 145 candidate genes linked to 'stem rot' resistance.
In its study, which was published in the Plant Genome journal, the scientist's discovery created new opportunities to breed disease-resistant groundnut varieties, significantly lowering risks for farmers and strengthening food and nutrition security globally.
The major scientific breakthrough would help groundnut farmers worldwide avert billions in crop losses from stem rot, a disease that slashes yield by up to 80 percent.
Groundnut is both an oilseed and a protein-rich legume, cu...