Biotech Updates

International Consortium to Develop Drought Tolerant Pearl Millet for Asia and Africa

November 28, 2012

An international consortium from the University of California Davis (UC Davis), Arcadia Biosciences, the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), and India's Krishidhan Seeds will develop heat and drought tolerant pearl millet.

UC Davis will lead the consortium and introduce genes and gene combinations that play key roles in developing high yielding crops that grow under adverse environmental conditions typical of Africa and Asia. ICRISAT joins UC Davis with expertise in field and drought tolerance trait assessment, and germplasm resources. Arcadia Biosciences and Krishidhan Seeds, on the other hand, will make technology available and support commercialization through public and private partners. The consortium members believe that their efforts will lead to the development of drought tolerant pearl millet which will benefit people from India and Africa.

The news release is available at http://www.krishidhanseeds.com/pdf/KrishidhanMilletInitiative161112.pdf