Scope and strategies for genetic improvement in vegetable crop-plants under high temperature and abiotic stressed climate of Rajasthan: A gap analysis

Un-exploited, under-scored and native crop-plants of horticultural significance have enormous potential in providing nutrition rich food and social security to inhabitants  of  desert  and  tribal  areas  of  the  north-western  India.  While conducting  surveys  and  explorations  for  horticultural  perspective,  and examining  distinctness  of  hot  arid,  semi-arid  and  sub-humid  climate  of Rajasthan from 1994   2004, it was concluded that un-availability of apposite crop genotypes  and  production  techniques  are  two  major  constraints  which limiting dry-land vegetable promotion. Traditionally, kachri, kakadia, mateera, tinda  and  guar-phali  ensuring  native  vegetable  produce,  besides,  khejri (Prosopis  cineraria)  is  playing  vital  role  in  long-established  mixed farming systems  of  arid  farm-lands.  In  addition,  native  land-races  of  kakri,  kheera, kundru, kakoda, cowpea, sem-phali and okra are monsoon supported vegetable harvest  in  the  semi-arid  and  tribal  areas  of  state.  Establishment  of  NRCAH 
during  1993  at  Bikaner  supported  systematic  research  on  collection, characterization  and  conservation  of  native  vegetable  crop-plants  as  regional diversity,  and  further  work  was  intensified  on  germplasm  utilization  in particular for high temperature and abiotic stresses tolerant breeding. The crop-genotype  studies  over  45  vegetables  at  CIAH  demonstrated  that  there  is 
magnificent scope in obtaining higher marketable and quality yields, provided better  and  trait-specific  genotypes  and  production  site  management (HBCPSMA)  as  integrated  concept  for  vegetable  cultivation  under  hot  arid environment.  Thus,  conserving  germplasm,  developing  genotypes  and  newer technological  advancement  in  arid  vegetables  is  an  advantage  towards  better nutritional and farmers income in dry-land conditions.