Résumé of Dr. Awtar Singh
1. Personal Details
Name
: Awtar Singh
Designation & Discipline
: Principal Scientist, Plant Breeding
Correspondence address
(preferably official)
: National Research Centre for Litchi (ICAR)
City
: Muzaffarpur
Pin
: 842 002
Phone
: 0621-2281160, 2281162
Fax
: 0621 228 1162
E-mail
: Awtar_saini@yahoo.co.in
Mobile
: +91-9931011828
2. Qualifications (Highest degree)
Year
Institute
Subject (Specialization)
Ph.D.
2000
CCSHAU, Hisar
Plant Breeding
M.Sc.
1986
HAU, Hisar
Plant Breeding
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3. Research Projects (Ongoing projects)
Details such as Title, PI/CoPI, Allocation, Duration etc.
Salient accomplishment
1. Collection of indigenous and
Thirty-eight cultivars of litchi and allied genera were collected and
exotic germplasm of litchi, their
thirty-four of them were planted in the germplasm repository for
characterization,
evaluation,
the purpose of characterization and detailed evaluation.
documentation and utilization
Additionally, nine litchi cultivars were collected from Spain.
As PI (project started from
April, 2006-March, 2011 and
extended up to April 2016)
Longan, a close relative of litchi, is performing well under
Muzaffarpur conditions.
Rambutan did not survive at the Centre
`146.07 lakhs
Duration : 5 years
2. Evolving improved cultivars
in litchi
As PI (project started from
April, 2006-March, 2011 and
extended up to April 2016)
` 205.90 lakhs
Duration: 5 years
Fifty-six superior plants/clones of litchi were identified for
different plant and fruit characteristics. Thirty clones were
multiplied for detailed evaluation.
One hundred Litchi hybrids involving Shahi, China, Bedana and
Kasba cultivars were developed and are being evaluated.
Provincial seedling population of litchi was developed from Bihar,
Jharkhand, Assam and Tripura states.
The evaluation of 500 seedlings of litchi is in progress
3. UNEP/GEF Project
“Conservation and Sustainable
use of Cultivated and Wild
Tropical Fruit Diversity:
Promoting Sustainable
Livelihoods, Food Security and
Ecosystem Services
As Site Coordinator (project
started from January, 2009Dec. 2013)
` Activity Based Funding
Duration: 5 years
One hundred eighty clones of pummelo were characterized and
one early maturing clone (September) was identified. Five clones
of pummelo and 6 of mango were propagated vegetatively for
their detailed evaluation. 300 mango grafts were prepared. 1200
seedlings of Rangpur lime were collected from NRC for Citrus,
Nagpur for large scale multiplication of superior pummelo clones.
A Citrus Biodiversity Fair was also organized to know the extent
of variability in citrus in Bihar and particularly in Pusa site.
Base line survey in the project communities was conducted to
know the extent of variability in mango and citrus and to find
good practices for diversity conservation and different factors for
the livelihood.
4. Publications (Important research publications)
1. Awtar Singh, Naidu, M. R. and Dahiya, B.S. 1989. Selection for seed yield in the F3 of three
chickpea crosses. Crop Improvement 16 (1): 14-18.
2. Awtar Singh, Vijayakumari, N. and Dass, H. C. 1996. Radio-sensitivity for seed and budwood of
Nagpur mandarin (Citrus reticulata Blanco). Indian Journal of Agricultural Sciences 66 (10): 597598.
3. Awtar Singh, Srivastava, A. K., Dass, H. C. and Vijayakumari, N. 1997. Screening of germplasm
of citrus rootstocks for salinity tolerance. Indian Journal of Horticulture 54 (4): 283-287.
4. Awtar Singh and Dass, H. C. 1999. Pre-bearing performance of Nagpur mandarin (Citrus
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reticulata) on indigenous and exotic rootstocks. Indian Journal of Agricultural Sciences 69 (1): 5254.
5. Awtar Singh and Shyam Singh 1999. Evaluation of citrus rootstock germplasm collected from
indigenous sources for pre-bearing performance. Indian Journal of Plant Genetic Resources 12(2):
205-210.
6. Awtar Singh and Shyam Singh 2001. Clonal selection in Nagpur mandarin. Annals of Biology
17(1): 65-69.
7. Awtar Singh and Shyam Singh 2001. Variability studies in Rangpur lime (Citrus limonia Osbeck)
strains. Annals of Agri-Bio Research 6(1): 85-89.
8. Awtar Singh and Shyam Singh 2001. Effect of lanking of branches on the quality of Nagpur
mandarin fruits. Annals of Biology 17(1): 71-74.
9. Awtar Singh, Singh, I. P. and Shyam Singh 2001. Performance of different citrus rootstocks in the
citrus germplasm repository. Indian Journal of Plant Genetic Resources 14(2): 194-196.
10. Awtar Singh, Saini, M.L., Behl, R.K. and Sharma, S.K. 2001. Screening of citrus rootstocks for
salt tolerance under in vivo conditions. Indian Journal of Citriculture 1(1): 21-27.
11. Bansa Singh and Awtar Singh 2002. Reaction of some citrus rootstocks to Tylenchulus
semipenetrans Cobb. Pest Management in Horticultural Ecosystems 8(1): 65-67.
12. Dass, H. C., Vijayakumari, N. and Awtar Singh 1997. Effect of different rootstocks on success of
in vitro shoot tip grafting in Nagpur mandarin (Citrus reticulata Blanco). Indian Journal of
Horticulture 54(1): 11-13.
13. Dass, H. C., Awtar Singh and Vijayakumari, N. 1998. Rootstock breeding-variations in leaf
morphology in citrus rootstock hybrid progeny. Indian Journal of Horticulture 55 (1): 16-19.
14. Vijayakumari, N., Dass, H. C. and Awtar Singh 1994. Standardization of in vitro shoot tip
grafting technique for eliminating virus and virus like diseases from Nagpur mandarin. Indian
Journal of Horticulture 51 (4): 311-315.
15. Awtar Singh, Saini, M.L. and Behl, R.K. 2002. Use of callus cultures for screening of citrus
rootstocks for salt tolerance. Indian Journal of Citriculture 1(2): 113-120.
16. 16. Awtar Singh, Saini, M.L. and Behl, R.K. 2004. Seed germination and seedling growth of
citrus (Citrus species) rootstocks under different salinity regimes. Indian Journal of Agricultural
Sciences 74 (5): 246-248.
17. Awtar Singh, Saini, M.L. and Behl, R.K. 2004. In vitro screening of citrus rootstocks for salt
tolerance. Indian Journal of Genetics and Plant Breeding 64 (1): 54-57.
18. Vijayakumari, N., Ghosh, D.K., Das, A.K., Awtar Singh and Shyam Singh 2006. Elimination of
citrus tristeza virus and greening pathogens from exotic germplasm through in vitro shoot tip
grafting in citrus. Indian Journal of Agricultural Sciences 76(3): 209-210.
19. Awtar Singh 2005. Role of exotic germplasm in citrus cultivar improvement. Indian Journal of
Plant Genetic Resources 18 (1): 77-78.
20. Dhurjati, T., Poornima, G.M. and Awtar Singh. 2005. Isoenzyme polymorphism in Citrus spp.
and Poncirus trifoliata (L.) Raf. Indian Journal of Plant Genetic Resources 18 (3): 261-264.
21. Awtar Singh, Kumar, K. K. and Hussain, Z. 2009. Genetic improvement of litchi (Litchi chinensis
Sonn.). International Journal of Tropical Agriculture 27 (1-2): 89-99.
22. Awtar Singh 2009. Variability in fruit physico-chemical characters of Nagpur mandarin (Citrus
reticulata Blanco)- A scope for improved clones. International Journal of Tropical Agriculture 27
(1-2): 79-83.
23. Awtar Singh and Kumar, K.K. 2009. Genetic resources of litchi in India. International Journal of
Tropical Agriculture 27 (1-2): 85-88.
24. Awtar Singh, Teotia, P., Behl, R. K. and Saini, M. L. 2000. Terminator gene and its consequences
in agriculture- an appraisal. Journal of Economic Taxonomy and Botany 24 (1): 221-233.
25. Awtar Singh, M.L. Saini and R.K. Behl. 2003. Screening of citrus rootstocks for salt tolerance in
semi-arid climates- a review. Tropics 13(1): 53-66 (Japan).
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26. Om Prakash, P. Teotia, Awtar Singh and R.K. Behl 2001. GATT and Intellectual Property Rights
in Plants. In Advances in Horticulture and Forests (S.P. Singh, ed.), Scientific Publisher (India),
Jodhpur 8: 281-294.
27. Awtar Singh 2008. A concept paper on Litchi Improvement. Submitted to DDG (Horticulture),
ICAR, New Delhi.
28. Awtar Singh and K.K. Kumar. 2008. Genetic improvement of litchi (Litchi chinensis Sonn.). In
Souvenir, National Seminar on “Production, Processing, Marketing and Export of Litchi for
Economic Prosperity”, NRC Litchi, Muzaffarpur, 8-11 June, 2008, Pp. 9-16.
29. Dass, H. C., Vijayakumari, N. and Awtar Singh. 1997. In vitro shoot tip grafting of Nagpur
mandarin. Indian Horticulture 92 (1): 28-29.
30. Awtar Singh, S.A.M.H. Naqvi and Shyam Singh 2002. “Citrus Germplasm Cultivars and
Rootstocks”. Kalyani Publishers, New Delhi. Pp. 166.
31. Awtar Singh, K.K. Kumar and S.D. Pandey 2008. World Bibliography of Litchi. N.R.C. Litchi,
Muzaffarpur. Pp. 136.
32. Awtar Singh. 2001. Citrus Improvement. In “Citrus” (Shyam Singh and S.A.M.H. Naqvi, eds.).
International Book Distributing Co., Lucknow, India. Pp. 83-98.
33. Singh, I. P. and Awtar Singh. 2001. Citrus germplasm and its utility. In “Citrus” (Shyam Singh
and S. A. M. H. Naqvi, eds.). International Book Distributing Co., Lucknow, India. Pp. 45-66.
34. Singh, I. P. and Awtar Singh. 2001. Nursery management in Citrus. In “Citrus” (Shyam Singh
and S.A.M.H. Naqvi, eds.). International Book Distributing Co., Lucknow, India. Pp. 135-140.
35. Awtar Singh. 2003. Citrus Breeding. In: Advances in Citriculture (Shyam Singh, V.J. Shivankar,
A.K. Srivastava and I.P Singh, eds.). Jagmander Book Agency, New Delhi. Pp. 444-463.
5. Important Research Contributions in Brief
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One hundred twenty one citrus rootstocks were characterized. Rough lemon, Alemow, Rangpur
lime and Karna Khatta were vigorously growing and trifoliate oranges were slow growing. It was
suggested that at least double the number of required seedlings should be raised in nursery and the
zygotic seedlings should be strictly rogued out. Mithi Tulia (C. jambhiri), Billikichilli (C. reshni)
and trifoliate orange (Poncirus trifoliata) rootstocks were suggested for inducing early maturity.
A technique of citrus rootstock seeds storage was standardized and seeds could be stored in
Polyethylene bags, either alone or in combination with paper bags up to 75 days at room
temperature or under refrigerated conditions (4-60C).
Early germination testing (4 months after seed setting) can be used to get more number of hybrid
fruits. It is also useful in rootstocks like trifoliate orange, where the mature seeds start germinating
late and germination is very poor.
Rangpur lime (Abohar) was found tolerant to Phytophthora nicotianae and P. palmivora. Schaub
rough lemon, Jullandhari Khatti, Mithi Tulia, Sun Chu Sha mandarin, Souranthan and Severinia
exhibited moderate tolerance to P. nicotianae.
A technique of preparing rooted cuttings was standardized for getting uniform plants for disease
screening experiments.
Six citrus rootstock hybrids were developed, which exhibited tolerance to Phytophthora nicotianae
and P. palmivora.
Citrus micrograft technique for germplasm exchange and introduction was developed.
DNA extraction and electrophoresis techniques were standardized for large-scale isolation of citrus
DNA. Twenty-seven accessions were characterized using RAPD marker analysis.
Fifty-seven accessions using isozyme markers and 42 using ISSR markers were characterized.
Isozyme and ISSR markers exhibited very less variation within the strains of Rangpur lime and
rough lemon, however, they were efficient for species differentiation in Citrus.
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Twenty-eight superior clones of Nagpur mandarin were selected.
The N4 and N5, commercially seedless clones of Nagpur mandarin, confirmed this character (0.63
and 1.08 seeds/fruit) in the field evaluation along with less rind thickness and high juice content
(>50%).
One mutant with high juice content (60%) and commercially seedless fruits (<0.5 seeds/fruit) was
identified.
Six mutants with commercially seedless fruits (<2 seeds/fruit) and giving consistent performance
continuously for three years were identified.
Four early maturing (August) and two late maturing (November-December) mutants were
identified.
Three rootstock hybrids, viz. L2P6 (rough lemon x Troyer), L3P1 (rough lemon x trifoliate) and
L3P5 (rough lemon x trifoliate) were considered promising rootstocks. All these hybrids were
tolerant to root rot (Phytophthora spp.)
Thirty-eight cultivars of litchi and related species were collected.
Fifty-six superior plants/clones of litchi were identified for different plant and fruit characteristics.
Seventy-seven clones of seedling mango were characterized and five clones were identified and
multiplied for further evaluation.
One hundred eighty seedling plants of pummelo were characterized and six plants were identified,
which were having high TSS (>12.50 0Brix) in addition to other desirable fruit characteristics.
These selected plants were propagated for detailed evaluation.
6. Current area of Research
Collection, characterization (including molecular characterization), evaluation, documentation,
conservation and utilization of litchi genetic resources.
Evolution of new cultivars of litchi through clonal selection, hybridization and seedling
selection (from provincial seedling populations).
Selection, evaluation and multiplication of superior clones of Citrus (Pummelo) and Mango
7. Membership of Professional Societies
Life member of Indian Society of Genetics and Plant Breeding, New Delhi since 1990
Life member of Horticultural Society of India, New Delhi since 1992.
Life member of Indian Society of Plant Genetic Resources, New Delhi since 1992.
Life member of Indian Society of Citriculture, NRCC, Nagpur since 1998.
Signature of the Scientist
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