All India Coordinated Research Network on Potential Crops, Progress Report Kharif 2018

Abstract

The All India Coordinated Research Project on Under Utilized and Under Exploited Plants was initiated during 1982 by ICAR during the VI Five Year Plan. The Project was later redesignated as AICRP on Underutilized Crops. The AICRP was converted to Network mode in X Five Year Plan and rechristened as AICRN on Potential Crops during XII Plan. The programme envisages to find out new/ potential plant species for food, feed, fodder, fuel and industrial uses; build up genetic resources of selected potential plants of economic value from indigenous and exotic sources; evaluate genetic resources for various agro-morphological and quality traits; multi-location testing of germplasm accessions and elite breeding lines; identification of superior genotypes and development of high yielding varieties and agrotechniques for their cultivation in suitable agro-ecological areas of the country. At present, the network is conducting research on 16 crops of food, fodder and industrial value through 16 coordinated, 7 cooperating and 12 voluntary centres located in diverse agro-climatic zones of the country.