Dive into the future of crop breeding with our upcoming course on Fundamentals of Genomic Predictions and Data-Driven Crop Breeding! 
You may also know more about this training course through this page: https://education.irri.org/technology-transfer/fundamentals-of-genomic-predictions-and-data-driven-crop-breeding-india/ For inquiries, email us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Course Description

In collaboration with the Indian Council for Agricultural Research – Indian Institute of Rice Research (ICAR-IIRR), the course “Fundamentals of Genomic Predictions and Data-Driven Crop Breeding” offers a thorough exploration of the latest techniques in modern plant breeding. Participants will delve into the areas of quantitative genetics and statistical genomics, acquiring vital knowledge of genomic selection strategies and their practical applications. The curriculum includes advanced statistical models such as linear and mixed models, ridge regression, Bayesian methods, and kernel approaches, giving participants a strong foundation in predictive breeding.

Additionally, the course covers new concepts like the Usefulness Criterion and Optimal Parental Contributions, aimed at enhancing the effectiveness and efficiency of crossing strategies. It also addresses the dissection of genotype-by-environment (G x E) interactions in crop breeding, employing predictive tools for their analysis. Attendees will learn about innovative approaches for designing training and testing sets, incorporating sparse testing, and more.

The course features a hands-on approach, allowing participants to work with real-world datasets to implement genomic selection in breeding programs, analyze G x E interactions, and design crossing strategies. This practical experience ensures that participants not only understand theoretical concepts but also develop the essential skills needed to apply genomic selection in their professional endeavors.

Designed for individuals with a basic understanding of crop breeding and genetics, the course is accessible to professionals with varied levels of statistical and R programming expertise, accommodating a diverse audience in the field.

Course Objectives

This course integrates quantitative genetics and statistical genomics with modern breeding approaches, focusing on genomic selection and data-driven decision-making in crop breeding. It enhances understanding of quantitative genetics, statistical models for genomic predictions, and genomic selection implementation in breeding programs. The course covers advanced techniques for parent selection and crossing block design using genotypic and phenotypic datasets. Participants will gain practical skills to apply these concepts in real-world crop improvement scenarios.

By the end of the training course, the participants should be able to:

• Gain the basic and advanced knowledge of quantitative genetic and statistical genomics relevant to modern breeding
• Understand the different relationship matrices and their use in genomic predictions and crop breeding
• Understand the linear and mixed models to perform phenotypic data analysis and genomic predictions
• Understand and apply the basic and advanced statistical models to perform the genomic selections
• Understand the fundamentals of genomic selection (3W’s of Genomic selection: Why, When, and Where to apply it in the breeding program)
• Understand the G x E interactions and design sparse testing design in dissecting G x E interactions and
• Understand the Usefulness criterion and Optimal Parental Contributions to design the crossing block and predict the performance of cross combinations.

Target Learners

Plant breeders, geneticists, graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, research scholars, and assistants involved in crop breeding programs. This course is mainly intended for those keen to learn the modern data-driven breeding approaches and how to leverage the data sets to perform genomic selection and implement them in breeding programs.

Key Modules:

• Module 1: Introduction and Learning R and R Markdown
• Module 2: Fundamentals of Quantitative Genetics and Predictive Modeling
• Module 3: G x E Interactions Dissection in Predictive Breeding
• Module 4: Practical Implementation of Genomic Selection in Plant Breeding
• Module 5: Breeding and Crossing Scheme Optimizations.

Learning Modality

The course will be delivered face-to-face with a mixed modality of synchronous and asynchronous discussions involving theoretical concepts, practical and hands-on exercises, and self-paced e-learning activities.

Participants eligibility

The participant highly encourages a basic understanding of breeding and statistics. Experience in using and running R is highly encouraged.

 Diamond Jubilee

60th Annual Rice Group Meeting - 26-28 April, 2025

The 60^th Annual Rice Group Meeting (ARGM), commemorating the Diamond Jubilee of India’s flagship rice research platform under the All India Coordinated Research Project on Rice (AICRIP), was successfully conducted from 26^th to 28^th April 2025. The event brought together eminent scientists, policymakers, industry leaders, and institutional heads to deliberate on strategic advancements in rice research, varietal development, and sustainable intensification. The inaugural session was graced by several distinguished dignitaries, including Dr. M.L. Jat (Secretary DARE and DG, ICAR), who emphasized the integration of climate-resilient technologies and genomic tools to accelerate genetic gains; Dr. D.K. Yadava (DDG, Crop Sciences), who advocated for next-generation breeding and trait discovery; and Dr. R.C. Agarwal (DDG, Education), who highlighted the need for capacity building in cutting-edge areas such as molecular breeding, phenomics, and AI in agriculture. Dr. R.S. Paroda, Former Secretary (DARE) and DG (ICAR), reflected on the historical achievements of AICRIP and called for a stronger policy-research interface. Contributions from Dr. S.K. Pradhan (ADG, FFC), Dr. Aldas Janaih (VC, PJTSAU), Dr. S. Jayalakshmi Devi (VC, ANGRAU), and Dr. A.K. Singh (Emeritus Scientist, ICAR-IARI) underscored the importance of multi-institutional collaboration and translational research. Shri Ajay Bhalotia, Chairman of Fortune Ltd., reiterated the role of public-private partnerships in scaling up innovations.

The scientific sessions spanned critical themes including varietal evaluation, grain quality enhancement, biotic and abiotic stress resilience, resource-use efficiency, and digital integration in precision farming. The meeting featured rigorous technical sessions on breeding for yield stability, climate-resilient traits, grain quality, disease-pest resistance, resource-use efficiency, and integrated crop management.

Key outcomes included finalization of multi-location testing protocols, identification of promising genotypes for pre-release trials, and strategic recommendations to enhance varietal deployment and outreach under different agro-ecologies. The 60^th ARGM not only celebrated the legacy of coordinated rice research in India but also charted a visionary roadmap for leveraging genomics, digital technologies, and policy alignment to meet future food system challenges.

A two-year project on ‘Promotion of Direct Seeded Rice (DSR) for sustainable rice production in Telangana’ with a whopping Rs. 4.5 Crore of budget outlay was approved by State Bank of India Foundation, Mumbai to the premier rice research institute, ICAR-Indian Institute of Rice Research (ICAR-IIRR), Hyderabad. The signing and exchange of MOU was held in glittering ceremony at SBI Local Head Office, Hyderabad on 27^th March 2024 which was graced by Mr. C. Srinivasulu Setty, MD (International Banking, Global Markets and Technology), Mumbai; Mr. Rajesh Kumar, CGM, SBI, Hyderabad Circle; Mr. Sanjay Prakash, MD, SBI Foundation, Mumbai and other dignitaries from SBI side while Dr. R.M. Sundaram, Director; Dr. RM Kumar, Head, Crop Production; Dr. MBB Prasad Babu, Head, PMEC; Dr. V. Raghuveer Rao, Head, Plant Physiology, Dr. P. Muthuraman, Head, TTT,  Mr. Shitanshukumar, CAO and other scientists from ICAR-IIRR as well as all the service providers took part in the landmark event. The project assumes importance in view of the rapidly gaining popularity of the DSR technology among farming community, particularly in states like AP, Telangana, Punjab, Haryana etc. It is estimated that the shift from Transplanted Rice (TPR) to (DSR) will result in considerable savings in irrigation water (about 40%), cost of cultivation (20– 30%) and duration (by 10-15 days) with a concomitant reduction in GHG emissions, without significant yield penalty. In this project period, ICAR-IIRR aims to promote the practice of customized, mechanised DSR among the farming community of Telangana with a view to increase the productivity and sustainability of rice with limited use of precious resources like water and labour which will also result in reduced emissions of Green House gases. The institute will be assisted by service providers like Praanadhara, Cheruvu Jammulapalem, A.P.; AGRI BRIDGE, Hyderabad; CultYvate and Intech Harness Pvt. Ltd., Bangalore, Karnataka as well as Prof. Jayashankar Telanagana State Agricultural University, Hyderabad and KVKs based in Telangana.

ICAR-IIRR organised 11^th Annual Hill Rice Research Group Meeting on 23^rd February 2024 in virtual mode

11^th Annual Hill Rice Research Group Meeting was conducted online on 23^rd February 2024 under the chairmanship of Dr T R Sharma, DDG (Crop Science), ICAR, Co-chaired by Dr S K Pradhan, ADG (FFC), ICAR. The meeting was attended by Dr A K Naik, Director ICAR NRRI, Dr. R.P.Kaushik, Chairman PAMC, PI AICRPR (Dr ASVS Swamy) and Co-PIs of different disciplines from ICAR IIRR and all Co-operators of the Hill locations. Dr. R M Sundaram, Director, ICAR IIRR Hyderabad welcomed the participants and gave brief introductory remarks on Hill workshop. Dr A K Naik expressed that work in Hill ecology should be focused on drought and cold tolerance, iron and Al toxicity tolerance etc. Dr AVSR Swamy presented the Research Highlights of Hill region along with action taken report. Dr. R.P.Kaushik shared his experience on Hill rice ecology for the last 20 years and felt that there is a need for making crosses between rice genotypes of Jammu & Kashmir, Uttarkhand, Himachal Pradesh with genotypes of North Eastern states. Dr S K Pradhan suggested working on candidate genes available for iron toxicity tolerance, Al toxicity tolerance and cold tolerance. Dr T R Sharma emphasised the need of pre-breeding for bringing new genes from wild relatives for Hill ecology. He felt the need for product profiling of Hill ecology by considering the factors like high yield, cold tolerance, resistance to leaf and neck blast, biofortification of Fe and Zn, drought tolerance and early maturity. Host differentials or monogenic lines for blast resistance should be made use for improving disease resistance of Hill ecology. He suggested identifying Japonica variety suitable for export quality. Director IIRR told that genotyping of entries in AVT2 and AVT1 trials is under progress using 1 K Rica and results will be shared with co-operators. He assured to help Hill ecology centres for taking up off-season nursery at ICAR IIRR and ICAR NRRI and also for genotyping of some of the important genotypes. The inaugural session was ended with vote of thanks by Dr M B B Prasad Babu.