Srinagar: The six-day training programme on ‘Conventional and Molecular Breeding Approaches for Crop Improvement under Changing Climatic Scenario’ concluded at the Sheri Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology Kashmir (SKUAST-K) on Saturday.
The event was attended by students and faculty of various agricultural universities across India to enlighten and review the diverse methodologies for crop breeding.
The training was organised by Dryland Agriculture Research Station-Srinagar of SKUAST-Kashmir and funded by National Agricultural Higher Education Project for Institutional Development of SKUAST-K. Around 533 participants had registered for this training programme which included students, scholars, faculty members, scientists and other officials from Agriculture Department. The participants were from different Agriculture Universities and ICAR Institutes spread across different states/ UT’s of the country. Besides some participants from countries like UAE, Philippines and Algeria also participated in the training programme. During the six days programme various national and international institutes were taken on board in terms of availing services of resource persons for designated invited talks during the programme.
During the course of the training programme various aspects of crop improvement were deliberated thoroughly and hands-on practical sessions of analysing breeding data was successfully conducted.
On the occasion of valedictory function, Dr Sabiya Bashir, Assistant Professor SKUAST-Kashmir, welcomed the guests on ZOOM virtual platform. The valedictory session was chaired by Prof Mushtaq Ahmad, Hon’ble Vice Chancellor, SKUAST-K. While appreciating the organisers of the training programme, the VC briefed the online audience regarding the importance of such online training programmes, especially under the current pandemic times. He also emphasized on developing disease resistant varieties of different crops for the benefit of farming community. He also released the training manual on the occasion. Dr Sabina Nasseer, Course Coordinator presented the overview of the training programme and deliberated on various training sessions held during the programme. The event ended with a formal vote of thanks by Dr Zahida Rashid, Assistant Professor, SKUAST-Kashmir.

Reader correspondent