Safe transfer of groundnut germplasm

Contributors to this page: ICRISAT, Patancheru, India (RP Thakur, AG Girish, VP Rao).

The Plant Quarantine Laboratory (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.) at ICRISAT, Patancheru, India caters to the plant quarantine requirements of the ICRISAT scientific community with respect to the germplasm exchange of ICRISAT’s mandate crops: sorghum [Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench)], pearl millet [Pennisetum glaucum (L.) R. Br.], chickpea [Cicer arietinum (L.)], pigeonpea [Cajanus cajan (L.) Millspaugh], groundnut [Arachis hypogaea (L.)] and six small millets: finger millet [Eleusine coracana (L.) Gaertn.], foxtail millet [Setaria italica (L.) Beauv.], little millet (Panicum sumatrense Roth.ex Roem. & Schult.), barnyard millet [Echinochloa crussgalli (L.) Beauv.], proso millet [Panicum miliaceum (L.)] and kodo millet [Paspalum scrobiculatum (L.)].

Indian plant quarantine regulations are legislated under the Destructive Insects and Pests Act, 1914 and the Plant Quarantine Order 2003 for the purpose of prohibiting and regulating the import of agricultural articles into India.

• Seed and plant material of these crops cannot be exported/ imported directly by the institute’s scientists.
• The National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources (NBPGR) of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), New Delhi, is the plant quarantine authority responsible for ICRISAT’s germplasm exchange.

In 1985, NBPGR established a Regional Station at Rajendranagar, Hyderabad to implement the quarantine regulations in South India, to ensure safe movement of germplasm.

This page includes sections on:

• Import and export requirements.  
• Technical guidelines for the safe movement of germplasm and detection of relevant pathogens and pests. 
• Best practices in place at ICRISAT.

References and further reading

Ahmed KM, Ravinder Reddy Ch.1993. A Pictorial guide to the identification of seed borne fungi of sorghum, pearl millet, finger millet, chickpea, pigeonpea and groundnut. Information Bulletin No. 34. Patancheru, A.P. 502 324 India: International Crops Research Institute for the semi-Arid Tropics. 200 pp.

Chakrabarty SK, Anitha K, Girish AG, Sarath Babu B, Prasada Rao RDVJ, Varaprasad KS, Khetarpal RK, Thakur RP. 2005. Germplasm exchange and quarantine of ICRISAT mandate crops. Information Bulletin No. 69. Rajendranagar 500 030, Andhra Pradesh, India: National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources; and Patancheru 502 324, Andhra Pradesh, India: International Crops Research Institute for the Semi Arid Tropics. 80pp.

Import/export of groundnut germplasm

Contributors to this page: ICRISAT, Patancheru, India (RP Thakur, AG Girish, VP Rao).

Exporting Germplasm

The ICRISAT-PQL, in conjunction with NBPGR Regional Station, Hyderabad, conducts seed health tests on germplasm prior to export. The following export guidelines are to be followed before submitting seed material This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for export.

Guidelines

• Pre-export inspection of seed multiplication fields by NBPGR quarantine officials for seedborne diseases at various growth stages of the crop to avoid their spread.
• Collection of seed from fully mature and healthy plants.
• Cleaning seed to remove insects, pathogen propagules (smut sori, ergot sclerotia, and nematode cysts), weed seed, crop debris, soil clods, stones, other foreign material, and small, shrunken, discolored and damaged seed.
• Submission of an on-line request for export of germplasm (form available at ICRISAT intranet under GT-Crop Improvement).
• Submission of untreated seed in fresh muslin bags or paper packets along with the four-point declaration certificate (available at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.) for quarantine processing.
• Submission of the phytosanitary requirements, such as import permit, non-commercial value certificate, additional declaration for seed borne pathogens and pests, and any other specific regulations/requirements.

Examples of seed export letters are given below:

• Seed export letter - air mail
• Seed export letter - courier

For more detailed information see the full text of the Plant Quarantine Guidelines and Procedures for Germplasm Exchange of ICRISAT Mandate Crops (ICRISAT, 2004).

Importing Germplasm

Seed and plant material for research can only be imported into India after obtaining an Import Permit (IP). As per Schedule X of the Plant Quarantine Order, 2003, Director, NBPGR is empowered to issue import permits for all kinds of import of plant germplasm for public/private sector institutions in the country. An IP is also required to import live insects, all fungi in pure cultures, soil, or clay for microbiological studies or physical and chemical analyses. For each of these items, authorities designated by the Government of India issue the import permit. The consignee should abide by the following import guidelines.

Guidelines

• Submission of on-line request for import (form available at ICRISAT intranet under GT-Crop Improvement) of seed/plant/plant products/ other material) to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
• Submission of the import application by This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to the relevant import-issuing authority (see table below).

Competent authorities to issue various import permits

* After getting clearance from the Department of Biotechnology (DBT), Block 2, 7th floor, C.G.O. Complex, Lodi Road, New Delhi 110030

• This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. provides the import permit to the consignee along with mailing labels, guidelines, and an advance notice form for onward transfer to the consignor.
• Advance notification of shipment by the consignor to the Director, NBPGR, New Delhi 110012, India with a copy to the Chief Plant Quarantine Officer, ICRISAT.
• (The consignor should use green-mailing labels bearing the address “Director, NBPGR, New Delhi 110 012”).
• Accompanied baggage import: Seed and plant material brought as accompanied baggage also requires an IP and PC. The international airports located at New Delhi, Chennai, Mumbai, and Kolkata are the points of entry for seed/plant samples brought into India as accompanied baggage. In such cases the seed samples should be handed over to the staff of the Plant Quarantine and Fumigation stations at the airport. 

For more detailed information see the full text of the Plant Quarantine Guidelines and Procedures for Germplasm Exchange of ICRISAT Mandate Crops (ICRISAT, 2004).

References and further reading

International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT). 2004. Plant Quarantine Guidelines and Procedures for Germplasm Exchange of ICRISAT Mandate Crops. Indian Council of Agricultural Research, India; National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources, India; International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics, India.

Guidelines for the safe transfer of groundnut germplasm

Contributors to this page: ICRISAT, Patancheru, India (RP Thakur, AG Girish, VP Rao).

Technical Guidelines for the Safe Transfer of Germplasm and the
Protection of CGIAR Germplasm Banks

Pathogens of quarantine significance of groundnut tested by the Germplasm Health Laboratory of ICRISAT

Bacteria - groundnut

Contributors to this page: ICRISAT, Patancheru, India (RP Thakur, AG Girish, VP Rao).

Bacterial wilt

Scientific name

Ralstonia solanacearum (Smith) Yabuuchi et al.

Other scientific names

Bacterium solanacearum, Burkholderia solanacearum, Pseudomonas solanacearum

Importance

Medium

Significance

Bacterial wilt is a major constraint to groundnut production in China, Indonesia and Vietnam. Yield losses of 10 to 30% commonly occur and can reach over 60% in heavily infested fields (Mehan et al. 1994).

Symptoms

Wilt symptoms can be seen 2-3 weeks after planting. The first sign of disease is a slight drooping or curling of one or more leaves. In more advanced stages, the plants may bend over at the tip, appear dry, and eventually turn brown, wither, and die. Infected plants have discolored and rotten roots and pods. The diagnostic characteristics of this disease are the dark brown discoloration in the xylem and pith, and the streaming of ‘bacterial ooze’ (Mehan et al. 1994).

Hosts

Arachis hypogaea (groundnut), Capsicum spp. (chillies), Gossypium hirsutum (Cotton), Ipomoea batatus (sweet potato), Lycopersicon esculentum (tomato), Manihot esculenta (cassava), Musa spp. (banana), Nicotiana spp. (tobaco), Solanum melongena (brinjal), Solanum tuberosum (potato) and Zingiber officinale (ginger).

Geographic distribution

Bacterial wilt is global in distribution, and mostly prevalent in several countries of Asia, Africa and North America.

Biology and transmission

Ralstonia solanacearum is an aerobic, non-spore-forming, rod shaped, gram- negative bacterium. The bacterial cells measure approximately 0.5 ´ 1.5 m. Virulent isolates are mainly non-flagellate and non-motile. Avirulent isolates usually bear 1-4 polar flagellae and are highly motile. Common fimbriae are often present in both virulent and avirulent isolates. Although it does not produce fluorescent pigments, it produces a brown diffusible pigment on a variety of agar media containing tyrosine. The bacterium grows at a wide range of temperatures from 25 to 35°C. The bacterium is mainly disseminated through infested soil, water and infected seed (Anitha et al. 2003).

Detection/indexing methods at ICRISAT 

• Direct plating of 4-week old leaf-twigs, leaf-bits and seed on Tetrazolium chloride agar (TZCA) medium is used to detect the wilt pathogen in groundnut (Prasada Rao et al. 2000;  Anitha et al. 2004).

Treatment/control

• Not available.

Procedures followed in case of positive test at ICRISAT

• Incineration of the infected plants and rejection of the seed samples.

References and further reading

Anitha K, Gunjotikar GA, Chakrabarty SK, , Singh SD, Sarath Babu B, Prasada Rao RDVJ and Varaprasad KS. 2003. Interception of bacterial wilt, Burkholderia solanacearum in groundnut germplasm imported from Australia. Journal of Oilseeds Research 20: 101-104.

Anitha K, Chakrabarty SK, Girish AG, Prasada Rao RDVJ and Varaprasad KS. 2004. Detection of bacterial wilt infection in imported groundnut germplasm. Indian Journal of Plant Protection 32:147-148.

Mehan VK, Liao BS, Tan YJ, Robinson-Smith A, McDonald D and Hayward AC. 1994. Bacterial wilt of groundnut. Information Bulletin no. 35. Patancheru, AP 502 324, India: International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics. 28pp.

Prasada Rao RDVJ, Gunjotikar GA,.Chakrabarty SK, Varaprasad KS, Singh SD and Bramel-Cox PJ. 2000. Detection of Ralstonia solanacearum in seeds of wild Arachis spp. imported from Brazil. Indian Journal of Plant Protection 28: 51-56.

Bacterial wilt (Ralstonia solanacearum) of groundnut: drooping and curling of leaves (photo:ICRISAT)