World Bank-ICAR funded NAHEP-CAAST training programme on “Genomics for Improvement of Horticultural Crops” was organised during February 24–March 05, 2020 at Division of Vegetable Science, ICAR-Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi.

The training was attended by twenty-seven students from 16 different universities/institutes located in 14 different states of India. Dr. T. Mohapatra, Secretary, DARE and Director General, ICAR graced the inaugural function as Chief Guest with the presence of Dr. C. Kole, Former VC, BCKV, West Bengal, Dr R. C. Agrawal, DDG (Education) and Dr. A. K. Singh, Director, ICAR-IARI, New Delhi. A total of 29 lectures were delivered by eminent scientists from different institutes like IARI, NIPB, NBPGR, NIPGR, IIHR etc.

The lectures were comprised of both basic and advanced areas on genomics of different Horticultural Crops like Mango, Banana, Grapes, Guava, Papaya, Bitter gourd, Cucumber, Cole crops, including Pre-breeding, Molecular Breeding, Mapping of QTL/Oligo gene, Association Mapping, Genome Sequencing, Genome Editing, Rapid Breeding, Gene Expression Analysis, High-Throughput Phenotyping, High-Throughput Genotyping, Bioinformatics, Genomic Selection, Transcriptomics, Tilling and Eco-tilling and Seed quality enhancement in horticultural crops. A total of 19 practical sessions comprised of Handling of Genotypic Data, QTL Mapping, GWAS, and High Throughput Phenotyping for Disease Resistance, DNA Isolation and Quantification and Bioinformatic analyses were also conducted as the part of training schedule.

Visit to different facilities viz., Central Tissue Culture Laboratory (CTCL), Genome Sequencing Facility, National Gene Bank, Phytotron Facility, Phenomics Facility, and Fruit and Vegetable Experimental Fields were also organized for the trainees. Dr. Anand Kumar Singh, DDG (Horticultural Science) graced the valedictory function with his inspiring valedictory talk and presented the certificates to the student trainees on March 05, 2020. The training was fruitful and appreciated by the student trainees.