Ali Jauhar

Biography

"auhar, a hybrid rice breeder, has significantly contributed to the development of and capacity-building for global agricultural research. He has developed and characterized eight thermo-sensitive genic male sterile (TGMS) rice lines, for which he was awarded the Jawaharlal Nehru Award for outstanding PhD thesis research work. This work led to the discovery of the genetics of the TGMS gene and to knowing that ‘tg’ genes (tms4, tms8) were unique and could be exploited. Using these materials led to the development of several TGMS-based hybrids involving different centers. Currently, Jauhar has taken up two-line hybrid rice breeding at IRRI on a strong footing to deliver the two-line hybrid rice technology in Asia. In addition, he had been instrumental to the development of the Green Super Rice breeding technology at IRRI, being the project leader and regional coordinator of the Green Super Rice (GSR) Project in Asia and Eastern and Southern Africa. Through this innovative approach, he has developed and released 16 rice varieties in Asia and nominated nearly 45 GSR cultivars into national cooperative yield trials. He connects genomic resources and tools to breed superior, high-yielding, multiple-stress–tolerant rice varieties and hybrids. As lead and regional coordinator, Jauhar leads the development and targeting of improved rice materials through systematic testing, adaptive trials, and varietal release for eight countries in Asia and five in Eastern and Southern Africa. Thirty-six GSR inbreds and 22 hybrids have been released, whereas 104 are nominated for national yield trials. Jauhar has also established the IRRI-GSR breeding front in 2009 and produced more than 530 promising multiple-stress–tolerant materials shared with NARES partners, INGER, and MET. He has also provided training to more than 1,200 researchers, especially on hybrid rice technology, seed production, and molecular breeding."

Research Interest

Heterosis breeding Genetics