Poor crop establishment was identi®ed as a major constraint on rainfed crop production by farmers in the tribal villages of Rajasthan, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh served by the Krishak Bharati Cooperative (KRIBHCO) Indo-British Rainfed Farming Project (KRIBP). On-farm seed priming with water was chosen as a low cost, low risk intervention appropriate to the farmers' needs. In vitro screening of the eects of priming on the germination of seeds of local and improved varieties of maize, upland rice and chickpea provided`safe limits' ± the maximum length of time for which farmers should prime seeds and which, if exceeded, could lead to seed or seedling damage. Recommended safe limits were 24 h for maize and rice and 10 h for chickpea, with only minor varietal dierences. These recommendations were then tested in on-station trials in Dahod, Gujarat. Farmer-managed trials were conducted for chickpea in three villages in the rabi (post-monsoon) season in 1995±96; for maize and upland rice in eight villages in the kharif (monsoon) season in 1996; and for maize and chickpea in 15 villages in the 1996±97 rabi season. Farmers modi®ed these recommendations to`overnight' for all three crops. Evaluation of the technology by farmers involved focus group discussions, matrix ranking exercises and two workshops.Direct bene®ts in all three crops included faster emergence, better stands and a lower incidence of re-sowing, more vigorous plants, better drought tolerance, earlier¯owering, earlier harvest and higher grain yield. Indirect bene®ts reported were earlier sowing of rabi crops because of the shorter duration of the preceding kharif crop, earlier harvesting of rabi crops that allowed earlier migration from the area, with better chance of obtaining o-season work, and increased willingness to use fertilizers because of reduced risk of crop failure. In matrix ranking exercises in four villages in the kharif 1996, 95% of farmers indicated that, even after only one exposure to the technology, they would prime seed in the following season. Similar exercises in four villages in rabi 1996±97 revealed that 100% of collaborating farmers intended to continue seed priming. From 21 villages, 246 farmers attended two workshops to share their experiences of seed priming and resolved to continue with the technology.

India is the second largest producer of wheat in the world, with production hovering around 68-75 million tons for past few years. The latest estimated demand for wheat production for the year 2020 is approximately 87.5 million tons, or about 13 million tons more than the record production of 75 million tons harvested in crop season 1999-2000. Since 2000, India has struggled to match that record production figure and thus faces a critical challenge in maintaining food security in the face of its growing population. The current major challenges facing future wheat production in India are increasing heat stress; dwindling water supplies for irrigation; a growing threat of new virulence of diseases such as wheat rusts (yellow, brown, and black) and leaf blight; continuous adoption of rice-wheat systems on around 11 million hectares; changes in urbanization patterns, and demand for better quality wheat. In addition, the threat posed by the new stem rust race Ug99 can not be underestimated. The wide gap (around 2.5 t/ha) between the potential and harvested yield in the eastern Gangetic Plains also cries out for solutions. Addressing issues related to different stresses will require harnessing genes discovered in landraces and wild relatives following conventional as well as non-conventional approaches. For effective technology delivery in areas that suffer from poor linkages with farmers, participatory research needs to be strengthened. The future germplasm requirements from a dependable collaborator such as CIMMYT are largely being dictated by the above factors.

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One thousand four hundred and seven spring wheat germplasm lines belonging to Indian and CIMMYT wheat programs were evaluated for stay green (SG) trait and resistance to spot blotch caused by Bipolaris sorokiniana during three consecutive crop seasons