I feel privileged to write this project coordinator’s message for the unit level research data repository of AICRP on Poultry Breeding to be a part of ICAR Research Data Repository for Knowledge Management (KRISHI-website). The ICAR-Directorate of Poultry Research has completed twenty eight years of dedicated and continued service by fulfilling the mandated responsibilities in improving the poultry production through All India Coordinated Research Project on Poultry Breeding. The Directorate is coordinating 12 AICRP centre and 12 Poultry Seed Project centres. AICRP on Poultry breeding started during IV five year plan which is land mark in the history of poultry breeding research in India. Later, it was upgraded as Project Directorate on Poultry which came into existence from 1st March, 1988 at AP Agricultural. University Campus, Rajendranagar, Hyderabad. The AICRP on Poultry Breeding had three components i.e. Poultry for Egg, Poultry for Meat and Rural Poultry. The AICRP on poultry for Egg had four centres and poultry for meat had four centres. Rural poultry component was initiated during X Five Plan in 2001 with only centre at Agartala. Later, five more centres were added during the XI Five Plan. During 2014-15, AICRP on Poultry Breeding is reoriented towards Rural Poultry with the objectives of development of location specific rural varieties, conservation and utilization of elite layer and broiler population developed under the AICRP and conservation, improvement and utilization of locally available indigenous germplasm. At present AICRP on Poultry Breeding is operating at 12 centres. Initially, the target for egg component of the project was 220 eggs in a laying cycle. It was revised periodically to 305 eggs per laying cycle. Similarly, in broilers the initial target body weight was 1500 g at 10 weeks and later 1700 g a 6 weeks or 2000 g at 7 weeks of age with feed efficiency of less than 2.0. All set targets were achieved from time to time. Breeding programs at different centres resulted in development and release of three layers varieties (ILI-80, ILM-90, ILR-90) and four broiler varieties (B-77, IBL-80, IBB-83 and IBI-91) for commercial exploitation. In rural poultry, the objective of these centres is development of location specific varieties which have wider acceptability locally. During the year 2012-13 Udaipur centre released a dual purpose variety Pratapdhan. One more cross, a layer variety for rural poultry is in pipe line from Udaipur centre. During the 2014-15, Guwahati centre released a dual purpose variety Kamrupa which is gaining popularity in Assam. In the year of 2015-16, Jabalpur centre released a dual purpose variety, Narmadanidhi for the benefit of the rural and tribal farmers of the Madhya Pradesh. In the year 2016, Jharsim variety was released from Ranchi centre of AICRP. Together all AICRP centres supplied 5.28 lakhs of germplasm. It gives me immense pleasure to state that appreciable work has been done by AICRP on poultry breeding during the past and continue to strive to fulfil aspirations of stake holders in coming days.
Dr. R. N. Chatterjee
Project Director