ICRISAT has established standardized protocols for seedling raising, handling, and transplanting to ensure consistent crop establishment despite variable rainfall. Climate-smart planting arrangements, combined with agronomic practices like nipping and integrated pest management, are being tested in farmers’fields in Odisha under an innovative project supported by the Government of Odisha. Landform management techniques, such as raised bed planting across the contours and the use of biologicals, are being promoted across more than 150 farmers’fields in Odisha. Several promising genotypes suitable for transplanting, with strong early vigor, drought and flood tolerance, and high yields, have been identified as “transplant-ready” genotypes for various agro-ecologies.
