Notable impacts of Varshney's research include:
Development of improved chickpea varieties Varshney, along with researchers from the
Indian Council of Agricultural Research and the
University of Agricultural Sciences developed several chickpea varieties such as PUSA 10216 and MAC-WR-S-1. PUSA 10216 has demonstrated higher yields in drought conditions , whereas MABC-WR-SA-1, commonly known as 'Super Annigeri-1', improves
fusarium wilt resistance.
Development of improved groundnut varieties Varshney, along with researchers at ICRISAT and national partners of India, has developed several improved groundnut varieties, including varieties with high
oleic acid concentration. When compared to standard peanut varieties, high-oleic peanuts offer longer shelf-life benefits to the food processing industry, health benefits to consumers and increases farmer profitability. By using
marker-assisted selection (MAS) and marker-assisted backcrossing (MABC) approaches, Varshney and his collaborators developed a peanut variety which demonstrated an oleic acid concentration of 80+2% compared to the 45-50% found in standard peanut varieties.
Tropical Legumes Project Varshney served as Principal Investigator of the Tropical Legumes Project, an initiative led by ICRISAT and funded by the
Gates Foundation. The project, which ran from 2007- 2019, was conducted in collaboration with the
International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) and the
International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA). The initiative developed 266 improved legume varieties and produced nearly 500,000 tons of seed across multiple legume crops, including
cowpeas, pigeonpea, chickpea,
common bean, groundnut, and
soybean. The project's documented outcomes included groundnut crop interventions, which demonstrated a 32.35% increase in income among participating farmers, with 6.72% of households lifted out of poverty and 14% moved out of food insecurity. In
Mali, ten groundnut varieties were released, including six high-yielding, drought-tolerant varieties and four extra-large seeded varieties. Seven additional groundnut varieties with traits including
aflatoxin tolerance, early maturation, and drought tolerance were also released. In India, the project's chickpea breeding program contributed to an area enhancement of up to 68% in the national chickpea program. The chickpea program in
Ethiopia saw production of certified and quality seed increased from 632 tons to 3,290 tons in six years, a five-fold increase. At the same time, the productivity of chickpea on farms doubled. The project's contributions led to Varshney and ICRISAT receiving the
Africa Food Prize in 2021. == Notable fellowships==