India develops new hybrid basmati rice, to apply for patent right soon

Our Economic Bureau

New Delhi, Aug 21: INDIA has developed a new hybrid basmati rice (RH 10) and will soon apply for patent rights, said the Indian Agriculture Research Institute (IARI) director Dr Panjab Singh.

Addressing a press conference in New Delhi, Dr Singh said that IARI is ready to transfer this technology and is already negotiating with seed companies like Mahyco to commercialise this crop. He said that frontline demonstration has shown that RH 10 has the potential yield of seven tonne per hectare and can be harvested 15 days earlier. It has 40 per cent higher yield than Pusa Basmati-1. Pusa Basmati-1 is harvested within four months and has a yield potential of four tonne per hectare.

He said that IARI has also developed high yielding basmati varities like Pusa Sugandh-2 and Pusa Sugandh-3. Both these varieties have 10 to 17 per cent higher yield than Pusa Basmati-1. They have an yield potential of 4.5 to 5 tonne per hectare and are harvested 10 to 15 days earlier.

Dr Singh stated that these varieties of basmati rice will be available for commercial use in the next kharif season in the year 2002. With these varieties of basmati being used for commercial production, the farmers in the entire north and northwest belt consisting of Punjab, Haryana, Jammu, Himachal Pradesh, Uttaranchal and western UP will soon turn prosperous. The country will be able to export basmati and earn enough foreign exchange, he said.

He also said that a new hybrid Durum wheat has been developed by the Karnal based directorate of wheat research and is under field trials. There is a global demand of about 12 million tonne for Durum wheat and only North America can be India’s major competitor. India at present produces about 2.5 million tonne of Durum wheat per year. Durum wheat is usually growm in Malwa region in MP. Recently, IARI’s regional station at Indore has released three Durum varieties, HI-8381, HI-8498 and HD-4672. Because of wide adaptability and export quality grain, HI-8498 is fast capturing the area in central India. Dhar district of Malwa Plateau has been converted into ‘Durum District’ to meet the requirement of Durum export.

Dr Singh said that entire central India can be covered by Durum wheat crop. Durum wheat is conspicuous for its non-mottled, lustrous and bold grains having high quality semolina recovery which determines the export price. Test weight, grain appearance, protein content, sedimentation value and beta-carotene value are the most important quality parameters which determine the export price of Durum wheat. Durums possess very high resistance to leaf rust while aestivums to stem rusts. Thus, by promoting cultivation of both durum and aestivum cultivars in central India complementary resistance for rusts has been generated ensuring protection against both the rusts. Durums need only three irrigations to yield 50 quintal per hectare while aestivums need five to six irrigations to give the same yield.

Finally, Dr Singh said that IARI has also developed new varieties of barley whose cultivation can be promoted in 5,000 acre area in Ugar, near Belgaum in Karnataka. Barley produced will be used for malting and will be used in breweries.