The Indian Agriculture Research Institute (IARI) has developed new variant of basmati rice which can withstand deficient rainfall. Seeds for the new variety of basmati rice will be distributed to farmers in the next year’s kharif season.
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New Delhi, November 8: The Indian Agriculture Research Institute has developed a new variant of basmati rice which will be drought-tolerant. The agriculture ministry has notified that the said variant of basmati rice will be released on a large scale.
The new variety of Pusa Basmati (PB) 1882 can withstand deficient rainfall during the flowering stage of the grain. It is recommended for cultivation in key regions of Haryana, Punjab, western Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Jammu & Kashmir.
IARI Principal Scientist S. Gopala Krishnan has said that during two years of field trials the new variety had given an average yield of 4.6 tonne/hectare compared to 4.2 tonne/hectare reported for its parent variety PB 1.
Rice grown via transplanting mode uses 3000 liters of water to produce one kilogram of rice. The new variety is sown through direct seeding method, resulting in huge saving on water usage.
IARI will distribute seeds for the new variety of basmati rice to farmers in the next year’s kharif season. With this, the export prospects of Basmati rice to the European Union (EU) are expected to get a boost. The PB 1 variety of basmati rice has been traditionally shipped to the EU countries.
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