Karnal: The Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI) in Haryana has developed herbicide-tolerant and disease-resistant varieties of rice.
Recently, the governor of Haryana Bandaru Dattatreya visited the herbicide-tolerant rice varieties fields in Kalwa Heri, Haryana. The seeds have been produced and supplied by Nuziveedu Seeds Ltd.
Herbicide-Tolerant Direct Seeded Rice (DSR) sown
Two herbicide-tolerant varieties PB 1979 and PB 1985 along with new BLB and blast disease tolerant basmati varieties PB 1885 and PB 1847 were sown in direct sown condition at Nuziveedu Seeds Research and Development Centre in Karnal. Direct Seeded Rice (DSR) refers to the process of growing the rice crop from seeds sown in the field rather than the usual method of transplanting the seedlings from the nursery.
PB 1979 is a herbicide-tolerant variety developed from PB 1121 by IARI-Delhi with superior basmati grain quality to get better market price due to export quality rice. Nuziveedu Seeds Ltd. supplied the variety under the brand name Superstar HT.
PB-1985 is a herbicide-tolerant variety developed from PB 1509 by IARI-Delhi with superior grain quality and higher yield. This product will be available in the market under the name Goldstar HT.
During his visit, the governor said that the government is promoting the ‘Mera Paani Meri Virasat’ scheme and forwarding initiatives in keeping with prime minister Narendra Modi’s commitment to doubling the farmers’ income.
The governor also requested the farming community to adopt new technologies in agriculture like direct sown rice cultivation with herbicide tolerance to increase income, protect the environment and save water.
Benefits of the new rice varieties
In recent years, agriculture in the country has faced numerous challenges including those from Bakanae disease, water scarcity as well as labour shortages. However, IARI has come up with a solution in the form of Herbicide-Tolerant Direct Sown Rice. This innovative approach to rice cultivation not only addresses these challenges but also offers several key advantages such as water conservation, promoting mechanisation by reducing the agricultural labour shortage problem, increasing farmers’ income by reducing investment, and being environmentally friendly due to the reduction in methane gas emission along with the ease of cultivation.
The seed producers
Nuziveedu Seeds Limited (NSL) is one of the leading seed companies in India. It is headquartered in Hyderabad, Telangana and has gained prominence in the agricultural sector for its work in the development, production, and marketing of high-quality seeds for various crops.
Nuziveedu Seeds specialises in the breeding and distribution of seeds for a wide range of crops, including cotton, maize, paddy, sorghum, pearl millet, sunflower and various vegetable crops. They focus on crop improvement and research in order to develop high-yielding and disease-resistant varieties.
