10 new high-yielding paddy varieties released
Ten new varieties of high-yielding paddy, including zinc-enriched crop, have been registered and released for cultivation in the next Boro season.
Of these, two inbred varieties – Brri Dhan 101 and Brri Dhan 102 -- are developed by Bangladesh Rice Research Institute (BRRI) while two other inbred varieties --BINA-25 and Dhan 2 – are developed by the Bangladesh Institute of Nuclear Agriculture (BINA) and Brac respectively.
The rest six varieties are hybrid developed by private institutions.
The National Seed Board gave the approval at a meeting chaired by Agriculture Secretary Md Sayedul Islam, also chairman of the board, at the conference room of the agriculture ministry at the secretariat today.
An inbred variety of a crop is produced by repeated inbreeding over multiple generations, typically through self-pollination. Meanwhile, a hybrid crop is a result of two different varieties of plants that are cross-pollinated to create an off-spring or hybrid, that contains the best traits of each of the parents.
Brri Dhan 101 inbred is resistant to bacterial burns and Brri Dhan 102 is a zinc-enriched rice variety, according to a press release of the agriculture ministry.
In the trial cultivation, the average yield of Brri Dhan 101 was 7.72 tonnes per hectare, and Brri Dhan 102 was 8.11 tonnes per hectare. Zinc content in Brri Dhan 102 rice is 25.5 mg/kg.
The average yield of BINA 25 is 7.64 tonnes per hectare. Its rice is very long and thin, white colour, crisp and delicious. Its lifespan is 145 days.
The trial yield of Dhan-2 developed by BRAC is 7.36 tonnes per hectare. The grains are thin, fragrant and early variant. Its lifespan is 139 days.
In addition, the six hybrid varieties of paddy were released and registered after the review of the results of their trial, the ministry said.
Addressing the meeting, Agriculture Secretary Md Sayedul Islam said the yield of hybrid varieties of paddy is high.
The ministry is now focusing on innovation and cultivation of hybrid varieties to increase production from less land, he said.
Sayedul said about 218 varieties of paddy have already been registered. "From now on, importance will be given to the registration of varieties that will benefit the farmers in a more quality and long-lasting manner," he said.
The meeting was attended by Director General (Seeds) Abdullah Sajjad, Additional Secretary Kamala Ranjan Das, Bangladesh Agricultural Research Council (BARC) Executive Chairman Sheikh Md Bakhtiyar, BADC Chairman AFM Hayatullah, BRRI Director General Shahjahan Kabir, BINA Director General Mirza Mofazzal Islam and members of the seed board were present at the meeting.
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