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IARI develops high-yielding varieties of rice

In a major breakthrough in rice research, Indian Agricultural Research Institute has developed two new varieties and one hybrid of rice which hold promise for higher yield of the crop.

"After several years of research and high level of testing, IARI has succeeded in developing two new varieties of basmati rice -- Pusa Sugandh 2 and Pusa Sugandh 3 -- and a hybrid, RH10, by crossing these two varieties," director of IARI Punjab Singh told reporters.

"The two varieties mature 10 to 15 days earlier and give a yield 10 to 17 per cent higher than the conventional Pusa basmati 1," he said.

Singh revealed that as against a yield of four tonnes per hectare from Pusa basmati 1, the new varieties yielded 4.5 to 5 tonnes per hectare, while the hybrid, RH10, gave a yield of more than five tonnes per hectare.

He said the products released around 10 days back were suitable for cultivation in the north-western plains of the country like UP, Uttaranchal, Delhi, Punjab and Haryana.

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