PAU RELEASES EIGHT VARIETIES FORGENERAL CULTIVATION IN PUNJAB04-Mar-2014The Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) has come up with eight new varieties including PR 123 of rice, Pusa Punjab Basmati 1509 of basmati, Co Pb 91 of sugarcane, SL 958 of soybean, FMDH 9 of desi cotton, hybrid PMH 8 of spring maize, Kosi of mentha and PHB 2884 of bajra for general cultivation in Punjab. All the varieties were approved for general cultivation in the state during the meeting of the State Variety Approval Committee (SVAC), held under the Chairmanship of Dr Mangal Singh Sandhu, Director of Agriculture, Punjab. The varieties, developed byPAU, were thoroughly discussed by the SVAC members with focus on their performance under research and adaptive trials in addition to their yield, quality and tolerance to prevailing biotic and abiotic stresses.The PAU Vice-Chancellor, Dr BaldevSingh Dhillon congratulated the scientists, associated with the development and release of these improved varieties.The Director of Agriculture, Dr Sandhu lauded the vigorous efforts of the PAU scientists in the development of the varieties and expressed that the farmers of Punjab have great expectations from this University. He said that improved varieties, and complementary production and protection technologies developed by PAU will go a long way in sustaining the Punjab agriculture.Referring to the salient features of rice variety PR 123, Dr S.S. Gosal, Director of Research, PAU, said thatit is a semi dwarf, stiff-strawed, lodging tolerant variety with dark green and erect leaves. Its average plant height is 105 cm and matures in about 143 days after seeding. It possesses long slender, clear translucent grains with excellent cooking and eating quality characteristics, he added. It is resistant /moderately resistant to the ten presently prevalent pathotypes of bacterial blight pathogen in the state. Its average paddy yield is 29.0 quintals per acre, he told.About Pusa Punjab Basmati 1509, Dr Gosal said it is an early maturingvariety, taking about 125 days to mature after seeding. Its average height is 94 cm, he said, adding thatthe variety possesses extra long slender grains with excellent cooking and eating quality. Its grains become almost double upon cooking and are strongly scented. Its average paddy yield is 15.7 quintals per acre, he informed, while observing that it will be suitable for multiple cropping systems, which will result in higher returns to the farmers.Furthermore, Dr Gosal said that thecanes of sugarcane variety CoPb 91 are tall, thick and yellow green in colour. The average cane yield is 410 quintals per acre whereas its juice contains 17 percent sucrose inthe month of January. It is tolerant to the prevalent pathotypes of red rot disease and is a good ratooner, he highlighted.Dr Gosal said that soybean variety SL 958 has shinning, light yellow coloured grains with black hilum. Its grains contain 41.7 per cent protein and 20.2 per cent oil, he told, saying that the variety is highly resistant to yellow mosaic virus and soybean mosaic virus. It takes about 142 days to mature andits average yield is 7.3 quintal grains per acre, he added.About the cotton variety FMDH 9, Dr Gosal said that it is a genetic male sterility based desi cotton variety with green plant body, narrow lobed leaves, white flowers and red spot inside the petal. It possesses medium size bolls with fluffy opening. It vacates the field in about 160 days for timely sowingof rabi crops, he said. Its average yield is 10.0 quintals per acre, ginning outturn 37.3 per cent and fibre length 23.4 mm. It is resistantto jassid and whitefly and tolerant to Fusarium wilt and bacterial blight, he added.The spring maize variety PMH 8 is amedium duration single cross hybrid recommended for cultivation during spring season in Punjab, informed Dr Gosal. It is moderately tolerant to high temperature stress and post flowering stalk rots, and has attractive yellow orange flint grains with caps. It has yield superiority of18.4 and 12.2 per cent over check hybrids PMH 2 and PMH 1, respectively, he said. It matures in about 117 days and its average yield is 77.5 q /ha.Elaborating, Dr Gosal said that mentha variety Kosi is a high yielding variety of menthol mint ( Mentha arvensis L.). It can be planted from end of January to midof February, he told. On an average, it gives 100-125 q/acre herb yield with oil content of 0.6 to0.7 per cent. It gives the highest herb and oil yield when harvested at 150 days after planting.The hybrid of bajra variety PHB 2884 (Ad hoc) is 230 cm tall and bears 2-3 productive tillers, said DrGosal. It has long ears with average length of 28 cm and girth of 12 cm. Its grains are medium bold and slate in colour, he told, while observing that it is resistant to downy mildew, ergot and smut. It matures in 88 days and its average yield is 13.2 quintals per acre.The Additional Director of Research(Natural Resource and Plant Health Management), Dr. J.S.Dhiman said that emphasis is being given on developing varieties which combinehigh yield, input use efficiency and tolerance to biotic and abiotic stresses. PAU has a rigorous varietal evaluation mechanism before the release, he said.The Additional Director of Research(Crop Improvement), Dr. R.K. Gumber said that PAU since its inception has released/recommended more than 700 varieties of different crops andthat many have been adopted at the national and international levels.
Posted on: Sat, 08 Mar 2014 06:28:19 +0000
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