As agriculture continues to evolve and advance, so do the crop varieties. The rice (paddy) industry is no exception. Recently, the introduction of newly released PR (Pusa Ratna) varieties of paddy has been grabbing the attention of farmers because of their high yield.
PR is a semi-dwarf, high yielding and disease-resistant variety of paddy developed by the Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI). Over the years, the IARI has released different varieties of PR to cater to the diverse agroclimatic zones of India.
One of the recently released varieties is PR 128. This variety is suitable for areas with a temperature range of 38-40°C, making it a good option for states like Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Maharashtra, and parts of Karnataka. The yield potential of PR 128 is between 7-8 tonnes per hectare, making it a high yielding variety.
Another variety is PR 129, which has been released for areas with a temperature range of 36-38°C. It is suitable for states like Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, and parts of Odisha. The expected yield potential of this variety is around 8.5-9 tonnes per hectare, making it one of the highest yielding varieties of rice.
The new varieties of PR have been developed to address the challenges that farmers face, such as disease and pest outbreaks, sub-optimal soil conditions, and unpredictable weather patterns. These varieties have been bred to resist diseases like bacterial leaf blight, blast, and sheath blight.
Apart from their resistance to diseases, the newly released PR varieties of paddy have been found to have better quality, including improved grain size and appearance. This factor makes the rice highly marketable both locally and internationally.
In conclusion, the release of the newly developed PR rice varieties is a significant milestone in the rice industry. It presents farmers with a chance to increase their yield, improve crop quality, and reduce the risk of loss due to disease outbreak. It is expected that farmers who adopt these varieties will enjoy improved income as they expand their market reach.