Scientists develop new flood-tolerant paddy variety

Swarna Sub-1, Photo credit: Ronald Loboratory

Scientists at the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) said that they have developed a new variety of rice `Swarna Sub-1' under a collaborative research programme with the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), Philippines.

The submergence-tolerant gene (Sub-1) was cloned by IRRI from the Indian flood-tolerant variety FR-13-A and was transferred into the popular Indian rice variety `Swarna' and hence the name of this variety as `Swarna Sub-1', minister of state for agriculture K V Thomas informed the Rajya Sabha in a written reply.

This variety can give yields of 3.0 to 3.5 tonnes per hectare even under submerged condition for about two weeks. The variety has been formally notified in 2009, indents are expected from next year onwards, the release said.

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