Source: The New Indian Express

24/07/2016 – Offering support to the thousands of farmers in drought-prone Telangana, the Indian Institute of Rice Research (IIIR) on Saturday announced the development of a new high zinc variety of rice, which requires less water and reduces input costs. Developed through conventional methods, the new variety has been christened ‘DRR-Dhan 45’ and is the first-of-its-kind to be notified on a national level.

 

The rice variety is moderately resistant to major pests and diseases such as blast, sheath rot and rice tungro viruses. DRR-Dhan 45 is a semi dwarf, long slender variety that has a crop duration of 125 days. According to scientists, the rice variety is ideal for growing in water-starved states like Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.

 

The net crop area in Telangana had shrunk drastically during the last two years due to severe drought. Paddy is considered the most water-intensive crop. As water resources dried up, farmers in the state suffered huge loss due to withering of crops. The use of a short duration paddy variety that is less water intensive will be a big relief for farmers in the state.

 

“It took us 12 years to develop this variety which can give a yield of six tonnes of rice per hectare,” said Dr Ravindra Babu, director of ICAR-IIRR. The variety is proof of the concept of biofortification and will aid in India’s struggle to ensure nutritional security, he claimed.

 

The new variety has high volume content of protein and a zinc content of 25 ppm that will help combat zinc deficiency in pregnant women. “High zinc is required for the development of the child in mother’s womb to build resistance to diarrhoea,” said Ravindra.

 

The institution has also developed and released a rice variety named ‘Sampada’ for  type-2 diabetic patients. The rice variety has a low glycemic index which means the rice digests slowly helping the patients manage the insulin produced in their body, said Ravindra.

 

IIRR plans to sell the DRR-Dhan 45 seeds to farmers at the rate of `40 per kg and is on the look out for seed companies to pick up the rice variety, he added.