Farmers get 10 new high-yielding paddy varieties

Ten new varieties of high-yielding paddy, including a zinc-enriched crop, have been registered and released for cultivation next season.

Of these, two inbred varieties -- Brri Dhan 101 and Brri Dhan 102 -- were developed by the Bangladesh Rice Research Institute while two other inbred varieties -- BINA 25 and Dhan 2 -- were developed by the Bangladesh Institute of Nuclear Agriculture and Brac respectively.

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The other six varieties are hybrids developed by private institutions.

The National Seed Board gave the approval at a meeting chaired by Agriculture Secretary Md Sayedul Islam, also chairman of the board, at the secretariat yesterday.

Inbred crops are produced by repeated inbreeding over multiple generations, typically through self-pollination.

Meanwhile, a hybrid crop is a result of two different varieties of the same plant that are cross-pollinated to create off-springs that contain the best traits of each parent.

As such, Brri Dhan 101 is resistant to bacterial burns and Brri Dhan 102 is a zinc-enriched rice variety, according to a press release from the agriculture ministry.

In the trial cultivation, the average yield of Brri Dhan 101 was about 7.72 tonnes per hectare while Brri Dhan 102 produced 8.11 tonnes per hectare. The zinc content in Brri Dhan 102 rice is 25.5 milligrammes per kilogramme.

The average yield of BINA 25 is 7.64 tonnes per hectare and the white rice is very long and thin, crisp and delicious with a lifespan of 145 days.

The trial of Dhan-2 developed by Brac yielded 7.36 tonnes per hectare. The grains are a thin, fragrant and early variant with a lifespan of 139 days.

The six hybrid varieties of paddy were registered and released after reviewing the results of their trial cultivation, the ministry said.

Addressing the meeting, Agriculture Secretary Islam said the hybrid varieties of paddy provide high yields.

So, the agriculture ministry is now focusing on the innovation and cultivation of hybrid varieties to increase production using less land, he added.

Islam went on to say that about 218 new varieties of paddy have already been registered.

"But from now on, importance will be given to the registration of varieties that will benefit farmers in a more quality and long-lasting manner," he said.