New varieties of Basmati will give more yield

Paddy cultivators got a new gift of Basmati. Three new varieties of Basmati have been developed by Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Science and Technology. By cultivating these varieties, farmers can get higher yields.

The farmers of Jammu, Kathua and Samba are cultivating Basmati 370 variety since last few years. The quality of this variety is very good but the production is very less. Due to low production, farmers are not able to get proper profits. In such a situation, 3 new varieties of Basmati developed by the agricultural scientists of Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology, Basmati 143, Jammu Basmati 118 and Jammu Basmati 123 will prove to be a big relief for the farmers. Although the quality of all the new varieties is the same as that of Basmati 370, the yield will be almost double.

Talking about Basmati 370, this variety is famous globally for its quality. Cultivation of this variety gives 8 to 8.8 quintal yield per acre of land. The height of this variety of plants is 150 to 160 cm. The problem of plant fall starts when strong wind blows.

Yield and characteristics of new varieties

Basmati 118: This variety has the highest yield among the newly developed varieties. Per acre of land yields 18 to 18.8 quintals of paddy. It is an early maturing dwarf variety. Due to which there is no problem of falling of plants.
Basmati 123: On cultivating this variety yields up to 16 quintals per acre of land. The grain size of this variety of paddy is also large.
Basmati 143: Plants of this variety are very tall. Yields range from 16 to 18 quintals per acre of field. Farmers in some areas also face the problem of shortage of straw for animal feed. Due to the greater length of the plants, more straw can be obtained from it.

In which states can new varieties of Basmati be cultivated?

Many states in our country have got GI tag (Geographical Indication) i.e. Geographical Indication for Basmati. In which Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, Western Uttar Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir are included. New varieties of Basmati can be cultivated in all these GI tag states.

Where to get seeds of new varieties?

You can get seeds of new varieties of Basmati from the annual Krishi Mela organized at Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Science and Technology, Jammu. This year this Krishi Mela will be organized from 16 March 2021 to 20 March 2021.
Only 600 quintals of seed is available for these new varieties. Therefore, 2 kg of seeds will be made available to all the farmers. In the coming few years, the quantity of seeds will be increased to make available seeds to more and more farmers.