In research trials, Liberty ULTRA herbicide has demonstrated 20 per cent superior weed control and won nine out of ten head-to-head comparisons against generics.
Liberty® ULTRA herbicide, powered by Glu-L™ Technology has received U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) registration and is now approved for use, subject to state approvals. Liberty ULTRA herbicide, containing the active ingredient glufosinate-P-ammonium, also been referred to as L-glufosinate ammonium, is the next generation of Liberty herbicide from BASF. This powerful new post knockdown solution is effective on both broadleaves and grasses and is available for use on glufosinate-enabled soybean, cotton, corn and canola acres. In research trials, Liberty ULTRA herbicide has demonstrated 20 per cent superior weed control and won nine out of ten head-to-head comparisons against generics.
“As farmers increasingly rely on glufosinate in their weed management programs, the demand for enhanced efficacy and efficiency of this herbicide is more apparent than ever,” said Matt Malone, Product Manager for BASF Agricultural Solutions. “With a narrowing number of effective knockdown tools in the U.S., BASF’s latest innovation, Liberty ULTRA herbicide, will offer American farmers a post knockdown tool that delivers improved performance and convenience thanks to the new Liberty Lock formulation and BASF’s patented Glu-L Technology.”
This powerful combination gives farmers better weed control on grasses and tough broadleaf weeds like palmer amaranth, waterhemp, giant ragweed and kochia, resulting in more bushels at the end of the season.
Glu-L Technology, the patented synthesis process that refines the glufosinate-ammonium active ingredient to its most herbicidally active component, allows every gallon of Liberty ULTRA to cover 33 per cent more acres than generics. Liberty ULTRA herbicide packs the power of 32 fluid ounces of Liberty herbicide into a convenient 24 fluid ounces standard use rate. In addition to its lower standard use rate, BASF’s Liberty Lock formulation locks more herbicide onto leaves and into weeds. This custom formulation is designed to adhere more droplets onto weed leaves for better coverage with every pass. Once on the leaves, the patent-pending formulation drives nearly three times more herbicide into weeds2 compared to generic glufosinate.
Liberty ULTRA herbicide from BASF is the first resolved isomer, trait-enabled knockdown herbicide, paving the way for several Glu-L Technology-based premix herbicides to come from BASF within this decade.
BASF supports cotton production in the United States with the e3 Sustainable Cotton program and in Europe with the Certified Sustainable FiberMax program
Farmers across the globe are working to meet the ever-increasing demand for sustainably grown cotton. Truly sustainable sourcing of natural fibres can be complex and challenging, which is why BASF Agricultural Solutions brought together a global delegation of farmers from Europe and the United States to ensure their voices are heard and supported.
The event, aptly named ‘United for the Biggest Job on Earth’, was held at the United Nations headquarters and featured various farmers from Greece and the United States, as well as leadership from BASF Agricultural Solutions North America and Europe. Also in attendance were sustainable fashion and agriculture media.
“BASF is dedicated to creating a better future for cotton production and the cotton textile industry,” said Ray Daniels, Seed Sustainability Manager at BASF. “We understand that cotton farmers are the cornerstone of sustainable production, which is why we are giving them an international platform to share their ideas on how agriculture must meet the needs of present and future generations through profitability, environmental health and social and economic equity.”
While sustainable farming sounds new, the principles are not. Farmers across cotton-producing regions in the United States and Europe have leveraged these practices to help reduce soil erosion and improve soil health while reducing excess nitrogen use. The renewed focus on these practices by the textile industry provides farmers with an opportunity to demonstrate their inherent sustainable nature publicly in this global workshop.
“We really appreciated the opportunity to attend this event and have our voices heard,” said Texas cotton growers, Randy and Pat Smith. “Consumers aren’t always aware of the effort growers like us put into regenerative agriculture practices, and we want to continue to share our story and gain their support.”
BASF supports cotton production in the United States with the e3 Sustainable Cotton program and in Europe with the Certified Sustainable FiberMax program. Both provide field-level traceability for cotton, as well as a way for farmers to track and measure the environmental and social impacts of their cotton production.
“Agriculture is so central to our lives, but many do not consider the powerful impact it can have,” said Gustavo Palerosi Carneiro, Vice-President, BASF Agricultural Solutions EMEA & CIS. “It’s also an industry undergoing a time of unprecedented change. Farmers have an increasingly difficult yet important role of balancing the need for increased productivity, environmental protection, and value to society.”
This is the second GM plant introduced in the country, following Bt brinjal in 2014
Bangladesh has introduced two types of genetically modified (GM) cotton to increase crop yields and reduce the need for imports.
This is the second GM crop introduced in the country, following Bt brinjal in 2014.
During a seminar held at the Cotton Development Board office in Dhaka, Muhammad Abdur Razzaque, Agriculture Minister stated that the introduction of Bt and hybrid varieties could help meet around 20 per cent of the domestic cotton demand, which amounts to approximately 1.5 million bales.
Spinning and weaving industries need an additional 85 lakh bales of cotton to produce yarn and fabrics for export-oriented garment factories.
According to local media, domestic growers can only supply two lakh bales of cotton. As a result, Bangladesh imports a significant amount of cotton from countries such as India, Pakistan, Brazil, Australia, Argentina, South Africa, and Central Asian countries, spending around Tk 33,000 crore annually.
The production cost of Bt cotton is 12-15 per cent lower than local varieties, with an average yield of 4,500 kg per hectare, 15-20 per cent higher.
Telangana exported spices, cereal, cotton, meat and other things
Telangana’s agriculture export increased by 40 per cent from 2020 to 2022 reaching Rs 10, 000 crore.
Telangana exported spices, cereal, cotton, meat and other things. Cotton export of the state reached Rs 3055 crore and spice, tea and coffee accounted for Rs 1963 crore. Telangana’s meat export reached Rs 268 crore, cereals export accounted for Rs 1480 crore. The state also exported maize, rice, grapes, lemon, mangoes and soybean.
Telangana’s foreign direct investment has reached Rs. 3000 crores from 2019 to 2021. Telangana has developed better infrastructure which helped to grow the state’s agricultural export.
KSDA and Wadhwani AI will explore opportunities for the scaled deployment of the AI-powered early pest warning and advisory solution for cotton and other crops developed by Wadhwani AI.
The Wadhwani Institute for Artificial Intelligence announces that Wadhwani AI has entered into a formal partnership with the Karnataka State Department of Agriculture (KSDA). This is an important partnership and will go a long way towards realising our common objective of improving the welfare of farmers across the state of Karnataka. Through this partnership, the KSDA and Wadhwani AI will explore opportunities for the scaled deployment of the AI-powered early pest warning and advisory solution for cotton and other crops developed by Wadhwani AI. Additionally, Wadhwani AI will work towards ensuring the AI-readiness of the KSDA and conduct capacity-building initiatives for ministry personnel on the responsible use of AI and its application to boost agriculture systems in the state. “We look forward to collaborating with Wadhwani AI and leveraging their expertise in developing cutting-edge AI-powered solutions to enhance agriculture systems in Karnataka and improve the income of farmers. We intend to unlock the value of the agriculture pest and disease data at our disposal and utilise it to create novel solutions in crops like cotton, maize, chilli, and other crops in Karnataka, with the help of emerging AI-based technologies,” said, B. C. Patil, Minister for Agriculture, Government of Karnataka.
“Small farmers in India depend on government programs at every step of the crop cycle. Timely, accurate, and hyperlocal AI-based early-pest warning and advisory can augment human capabilities to overcome systemic challenges in these large-scale programs. I would like to extend my thanks to Ravi Trivedi from Nudge’s Indian Administrative Fellowship, who has facilitated the deployment of our solution in the Dharwad district and provided guidance and support towards our partnership with the KSDA and the signing of this MoU,” J. P. Tripathi, Associate Director – Agriculture, Wadhwani AI. “We are committed to using AI to meaningfully impact the lives of low-income populations, in India and other developing countries. Ensuring that our AI solutions reach the communities most affected by the problems we are trying to address and can create a meaningful impact at scale is only possible by working closely with the government, said Shekar Sivasubramanian, Chief Executive Officer, Wadhwani AI.
Cargill RegenConnect regeneratively-sourced cotton programme works to build a regenerative, traceable supply chain for growers and buyers
Beginning next month, Cargill will start enrolling US cotton growers in its Cargill RegenConnectregeneratively-sourced cotton programme, rewarding cotton growers for the positive soil health practices they are already using. This new addition to the Cargill RegenConnect portfolio furthers Cargill’s role in giving farmers access to emerging market opportunities within sustainable, traceable supply chains, opening doors to Cargill’s downstream customers looking to achieve their sustainable sourcing goals.
William Barksdale, president of Cargill’s cotton business and chairman of the American Cotton Shippers Association said, “Cargill is committed to playing its role in advancing sustainable cotton production practices around the world. Through the Cargill RegenConnect regeneratively-sourced cotton programme, we are connecting market demand to the growers actively engaged in supporting environmental stewardship through regenerative agriculture practices.”
Cargill will offer one-year contracts to growers who have implemented cover crops and reduced-till or no-till practices since the Fall of 2021. Cotton growers can earn a premium for each pound of regeneratively-grown cotton contracted, produced and delivered to Cargill. Cargill has partnered with Regrow to make it easy for farmers to securely enter data to verify their use of regenerative agriculture practices through the Regrow MRV platform.
India scaled its highest ever exports tally at $44.4 billion in Textiles and Apparel (T&A) including handicrafts in FY 2021-22, indicating a substantial increase of 41 per cent and 26 per cent over corresponding figures in FY 2020-21 and FY 2019-20, respectively.
The US was the top export destination accounting for 27 per cent share, followed by EU (18 per cent), Bangladesh (12 per cent) and the UAE (6 per cent).
In terms of product categories, the export of cotton textiles was $17.2 billion with 39 per cent share registering a growth of 54 per cent and 67 per cent during 2021-22 over FY 2020-21 and FY 2019-20, respectively.
Export of Ready-Made Garments was $16 billion with 36 per cent share showing a growth of 31 per cent and 3 per cent during 2021-22 over FY 2020-21 and FY 2019-20, respectively.
Man-made textiles export was $6.3 billion with 14 per cent share which shows a growth of 51 per cent and 18 per cent during 2021-22 over FY 2020-21 and FY 2019-20, respectively.
The council will be formed under the Chairmanship of Suresh Bhai Kotak
Piyush Goyal, Union Minister of Textiles, Commerce & Industry and Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution has announced formation of Cotton Council of India, under Chairmanship of Suresh Bhai Kotak, a renowned veteran cotton man, with representation from Ministry of Textiles, Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry of Commerce, Ministry of Finance, Commerce and Industry, Cotton Corporation of India and Cotton Research Institute. The first meeting of proposed council has been scheduled on May 28, 2022. The council will discuss, deliberate and prepare a robust action plan for bringing out a tangible improvement in this field.
The announcement came during a meeting with stakeholders from cotton value chain, held under the Chairmanship of Goyal wherein Minister of State for Textiles Darshna Jardosh, Secretary Textiles and Secretary Agriculture were also present.
In the meeting, a cross-section of views and suggestions were deliberated for softening cotton and yard prices on urgent basis, to address unprecedented price rise witnessed in the current season. It was pointed out that cotton productivity is the biggest challenge in the country, resulting thereby less cotton production despite largest area under cotton cultivation. The minister emphasised upon the need for making available better quality of seeds to improve productivity of cotton farmers.
Addressing the meeting, Goyal gave a clear and loud message to all stakeholders to resolve cotton and yarn price issue, in the spirit of collaboration rather than competition and super profiteering, without pushing government to intervene as it may have long term impact on cotton value chain.
He also emphasised the need of holding hands of cotton farmers who is the weakest part of cotton value chain, besides extending all possible support to stakeholders engaged in the backward and forward integration through out of box thinking at this critical juncture.
Pointing out that government is committed to protect the interests of cotton farmers, spinners and weavers, the minister assured to actively consider the demand of the spinning sector for exemption from import duty on those import contracts in which bills of lading is issued upto September 30, 2022 to overcome current cotton shortage and logistic issues.
Goyal also appealed to the spinning and trading community to ensure hassle free supply of cotton and yarn first to the domestic industry and only surplus cotton and yarn should be diverted for exports. He cautioned that export should not be at the cost of domestic industry which is the largest generator of employment in the country.
Smallholder farmers in India can be a significant contributor in our sustainability journey. Technology and innovation have always been important for sustainable farming, from the high yielding varieties of green revolution to more recent adoption of Bt cotton. With these and other technologies like agronomic practices, combined with synthetic inputs, we saw a steady increase in crop productivity over the last decades. In recent years, this increase in crop productivity has plateaued and some of these practices have also left a large environmental footprint. Coupled with the water crisis and the climate crisis we find ourselves in, our smallholder farmers will be disproportionately affected by adverse climate events with respect to productivity and their livelihood at large. By Usha Barwale Zehr, Vikas Chandak and Umang Agrawal, Grow Indigo
Sustainable Agriculture is actually a cost effective and scalable solution to some of these challenges and additionally can offer a new source of income, and more resilience to adverse climate events.
At Grow Indigo (a partnership between Mahyco and Indigo Ag), we are focused on bringing technologies that are sustainable in these smallholder agri systems. The policies of Government of India further supports some of these initiatives like the inclusion of bio-stimulants with synthetic fertilisers or other chemicals to ensure low chemical residue harvest. Recent advances in the microbial input space are providing a promising alternative to the synthetic solutions which have been historically available. Some examples include,use of biofertiliser that are specially formulated to provide maximum benefit for a given crop (Prerak soya, cotton, pulses, wheat and other seed treatments), Soil application formulations like Oorjit Granule and Growrrhizae, biopesticides like Colossal and Bhujbal, foliar nitrogen fixers, plant growth promoting microbes and endophytes which provide enhanced Nutrient Use Efficiency, Water Use Efficiency, abiotic stress tolerance to various crops. Our partner, Indigo Ag has focused on endophytes, with a library of more than 40,000 endophytes and seeds treated with this class of treatments, providing stress tolerance be it drought, water use and other stresses. The smallholder farmers have become more and more aware about the benefits of the consortia treatments that Grow Indigo offers to address various challenges faced by them. With increasing use of these innovative inputs, the impact on soils, water quality and greenhouse gas (GHG) emission will be improved leading to an overall positive impact on agriculture while not impacting the productivity of the crop negatively.
Climate change has posed a significant threat to agri-food systems, especially in highly vulnerable smallholder farming regions like India. While agriculture contributes about 16 per cent of gross GHG emissions in India, it is also a substantial sink for mitigating climate change through regenerative farming practices. Practices like direct dry seeding of rice, reduced tillage, nutrient management and more have the potential to reduce the GHG emissions in addition to improving soil organic carbon, thus making agriculture the most efficient and scalable solution in addressing climate change. In smallholder farming systems, the beneficial effects of coupling these practices with voluntary carbon markets also provides an opportunity for farmer income enhancement.
Much work has been done on conservation agricultural practices in different agro ecosystems. However, the regenerative agricultural practices today are implemented only by a small percentage of farmers. These practices include, minimal tillage, cover cropping, crop diversification, use of biofertilisers, and perennial cropping, among others, which increase soil’s carbon content, water permeability, and water retention, which also increase a crop’s ability to withstand drought, flooding and temperature stresses. As per expert estimates, regenerative farming practices, combined with increased penetration of new technologies, have the potential to return the carbon levels in agricultural soils from an average of ~0.5 per cent back to ~1.5 per cent.
To catalyse the adoption of regenerative agriculture, Grow Indigo has launched a project in Punjab and Haryana which enrolls farmers in a carbon farming programme, ultimately allowing them to participate in a voluntary carbon marketplace. The monetary incentive from this programme will motivate the farmers to implement regenerative farming practices. Use of digital agronomy tools and satellite imagery analysis to measure and verify soil carbon sequestration and on-farm GHG emission levels will be essential for scaling such projects.
The objective is to pay farmers for increasing the carbon content of their soil and reducing overall GHG emissions. We are working with our partners to identify and implement regenerative practice changes, and measure the impact of those practices in terms of tonnes of carbon sequestered or GHG emission reductions. Once the impact has been verified, farmers are paid based on the amount of Carbon sequestration/GHG reduction after the carbon credits are issued and traded. Carbon credit, which is one tonne CO2 equivalent of GHG emission reduced or carbon stored in the soil, can be thought of as a data product, where the veracity, transparency, and traceability of the data has a direct implication on the quality of the carbon credit. Quality of the carbon credit is critical to get the right price for the carbon credit generated, and monitoring and verification at scale is important to make the system work in smallholder systems. Once the farmers register in the programme and continue to implement the regenerative agri practices, they will be eligible to receive payment for carbon credits generated for 20 years, conditional upon following these climate-smart practices in future.
Grow Indigo has already registered with Verra (a global leader in Carbon credit verification) and has initiated a project to start the carbon credit generation activities. With the project, Grow Indigo is enrolling farmers in the programme in partnership with Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR)-Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI) and International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) to promote practices which enhance sustainability and regenerative agriculture.
This programme creates an additional income avenue for the farmers, and contributes positively in our efforts for sustainability in the long run.
Agriculture digitisation is also paving the way for knowledge dissemination and sharing. Farmer advisories which are on mobile platforms are changing how farmers access information and such information is becoming available almost in real time. These digital technologies are also strengthening data which is being deployed to better design and implement timely and actionable advisories related to agronomy and agriculture marketing.
These are just a handful of examples of how technologies will shape the future of agriculture in the near term and get us closer to our sustainability goals. What we do today determines what the future will look like, and agriculture will be a positive contributor if we strengthen the above sustainability practices.
The exemption will benefit the textile chain- yarn, fabric, garments and made-ups and provide relief to the textile industry and consumers
The Government of India has decided to exempt all customs duty on the import of cotton to lower the price of cotton in the public interest. This exemption would benefit the textile chain- yarn, fabric, garments and made-ups and provide relief to the textile industry and consumers.
The industry has been demanding the removal of 5 per cent of Basic Customs Duty (BCD) and 5 per cent of Agriculture Infrastructure and Development Cess (AIDC) on raw cotton.
The Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) notified the exemption from Customs duty and Agriculture Infrastructure development Cess for import of cotton.
This notification has come into effect from April 14, 2022, and will remain in force up to and inclusive of September 30, 2022. Removal of import duty on raw cotton should have a salutary effect on cotton prices in India.
Goyal was speaking on the sidelines of the news trade agreements in the textile sector between India, Australia and the UAE
The Union Minister of Commerce and Industry, Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution and Textiles, Piyush Goyal said that new Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreements with Australia and the UAE would open infinite opportunities for the textile industry. He said that Indian textile exports to Australia and the UAE will now face zero duty and expressed confidence that soon Europe, Canada, the UK and GCC countries would also welcome Indian textile exports at zero duty.
Goyal was delivering the Keynote address at the Golden Jubilee Celebrations of the ‘Confederation of Indian Textile Industry- Cotton Development and Research Association’ (CITI- CDRA) in New Delhi today. The Vice President of India, M Venkaiah Naidu was the chief guest at the celebration.
The minister mentioned that trade agreements would help in increasing exports from labour-intensive industries. He added that India must also be open to receiving new technology, rare minerals, raw materials which are in short supply in India etc. from the world at reasonable costs. This will only increase our production, productivity and quality, which in turn will increase demand for our products all over the world, he said.
Goyal also said that the Indian textile industry has the potential to achieve $100 billion in exports by 2030.
He applauded CITI-CDRA for working towards developing a robust cotton ecosystem by directly engaging about 90,000 cotton farmers. The minister observed that more than just fibre, cotton has been an integral part of Indian culture, lifestyle and tradition.
Goyal called upon Indian cultivators to adopt new technologies and global best farm practices. He spoke of the AI technology that is enabling farmers in Australia to control spraying operations, as the cotton crop is sensitive to spraying through data-driven decision making.
Urges for steps to be taken to guide the farmers through better research and by adopting best practices
The Vice President, M Venkaiah Naidu called upon all stakeholders to make concerted efforts to improve cotton yield and productivity in India to enhance farmers’ incomes. Expressing his concern over the low yield of Indian cotton compared to other major cotton growers in the world, Naidu said that steps must be taken to guide the farmers through better research and by adopting best practices.
Naidu called for increasing the global competitiveness of Indian cotton textiles and “capitalise on our traditional strengths, shift to modern agronomic practices and consolidate our position as a global leader in the cotton industry.”
Noting the importance of the textiles sector as the second-largest employer in the country after agriculture, Naidu emphasised improving farm productivity, increasing mechanisation, upskilling textile workers, and hand-holding small firms to give a boost to the sector. Naidu also suggested diversifying into speciality cotton such as the extra-long staple (ELS) cotton and organic cotton.
The Vice President was inaugurating the CITI-CDRA Golden Jubilee Celebrations from Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi. Confederation of Indian Textile Industry (CITI) is a leading industry chamber of the textile sector in India and the Cotton Development and Research Association (CDRA) is the extension arm of CITI, undertaking various seed development and extension activities in the cotton sector.
Shri Naidu expressed his concern that despite being the largest cotton producer (23 per cent) in the world and having the highest area under cotton cultivation (39 per cent of world area), the yield per hectare in India remained at a low of 460 kg lint per hectare when compared to the world average of 800 kg lint per hectare. To address this, he called for improving the planting density, taking up mechanisation of cotton harvest and giving a thrust to agronomy research.
He said, “We need to improve our seed technology, increase yield, adopt global best practices, produce clean and high-quality cotton and brand it better to improve the farmers’ income.”
The Vice President noted that while India has a strong global footprint in cotton yarn, it has to improve its competitiveness in fabrics and apparel. He called for hand-holding small firms and upskilling textile workers to give a fillip to the sector. He said government schemes such as the Amended – Technology Up-gradation Fund Scheme (A-TUFS) and SAMARTH (Scheme for Capacity Building in the Textile Sector) are aimed at achieving these objectives.
On this occasion, Shri Naidu conferred awards to excelling cotton scientists and farmers in CITI-CDRA Project Areas. He also released a Coffee Table Book – ‘Millennial Shades of Cotton’ at the event. Piyush Goyal, Union Minister of Textiles, Commerce & Industry, Consumer Affairs and Food & Public Distribution, T Rajkumar, Chairman, CITI, PD Patodia, Chairman, Standing Committee on Cotton of CITI-CDRA, Shri Rakesh Mehra, Deputy Chairman, CITI, Upendra Prasad Singh, Secretary, Ministry of Textiles, Prem Malik, Co-Chairman, Standing Committee on Cotton of CITI CDRA and other dignitaries were present during the event.
Averland FC combines abamectin and Vive’s patented Allosperse nano-polymer delivery system
Cotton growers have a convenient new tool to battle nematodes in-furrow with Averland FC nematicide/insecticide/miticide from Vive Crop Protection.
As one of the most economical in-furrow nematicides/insecticides on the cotton market, Hadley Howard, Senior Product Manager with Vive Crop Protection says, “Averland FC is a cost-effective, fertiliser-compatible solution to fight nematodes in-furrow in cotton. With proven nematode protection from Averland FC, cotton growers will maximize early plant stands and get the crop off to a strong start.”
Averland FC combines abamectin and Vive’s patented Allosperse nano-polymer delivery system, making it the only abamectin in-furrow solution registered for nematodes in cotton that also mixes perfectly with liquid fertilizers and other crop inputs.
George Huckabay, Southern Technical Sales Agronomist with Vive Crop Protection says, “Other products used in-furrow for nematodes are not as compatible with liquid fertiliser, and some don’t even behave well in the spray tank when mixed with water.”
“With Averland FC, growers will appreciate how easy it is to use because it doesn’t settle out as quickly, even with high-salt fertilisers like 10-34-0 or 11-37-0,” continues Huckabay.
Infield trials across the cotton-growing region, Averland FC provides comparable activity on nematodes and equivalent yield maximization as Velum Total, but in a more convenient, low-use-rate product. If growers are looking for additional disease control in-furrow, Averland FC is also compatible with most fungicides, including Xyler FC (metalaxyl with Allosperse).
The varieties include rice, cotton, maize, sorghum and bajra
The Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) has developed and recommended eight new varieties of rice, cotton, maize, mash and fodder for general cultivation in Punjab. These include PR 131 and PR 130 of rice, PAU Bt 2 and PAU Bt 3 of cotton, Punjab Baby Corn 1 of maize, Mash 883 of mash, SL 45 of fodder (sorghum) and PCB 166 of fodder (bajra). The varieties were approved after thorough discussion during the State Variety Approval Committee meeting for field crops, held under the chairmanship of Dr Gurvinder Singh, Director of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare, Punjab. Dr AS Dhatt, Director of Research and Dr Ashok Kumar, Director of Extension Education, PAU, also attended the meeting.
PR 131 (on adhoc basis) of rice is a high yielding, medium maturing and lodging tolerant variety. PR 130 of rice is a high yielding, mid-early and lodging tolerant variety. PAU Bt 2 is a Bt cotton variety developed by the public sector with inbuilt resistance against spotted and American bollworms. PAU Bt 3 is also a Bt cotton variety developed by the public sector with inbuilt resistance against spotted and American bollworms. Punjab Baby Corn 1 of maize is a single cross hybrid that is male sterile, having medium-tall plants. Mash 883 of mash has been recommended for the whole of Punjab state. Its plants are dwarf, erect and compact with determinate growth habits. SL 45 of sorghum is a single cut late maturing variety having tall (297cm) plants with long and broad leaves. Its stem is juicy and sweet. PCB 166 of bajra is a dual purpose composite variety with more number of tillers.
