ICAR introduces world’s first climate robust rice cultivars: Viksit Kheti, Viksit Bharat
Today in New Delhi, Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan publicly announced the successful development of two genome-edited rice varieties by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR). Utilizing state-of-the-art genome editing technology, the ICAR claimed that the creation of such seeds was the nation’s “first-ever such achievement “
In precision breeding, genome editing—specifically, the CRISPR-Cas technology—is being acknowledged as a breakthrough. Without adding alien DNA, it allows scientists to create new and desirable features by making targeted alterations to the original genes of living creatures.
In order to meet the agricultural goals of Aatmanirbhar Bharat, the development of these two varieties through genome editing technology has opened the door for the application of this novel technique in other crops as well. This will result in increased productivity by 15 – 20 per cent along with enhanced quality, and climatic resistance, thereby reducing cost of production, fetching better remuneration to farmers.
An initiative towards “Demand driven agriculture”, growing these improved rice varieties—”DRR Dhan 100 (Kamala)” and “Pusa DST Rice 1″—on around 5 million hectares of the suggested area will result in the production of an extra 4.5 million tons of paddy and the conservation of at least 7,500 million cubic meters of irrigation water. Additionally, it is expected to minimize greenhouse gas emissions by 20 per cent.
In the key rice-growing states of Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, Kerala, Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Jharkhand, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, and West Bengal, the genome-edited ‘DRR Dhan 100 (Kamala)’ has been recommended for cultivation. In the majority of these states, growing the other new variety, “Pusa DST Rice 1,” is additionally recommended.
The popular, high-yielding green rice Samba Mahsuri was the precursor of the first variety, DRR Dhan 100 Kamala. The second variety, Maruteru 1010 (MTU1010), is also commonly utilized by farmers countrywide. The new Samba Mahsuri variety can be harvested 15 to 20 days before the original. Infact, MTU1010-derived variety, known as Pusa DST Rice 1, is a crop that can withstand salinity tension, said ICAR officials.
Today in New Delhi, Union Agriculture Minister