The Indian Agriculture Research Institute (IARI) has successfully developed two dwarf varieties of Kalanamak rice, namely; Pusa Narendra Kalanamak 1638 and Pusa Narendra Kalanamak 1652.
- The IARI says the new name is in recognition of its association with the Acharya Narendra Dev University of Agriculture and Technology in Ayodhya, for testing the two varieties.
Key facts
- The traditional Kalanamak variety has been prone to ‘lodging’, a reason for its low yield. Lodging is a condition in which the top of the plant becomes heavy because of grain formation, the stem becomes weak, and the plant falls on the ground.
- These new verities were developed through a breeding programme by bringing the dwarfing genes from the rice variety Bindli Mutant 68, and also the gene of Pusa Basmati 1176 was used as a parent to cross with Kalanamak, and the progenies were further back-crossed with Kalanamak to restore its quality.
- The length of the old variety plant is 140 centimetre, and the new variety is between 95-100 centimetre.
- The yield of the new varieties is double that of the traditional variety.
About Kalanamak
- Kalanamak is a traditional variety of paddy with black husk and strong fragrance. This is considered a gift from Lord Buddha to the people of Sravasti when he visited the region after enlightenment, is all set to get a new look and name.
- Kalanamak is grown in 11 districts of the Terai region of northeastern Uttar Pradesh and in Nepal.
- The traditional Kalanamak rice is protected under the Geographical Indication (GI) tag system.
- It’s recorded in the GI application that Lord Budhha gifted Kalanamak paddy to the people of Sravasti so that they remembered him by its fragrance.
(Source: The Hindu)
