Seed innovation at scale: India rolls out 31 advanced varieties to future-proof rice production
India is rolling out 31 new IRRI–NARES-developed rice varieties nationwide, boosting climate resilience, water efficiency and market suitability. Highlights include DRR Dhan 75, DSR-ready lines like CR Dhan 807, and zinc-rich biofortified varieties. The coordinated release strengthens productivity, adaptability and nutrition across diverse ecologies, marking a major step in rice-sector modernisation.
India’s rice sector is entering a pivotal phase of modernisation as 31 high-performing IRRI–NARES-developed varieties—formally released and notified in the Gazette of India in 2024—move into large-scale cultivation nationwide. The rollout represents one of the most coordinated varietal introductions in recent years and reflects the deep strategic alignment between the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) and India’s National Agricultural Research and Extension System (NARES). The aim: equip farmers with climate-ready, water-efficient, and market-responsive seeds that can keep pace with fast-evolving production realities.
At the forefront of this new generation is DRR Dhan 75, an improved successor to BPT 5204, which is rapidly gaining national momentum for its yield stability, lodging resistance, and strong, market-preferred grain profile. Complementing it are location-tailored varieties such as Malaviya Manila Sinchit Dhan-1—designed for early-transplanted systems in eastern India—and CR Dhan 212, suited to aerobic conditions in Odisha, Bihar, and Jharkhand, offering farmers more adaptability in the face of water constraints.
Climate resilience anchors much of the pipeline. Several of the newly deployed varieties outperform traditional lines by 10–30 percent under drought or flooding stress, signalling a stronger push to safeguard yields as India’s weather volatility intensifies. CR Dhan 808 and Malaviya Manila Sinchit Dhan-1 deliver consistent performance in water-scarce regions, while CR Dhan 811 and the dual-tolerant CR Dhan 804 provide insurance against both inundation and prolonged dry spells.
A parallel priority is India’s transition toward direct-seeded rice (DSR), a cultivation model capable of reducing water use by up to a third and cutting labour requirements significantly. Varieties such as CR Dhan 108, Sabour Pratap Dhan, and Swarna Purvi Dhan-5 have been optimised for DSR systems. Among them, CR Dhan 807 stands out as a breakthrough non-GM, herbicide-tolerant, drought-resilient line positioned to accelerate DSR adoption across key rice-growing states.
Nutrition also features prominently in the release. Spoorthi (GNV 1906), DRR Dhan 79, and Sabour Vijay Dhan offer zinc concentrations nearly twice those found in conventional rice, strengthening India’s push toward biofortification as a scalable public-health solution. These gains ensure that the new varietal portfolio enhances not only productivity but also consumer nutrition in regions where micronutrient deficiencies remain endemic.
Together, the 31 varieties span diverse grain types—from long slender to medium and short bold—catering to differentiated consumer and market preferences across Punjab, Tamil Nadu, Odisha, Gujarat, Bihar, and beyond. Developed through collaborations involving ICAR–CRRI, ICAR–IIRR, and a broad network of state agricultural universities and regional research centres, the release underscores the depth and maturity of India’s rice improvement ecosystem.
Backed by aligned evaluation frameworks under the ICAR–IRRI Collaborative Workplan and the All India Coordinated Research Project on Rice (AICRPR), this accelerated release signals a more robust, demand-driven varietal pipeline for the country. It demonstrates how global science and national innovation systems can converge to deliver climate resilience, productivity growth, and nutritional impact at scale—setting the stage for the next decade of rice sector transformation in India.
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Source : AgroSpectrum India
