Vishnu Pandey / New Delhi/ Kanpur Oct 12, 2009, 00:29 IST
The Kanpur-based Chandra Shekhar Azad (CSA) agriculture university has developed two new heat resistant varieties of wheat to tackle the challenges posed by global warming.
These crop breeds will serve as potential alternative to the present varieties of Halna and Shatabdi-5 used for wheat cultivation as they can withstand high temperatures while maintaining the per hectare yield.
According to CSA agricultural scientist, LP Tiwari, the Mahi and Sona breeds have been tested at high temperatures of up to 48 degree Celsius without affecting the yield.
“In fact, they produce around 10 quintals more grain per hectare than the conventional breeds apart from surviving on less irrigation and soil moisture content. Such breeds will be especially useful for regions like Bundelkhand where there is acute water scarcity,” he elaborated.
He also said that these two breeds had already been tested and endorsed by the agricultural experts of the state government while the final approval was awaited after the laboratory analysis at Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), New Delhi. The mass production, sale and marketing of the seeds will begin once ICAR clears the decks for approval.
The agricultural university covers around 35,000 villages spread across 70 districts of the state.
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