BARC, TN varsity developing dwarf rice varieties

The project aims to achieve higher yield

A project to develop a shorter rice variety by influencing the genes of crop using nuclear science has been undertaken by the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) along with Tamil Nadu Agricultural University (TNAU) with the aim of achieving higher yield, an atomic scientist said today.

"At present, we are developing a shorter rice variety out of White Ponni and ADT 47 varieties. Our project aims to reduce the stem mass so that the crop does not fall when it bears fruit. We are working on both the crops simultaneously," Suresh G Bhagwat, a former BARC official and currently involved in the project, said.

While BARC was lending technical support in supplying mutants to these rice varieties, TNAU was testing the effect of these mutants on these crops in its labs in Tamil Nadu.

"With nuclear science, we can develop mutants, which can be used to arrive at a desired variety of preferred properties in the plant. In this project, we are going for dwarf crops which can avoid 'lodging,'" Bhagwat, former Head, BARC's Nuclear Agriculture and Biotechnology Division told reporters here.

The project is being funded by the Board of Research in Nuclear Science under the Department of Atomic Energy and the duration of research is expected to be for three years.

"The produce would be higher from 20 per cent to 30 per cent," he said on the sidelines of a BARC function here.

Asked whether water consumption of these crops would go down, he said, "May be. But, our primary target is to achieve shorter height of the crop and less stem mass."

BARC had so far helped in development of 41 varieties of such crops with genetic modification. These include greengram (eight), blackgram (five), pigeon pea (four), groundnut (15), mustard (three), soyabean (two), and one each varieties in rice and jute.

To a query on whether using mutants to get desired variety of plant species was equivalent to that of genetically modified crops like Bt cotton and Bt brinjal, he said: "No. BT cotton are crops genetically modified by bringing a gene from outside the species. In the case of mutation, genes within the species are modified internally."

BARC was also undertaking a whole range of nuclear agricultural projects across the country to develop different varieties of crops, including the famous basmati rice, aimed at increasing its produce, Bhagwat said.