Punjab floods turn into real-time test lab for flood-resistant maize crops

Punjab's devastating floods have inadvertently created a natural laboratory for testing flood-resistant maize crops, providing crucial data for scientists working to restore 1.9 lakh hectares of damaged farmland across the state.

International agricultural research organisation CIMMYT was already field-testing 10 maize hybrid varieties at its Ludhiana facility when floodwaters struck, submerging agricultural land across 1,400 villages in the state. Four of the experimental hybrids had been specifically developed for water-logging tolerance.

"God is testing those hybrids," said Dr B M Prasanna, Managing Director of the Borlaug Institute for South Asia (BISA), told reporters here.

"Within a few weeks, we will come to know the difference between a water-logging tolerance hybrid from a susceptible hybrid."  The floods came just two weeks after Punjab's additional chief secretary had approached CIMMYT-BISA, requesting development of improved maize hybrids with three specific traits: water-logging tolerance, resistance to fall armyworm pest, and water-use efficiency for summer cultivation, he said.

The natural disaster has accelerated what would typically be years of controlled testing, providing real-world validation data that could prove critical for Punjab's agricultural recovery efforts.

"We are going to have to respond faster, quicker, because the weather patterns, the climate impact, the different challenges come faster and are more unpredictable," CIMMYT Director General Bram Govaerts said.

The findings from Punjab's flooded test fields are expected to inform discussions at the upcoming 'Dialogue Next' conference organised by the World Food Prize Foundation, where agricultural scientists and policymakers will address climate adaptation strategies for South Asian agriculture.

Punjab's floods have affected multiple districts, including Gurdaspur, Kapurthala, Ferozepur, and Amritsar, with over 1.75 lakh acres of farmland submerged, according to government estimates.