Icrisat's new groundnut variety for Anantapur farmers

Andhra Pradesh chief minister, Y S Rajasekhara Reddy, presented to Anantapur farmers a new groundnut variety, ICGV 91114, developed by the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (Icrisat). The new variety is expected to help the farmers obtain a higher yield even while withstanding a longer drought.

According to Icrisat, trials conducted by its scientists with farmers' participation show that the new variety yields, on an average, around 10 per cent more than TMV 2, the variety currently popular in Anantapur and released in the 1940s. The average yield of TMV 2 under rainfed condition during on-farm trials between 2002 and 2005 (four years) was one tonne per hectare.

This apart, the new variety matures early, is tolerant of mid-season and end-of-season droughts, has an average shelling turnover of 75 per cent besides having an average oil content of 48 per cent and better digestibility for livestock, Icrisat stated in a press release.

For the farmers from Anantapur district, groundnut is a preferred crop since it survives the rough terrain and the uncertainty of rainfall. Though the average rainfall is around 550 mm per year, some parts of the district have recorded as low as 200 mm in bad years and as high as 900 mm in good years.

Every year, on an average, farmers grow groundnut in over 800,000 hectares in the district, and in good years, this can go up to one million hectares, accounting for nearly 70 per cent of the cultivated area in the district, and making the groundnut cultivation a pillar of strength for the rural economy. The crop can withstand up to 50 days of dry spell.

However, for the Anantapur farmer, the choice of variety was limited. Since the 1940s, they have been planting TMV 2 as they felt that the improved varieties selected for propagation did not satisfy the very specific needs of the district.

Icrisat started the process in the reverse. The groundnut breeding team from the institute worked with the farmers to select the most suitable varieties, and together they selected ICGV 91114. The other partners in the project were the Acharya NG Ranga Agricultural Research University and the Rural Development Trust, a non-governmental organisation.

To strengthen the delivery mechanism for ICGV 91114, the Agri-Business Incubator (ABI) at Icrisat is partnering with Aakruthi Agricultural Associates of India (AAI) "� a group of entrepreneurs operating agri clinics "� and the Andhra Pradesh State Seed Development Corporation (APSSDC), the state government institution mandated to reach seeds to farmers.

The APSSDC has bought 10 tonnes of breeder seed of ICGV 91114 from Icrisat for further multiplication and popularisation. Icrisat has submitted a proposal to the Andhra Pradesh government to officially notify ICGV 91114 variety for promotion in Anantapur district.