Haryana scientists develop early wheat sowing variety
Chaudhary Charan Singh Haryana Agricultural University in in Haryana’s Hisar has developed a early sowing variety of wheat named WH1270 that has a good degree of resistance to yellow and brown rusts, its Vice Chancellor Samar Singh said on Monday.
The variety has been notified by the Union Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare for cultivation in Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, Rajasthan (except Kota and Udaipur divisions) and western Uttar Pradesh (except Jhansi division), parts of Jammu and Kashmir (Jammu and Kathua districts) and parts of Himachal Pradesh like Una district and Paonta valley and Uttarakhand (except Terai region).
Director (Research) S.K. Sehrawat said the variety is recommended for early sowing i.e. last week of October. If sown early, its yield can be increased from four to eight quintals per acre.
He said for this variety, proper sowing along with use of fertiliser and regular watering is done as per recommendations made by the university. The average yield of the variety is 75.8 quintal per hectare and the maximum yield can be up to 91.5 quintal per hectare.
It has a good degree of resistance to yellow and brown rusts, flag smut, leaf blight and powdery mildew diseases prevalent in the area.
This variety matures in 156 days and its average height is also up to 100 cm, due to which it does not fall in the field. Protein in this variety is also higher than other varieties.
Sehrawat said it is a remarkable achievement of Haryana, whose contribution to the central food storage of the country is 16 per cent.
