Stakeholders for review of basmati seed varieties notified by Centre
CHANDIGARH : Even as Punjab’s agriculture department has pegged a one-third increase in the area under aromatic basmati from 4.06 lakh hectares in the previous kharif season to 5.35 lakh hectares in the upcoming one, there is a lack of clarity over the number of varieties notified by the Union agriculture ministry.
The sowing of aromatic variety grain begins in the first week of July, and currently, traders and farmers are arranging for the seeds.
“Thirty-four varieties of the aromatic paddy have been notified by the union agriculture ministry which is creating lot confusion among farmers and millers. We need to discard such varieties which are not grown and have no commercial value,” suggested Ashok Sethi, director, Punjab Rice Exporters’ Association.
According to Sethi, presently most popular and accepted variety in the international market is basmati 1121, both for parboiled and steamed rice. “It is recommended that genuine seeds authorised by the Basmati Export Development Foundation (BEDF) be made available to the rice growers,” he suggested.
Concerns raised over falling quality
Seeking a review of the list of basmati seed varieties after discussion with exporters, agricultural scientists and experts at Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA), Sethi raised the issue that certain seed producers outside the state have geographical indication tags for growing basmati.
Giving example of the 90-day 1509 variety, introduced by the Indian Council for Agricultural Research (ICAR) in 2016, Sethi said the original seeds bore good results, but later due to cultivation at commercial levels, the grain quality turned out poor and during shelling, 50% was broken.
Seed variety 1718 is also facing similar issues, said Sethi, suggesting scientists share characteristics of new seeds for quality and nutritional value analysis.
Harpreet Singh, a basmati grower from Batala, said that farmers are reluctant to grow 1509-variety owing to the poor quality of seeds available.
“Though it is a short duration variety, the grain quality has deteriorated over the years. The 1708 variety of ICAR, an improved version of PUSA-1121, has not been fully accepted by the farmers,” he said. Last season, this variety sold for ₹2,700 to ₹2,800 a quintal, and fetched higher rates in the previous years.
Agri dept recommends PAU varieties
State agriculture director SS Sidhu recommends basmati growers to adopt the varieties developed by Punjab Agricultural University (PAU), Ludhiana. “The PR varieties are the best as they are grown locally and are suitable in view of the weather and soil conditions,” he added. He asked Punjab and Haryana farmers to grow PR121, 126, 127, and 128 varieties.