Tamil Nadu - Ramanathapuram   

New paddy variety developed

By C. Jaishankar

RAMANATHAPURAM, AUG. 3. The Coastal Saline Research Centre, a unit of the Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, has developed a new paddy culture namely RM 96019, a variety to withstand the drought and salinity of Ramanathapuram district.

The research was started in 1991 to find out suitable crops and paddy varieties for saline-affected areas particularly coastal areas of Ramanathapuram district.

The new variety was developed at the Kuyavankudi farm, a saline-affected farm area belonging to the Coastal Saline Research Centre with the inputs of Philippines-based International Rice Research Institute and Hyderabad-based Central Rice Research Institute.

The duration of the RM 96019 paddy variety is just 105 days. This is comparatively 15 days less than normal varieties. The important salient feature of the new variety is that the crop can be cultivated with one or two irrigation of saline water in case of failure of rain during the last leg of cultivation.

The head of the Coastal Saline Research Centre, S. Mahendran, told The Hindu that the new drought-prone variety would give a yield of 4 to 4.5 tonnes per hectare. The 15 years average paddy yield of Ramanathapuram district was 2.5 tonnes per hectare. The quality was also equivalent to other popular varieties, he added.

Mr. Mahendran said the new culture would be introduced to farmers in the coming season, as a participatory research programme. Technologies on integrated nutrient management, weed management and other soil conservation techniques for higher productivity of rice would be transferred to farmers through the department of agriculture for adoption.

Fifty places from different regions of Ramanathapuram district were identified for trial farming of RM 96019 paddy variety.

The Coastal Saline Research Centre received Ashoka 228, another shorter variety from Jarkhand for the benefit of farmers. The duration of the Ashoka 228 paddy variety was 85 to 90 days, he added.

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