High yielding, early-maturing mustard variety
By Our Agriculture Correspondent
SCIENTISTS AT the Division of Genetics at the Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI), New Delhi, have developed high-yielding and early-maturing mustard (Brassica juncea) variety. Maturing in about 148 days, the improved variety has recorded a high yield of 3333 kg of seeds a hectare, and its average output is 2201 kg a hectare under irrigated conditions, according to the scientists.
Low fibre content
Christened `Pusa Karishma', the new variety is resistant to lodging and shattering, and it produces light yellow, small seeds with low fibre content in the seed meal and good quality edible oil with less than 2 per cent erucic acid, reckon the scientists.
It has an oil content of 38 to 40 per cent. The variety is fairly resistant to white rust and Alternaria blight at leaf stage and pod stage. It is found to be superior to the other varieties tested for its tolerance to aphid infestation. Developed through recurrent back crossing of `Pusa Barani', a promising variety released by IARI in 1989 and Zem-1, an exotic strain from Australia with low erucic acid content and attractive yellow seeds, the improved variety is particularly suited for growing as timely sown crop in rabi season under irrigated conditions. It can do well in the mustard growing belts of Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Delhi and Uttar Pradesh.
Attractive flowers
Growing to a height of 160 to 180 cm, the erect plants of Pusa Karishma are slightly open branching and have medium, light-green leaves. The attractive yellow flowers are non waxy.
The medium-sized pods of 5 cm length have beaded surface with prominent beak. About 16 to 19 pods are found in each pod, and 1000 seeds weigh about 3.4 g. Its parents, Pusa Barani and Zem-1, possessed certain unique traits.
While Pusa Barani was a medium tall and medium-maturity type with high yielding potential, Zem-1 was of very late-maturity type with low seed yield.
Pusa Barani produced larger seeds of brown colour with 42 per cent oil content. Zem-1 yielded attractive yellow seeds of small size and low oil content under Indian conditions, according to the scientists.
Oil quality
The oil quality of Pusa Karishma has been found to be excellent, and it is likely to get a premium price in the market. Health-conscious consumers in urban centres and oil merchants, according to the scientists, will particularly appreciate it.
The field performance of this variety has been found to be far superior to the existing varieties. Also, since it is a self-pollinated crop there is no difficulty in producing good quality seeds, according to the scientists.
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