Agriculture
Flood Resistant Paddy: Assam
- 13 Jul 2020
- 2 min read
Why in News
Recently, farmers from Golaghat district in Assam have cultivated new flood resistant paddy varieties to shift from the traditional ones.
- The varieties called Ranjit Sub1, Swarna Sub1 and Bahadur Sub1 have been used by about 60% farmers of the West Brahmaputra area.
Key Points
- Farmers in flood-prone areas of Assam have been harvesting the water-resistant Swarna Sub1, developed by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research and the Manila-based International Rice Research Institute, since 2009.
- But the switchover from traditional varieties of paddy has been slow.
- The flood-resistant varieties including Ranjit Sub-1 were reintroduced in 2018.
- Significance:
- Resist Submergence: The new rice varieties can resist submergence for up to two weeks, and significantly do not get damaged by the heavy flood.
- However, comparison with the traditional varieties is difficult as they get damaged in the flood.
- Greater Yield: Enriched with the ‘submergence’ (sub in short) gene, the varieties can yield up to five tonnes per hectare on an average.
- Reduction in Crop Loss: Some 1,500 farmers cultivate on about 950 hectares in crop-yielding areas which have been impacted by the regular flood. Therefore, rice varieties can reduce flood-caused crop loss substantially.
- Regeneration: These varieties can get regenerated again in case damaged by the flood, hence ensure maximum productivity.
- Resist Submergence: The new rice varieties can resist submergence for up to two weeks, and significantly do not get damaged by the heavy flood.
Rice
- It is a kharif crop which requires high temperature, (above 25°C) and high humidity with annual rainfall above 100 cm.
- About one-fourth of the total cropped area in India is under rice cultivation.
- Leading Producer States: West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, and Punjab.
- High Yielding States: Punjab, Tamil Nadu, Haryana, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, West Bengal and Kerala.
- In West Bengal, farmers grow three crops of rice called ‘aus’, ‘aman’ and ‘boro’.
- India contributes 21.6% of rice production in the world and ranks second after China.
