Bengal Develops 4 New Rice Varieties for Drought & Flood-Prone Areas

"After several years of research at the Purulia Drought Resistance Research Centre and the Chinsurah Rice Research Centre, it has been possible to create these varieties. I extend my heartfelt congratulations to all the scientists involved in this work," the Chief Minister said in a statement.

She had also told that among these four new weather-suitable varieties, three namely Subhashini, Lachhmanti, and Musafir, were intended for drought-prone areas in the western part of the state, such as West Medinipur, Purulia, and Bankura.

"These varieties are capable of yielding 52 to 55 quintals per hectare during the kharif season," the Chief Minister claimed.

On the other hand, Chief Minister Banerjee had claimed that a variety named Iravati had been developed for flood-prone areas in south Bengal.

This variety, according to the Chief Minister, does not get damaged even when submerged in water for long periods and does not lodge during storms.

"Taking these four into account, since 2011, the state government has developed a total of 25 new crop varieties through research for the benefit of farmers, of which 15 are rice varieties," she said.

Agriculture scientists feel that, as the Chief Minister claims, the development of these four varieties will really solve the problem of damage to large quantities of crops every year, either because of prolonged drought situations or because of flood because of the excessive rains, where farmlands remain submerged for a prolonged period.

"The development of Iravati is especially important since the flood situation in the paddy belts in South Bengal has become a yearly feature every year. Seedbeds remaining submerged for a prolonged period lead to huge losses of crops every year. This Iravati variety is expected to solve the problem to a great extent," a city-based agriculture scientist said.

- IANS