April 15, 2011

Source: Financial Express via Crop Biotech Update

The Bangladesh Rice Research Institute (BRRI) released two new stress-tolerant varieties of rice for cultivation in flood-affected areas. The new varieties BRRI Dhan 51 and BRRI Dhan 52 could produce grain even after two weeks of submergence. According to the officials of BRRI, the new varieties have an average yield of 5.0 tonnes and would be very effective in increasing rice production in Bangladesh.

Executive Director of the Bangladesh Agricultural Research Council (BARC) Wais Kabir said, "We have self-sufficiency in food grains but still we have more chances to greatly increase our food output. The north-western and the southern parts of the country are suffering from drought and salinity respectively; for the stressed condition of these areas the country is being deprived of a large crop output."

"To get significant crop production from these areas we have to adopt modern agricultural technologies and have to introduce stress-tolerant varieties of crops," the BARC chief added.

Website: http://www.brribd.org

Published: April 15, 2011