‘TRY (R) 3’ paddy harvest in full swing

The Tamil Nadu Agricultural University Anbil Dharmalingam Agricultural College and Research Institute has registered a high yield in ‘TRY (R) 3’ paddy variety during the current season.

Timely rain during the North East monsoon, good cultivation practices and absence of loss due to insects have all favoured the yield at the college campus, said P. Pandiyarajan, Dean of the Institute.

He said that ‘TRY (R) 3,’ a long duration variety of 135 days, is raised during the ‘samba’ season. This year, about 16 acres was brought under the crop at the institute. The crop was mainly raised for supply as seeds to the needy farmers.

The average per hectare yield stood at 5.5 tonnes. The variety was more popular among hoteliers as the flour content was not only higher but also more delicious. It was suited for ‘idly’ and ‘dosai’. The rice along with ‘MDU 1’ black gram variety enhanced the flour content.

He explained the advantages of the variety to the visiting scientists and economists including M. Jawaharlal, Dean of TNAU - Horticultural College and Research Institute for Women and V. Arun Roy, Vice Chancellor and Registrar of Law School at the fields on Thursday.

The recent showers have favoured the growth of the paddy to a great extent. The variety was the best one among the paddy varieties raised for the benefit of the farmers of Manikandam block which accounts for 5,000 hectares of sodic-affected soil. There was a growing demand for the TRY (R)-3 variety among the farmers of coastal areas in Nagapattinam district.