Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru College of Agriculture and Research Institute (PAJANCOA & RI) has come up with a new paddy variety, KKL(R)3, that is salt tolerant and suitable for the short-term kuruvai season in the coastal delta region. This is the third paddy variety developed by the institute.
“Over the past two decades getting water supply during the kuruvai season has become a huge challenge in the delta region. Hence, many farmers rely on deep borewells which yield salt water. The existing kuruvai paddy varieties are not salt tolerant; they are salt susceptible due to which there is an impact on growth, branching, and delayed flowering phase. This also affects the total yield significantly. As a solution to this long standing problem we have developed KKL (R) 3, with a maturity period of 110-115 days, a salt tolerant short duration variety suitable for salt affected regions” said S. Thirumeni, Professor and Head of Plant Breeding and Genetics who led the research team., “
The CSR 10 Karnal variety developed in Haryana is a salt tolerant short duration variety and comes close to our requirements. However, CSR 10 was developed for the Haryana and KL (R) is meant for delta region and is better in terms of total yield, he added
“In the salt affected region the KKL (R) 3 has demonstrated a grain yield ranging from 3,435 kg per hectare to 3500 kg per hectare. In normal conditions, KKL (R) 3 has recorded an average yield of 6,420 kg per hectare. A. Pouchepparadjou, Dean of PAJANCOA & RI, has played a pivotal role in the release of this new rice variety. We are hopeful that this variety would greatly help farmers in salt-affected regions,” added Mr. Thirumeni.
