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Harish Damodaran

NEW DELHI, Sept. 26

RICE exporters have responded positively to the new high-yielding basmati quality varieties — Pusa Sugandh 2 and Pusa Sugandh 3 — developed by the Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI).

``The grains from the new varieties possess better aroma and lower chalkiness content, compared to that of Pusa Basmati-1. This would help address the specific shortcomings of Pusa Basmati-1, which makes it fetch a discount relative to traditional basmati varieties such as Taraori and 370'', said Mr Gurnam Arora, Joint Managing Director, Satnam Overseas Ltd.

The traditional basmati cultivars, grown in the country for centuries, are tall plants (typically 1.5-2 metres height) that are prone to lodging, with paddy yields averaging hardly 2.2 tonnes per hectare and maturity period extending up to 155 days. Further, they are photoperiod sensitive, i.e there is a definite length of photoperiod (around October) that is required for their flowering. It is for these reasons that they are best suited for cultivation near the foothills of the Himalayas in northern India, which are considered to provide the `right' combination of climatic and soil conditions.

Pusa Basmati-1 was the world's first ever non-lodging, semi-dwarf, high yielding basmati rice strain bred by IARI and released for commercial cultivation in 1989. With average yields of 4.5 tonnes per hectare and maturing in just 135 days, Pusa Basmati-1 was claimed to combine the essential grain traits of traditional basmati rice (aroma, non-stickiness and elongation upon cooking) with the high yielding attributes of modern semi-dwarf varieties.

Moreover, being substantially photoperiod insensitive, the variety could also be grown outside its traditional territory. During 2001-02, the country exported 6.66 lakh tonnes of basmati rice, valued at Rs 1,839.08 crore. Pusa Basmati-1 is estimated to contibute roughly 60 per cent of the country's total basmati rice exports.

But according to Mr Arora, Pusa Basmati-1 grains suffers from certain drawbacks, such as not having the desired extent of aroma and also tending to have dull, chalk-like appearance. ``A typical harvest of Pusa Basmati-1 will have a chalkiness (usually present on the dorsal side of the grain) content of around 20 per cent. Besides, chalky grains spread out during cooking because of horizontal, rather than vertical, elongation. Also, they break during milling, resulting in lower prices'', he observed.

IARI has now developed two new improved high-yielding basmati varieties — Pusa Sugandh 2 and 3 — which were released in July 2001. These yield, on an average, half-a-tonne per hectare more of paddy compared to Pusa Basmati-1. Moreover, they mature in just 120 days, which means if a farmer sows his nursery in early-June, the crop can be harvested by the first week of October.

``The additional 15 days gives him the leeway to grow an additional catch crop, say green peas or potato, which can be planted in mid-October and harvested by early January, which is the normal time for cultivating vegetables or pulses such as moong and urad'', Dr S. Nagarajan, Director, IARI, pointed out.

What is really exciting exporters, however, is the quality of grain. ``The chalked grain content in Sugandh is very low. Additionally, the grains need to be aged for only six months to allow moisture levels to settle down. This is as against a minimum one year aging requirement for traditional basmati varieties or even Pusa Basmati-1'', said Mr Sanjeev Gupta, Chief Coordinator (Agriculture), KRBL Ltd.

Mr Virkaran Awasti, General Secretary of the All India Rice Exporters' Association (AIREA), felt that the new varieties could effectively counter `Super' — the high-yielding basmati quality rice produced by Pakistan. ``In the Sugandh varieties, one of the two parent lines is a traditional cultivar. This is unlike Super, where both the parents are evolved or crossed varieties. This makes the grain from Sugandh closer to traditional basmati, which will enhance consumer appeal'', he added.

Besides Sugandh 2 and 3, IARI has also developed Pusa RH-10, which is the world's first ever superfine aromatic (basmati-like) hybrid rice. Also released in July 2001 for commercial cultivation, the average yield of RH-10, at six tonnes of paddy per hectare, is even higher than that of the Sugandh varieties. The maturity duration, too, is lower at 115 days.

However, being a hybrid — unlike Sugandh 2 and 3, which are conventional pure line varieties developed from hybridisation — the seeds of RH-10 cannot be multiplied year after year through self-pollination and the farmer has to purchase these afresh prior to each planting. But the higher seed cost is more than offset by the extra yield advantage.

IARI has already tied-up up with the private sector Mahyco Research Foundation for large-scale production and marketing of foundation and certified seeds of RH-10.

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