New Delhi: Scientists at the Indian Council of Agricultural Research’s Indian Rice Research Institute (ICAR-IARI) have developed a new variety of wheat that can withstand rising temperatures and produce higher yields for farmers.
This is an important development in light of growing concerns About how heat stress induced by the climate crisis could affect India’s wheat crop.
The wheat crop experiences high temperature stress during the flowering stage, which is called “terminal heat stress”. Terminal heat tolerance refers to the ability of the crop to withstand heat at the flowering stage.
The ICAR-IARI wheat variety, called HD 3385, has been shown to have high temperature stress tolerance, especially at the end of its crop cycle, and has been specifically developed for terminal heat tolerance.
IARI director Ashok Kumar Singh told ThePrint on Friday, “If you remember, there was a time between March 27 and 29 last year when there was a heat wave and it affected wheat production to some extent. That is why the government is very proactive this year to ensure that there is no crop failure.”
Last year, Delhi, Uttarakhand, Rajasthan, Punjab, Haryana and Jharkhand were in the grip of record heat. and is not likely to be any relief This year, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) issued a warning earlier this month.
Wheat production in the 2021-22 crop year (July-June) fell to 106.84 million tonnes from 109.59 million tonnes in the previous year, owing to heat waves. According for official data.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi chaired A high-level meeting on Monday to review preparedness for “hot weather”.
To save the yield of wheat, early sowing is important without the risk of yield reduction and the new variety meets these requirements, Singh said.
Read also: ‘No other option’ – as its fields turn black and skies smoky, why Punjab won’t stop stubble burning
cross-breeding of wheat varieties
Wheat is usually sown between 1 and 20 November. It means that in the month of March, milky juice starts filling in the grains. The crop is ready for harvesting by the end of March.
However, if the crop is exposed to high temperatures at that time, the grain may not fill properly. This leads to dry grains – reducing the overall yield.
Wheat varieties have a tendency to flower early if sown before November. This results in poor accumulation of biomass – leading to early heading and low yield.
To overcome this, the team developed HD 3385 by crossbreeding two varieties that had desirable traits (the names of the parent varieties are not known), Singh said. Sowing of the crop should be done between mid-October to October 25, which is about 15 days ahead of the regular sowing period, he explained.
The HD 3385 variety has been developed not only to make the crop more tolerant to heat stress, but also to increase the yield.
Singh said the new variety of wheat takes 130 to 160 days to develop, while it takes 80-95 days when sown in November and has a yield potential of around 75 quintals per hectare.
Notably, another heat-resistant variety of the crop, HI 1636 or ‘Pusa Bakula’ released by ICAR last year, has a yield potential of 72 quintals per hectare.
The team has bred the crop to contain what is known as a ‘weak virtualization gene’, which allows for early sowing.
“Because of this gene, even if these varieties are sown early, they will not flower until the minimum temperature threshold is reached,” Singh said.
“And therefore, they get enough time for vegetative growth and to accumulate more biomass. It is this biomass that gets converted into grain,” he said.
The team also had to introduce features that allow the wheat grain to tolerate higher temperatures for germination, as soil temperatures are slightly higher in the month of October.
By planting seed 15 days earlier, the new variety can accumulate more biomass, and grain filling is done before temperatures rise.
Read also: The answer to climate shock? ICAR’s heat resistant wheat in market, ‘grows in 100 days’
rice and wheat cultivation
Rice and wheat cultivation goes hand in hand in India. So, another problem that arises with early wheat sowing is stubble burning after rice cultivation.
Indian farmers harvest their paddy crop between October and November – just before the wheat crop. To ensure that crop stubble is cleared in time for the next crop, a large number of farmers burn farm residues – smoke from these farm fires is a major source pollution In the Indo-Gangetic plains.
Planting wheat earlier will put more pressure on farmers to clear their paddy fields early.
To address this issue, IARI – along with the government – is Settle To stop the production of Pusa 44 variety of rice, whose maturity period is more than 150 days.
“Now in our rice breeding program for entire Punjab, Haryana and western UP, our focus is on developing varieties that are a variety [shorter] period range of 125-130 days,” said Singh.
This will ensure that the paddy crop completes its life cycle by the end of September or October and leaves enough time to sow the new wheat crop.
“Farmers certainly would not like to go for long [rice] varieties because varieties with a duration of 155 days will require at least 5 to 6 more days of irrigation,” Singh said.
The institute has already developed several such [short-duration] Rice Varieties Pusa 1509, Pusa 1692 and Pusa 1847 – which take 125 days to seed maturity.
The way forward for the HD 3385
Singh said the team has been working on developing the HD 3385 variety for six years.
Singh said the institute has registered HD 3385 with the Plant Varieties and Farmers’ Rights Authority (PPVFRA) – a statutory body that seeks to address the rights of plant breeders and farmers on an equal footing.,
Meanwhile, Delhi-based DCM Shriram Ltd-owned Bioseed – a biotechnology company specializing in crop science – will conduct the trials.
Singh said that if everything goes according to plan, he is hopeful that the HD 3385 variety will hit the market this year in the 2024 crop season.
(Editing by Anumeha Saxena)