PR 126 RICE VARIETY IS A BOON FOR PUNJAB: PAU EXPERT

Ludhiana, October 10, 2017: With the approval of the State Variety Approval Committee (SVAC) duringKharif2016, the Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) distributed around 200 quintals seed of PR 126 for its’ large scale evaluation by different stakeholders, saidDr G.S. Mangat, Incharge Rice Section, PAU.Subsequently, it was released duringKharif2017, he added. Milling tests were conducted during 2016 and 2017 in the presence of representatives of milling industry and the milling quality was found to their satisfaction, he disclosed. Due to its good performance duringKharif2016, PR 126 has been grown on a sizeable acreage during the currentKharifseason (2017), whereas maximum area is under PR 121 followed by Pusa 44, PR 114 and PR 124, he informed. The total (milled) rice recovery of PR 126 is at par with thePR 121, PR 124, PR 118 and better than others, whereas head rice recovery (HRR) is comparable to PR 124 and better than the Pusa 44, PR 114 and PR 118, he said. Among these varieties, PR 114 was grown on as large as 40 per cent (during 2001) and PR 118 on 15 per cent (2011) acreage; both were largely free of milling issues, he revealed. PR 126 meets the total rice recovery (out-turn ratio) of raw rice fixed at 67 per cent under the ‘Custom Milling Policy for theKharifMarketing Season 2017-18’ fixed by the Government of India and circulated by the Director, Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs, Punjab, he added.

Dr Mangat further said the rice breeding programme at PAU aims at food security, enhanced farmers income and natural resource conservation. PR 126 serves these objectives well, he observed. On account of shorter duration i.e., one month shorter than Pusa 44, PR 118 and two weeks shorter thanPR 121, PR 124and PR 114, PR 126 has great potential for saving resources (water, agro-chemicals etc.), he said. Its high yield (7.5 t/ha) as well as possibility of an additional crop (summer moong, musk/water melon etc.) contributes to improving income of the growers, he added. PR 126 also provides sufficient time for the management of paddy straw residue and its low biomass facilitates the use of Happy Seeder/spatial drill etc. for wheat sowing, he told. Longer duration varieties such as PR 118 have been phased out (seed multiplication stopped inKharif2016) in light of the above goals, he divulged. Considering the overall worth of the variety, cultivation of PR 126 needs to be promoted through hassle free procurement, he stressed.