FAISALABAD, Feb 24: The Nuclear Institute for Agriculture and Biology (Niab) has succeeded in producing low-seeded kinno strains which contain an average number of five seeds per fruit.

This was claimed by Niab director Dr Iqrar Ahmed Khan while talking to reporters here on Friday.

He said that the kinno was a man-made variety and was the major fruit of the country where it had exceptional adaptation features and quality characteristics not found anywhere.

He, however, said that its export potential was restricted due to high number of seeds — more than 30 seeds per fruit. A citrus fruit with an average of five seeds was considered nearly seedless in the international market while our scientists continued striving for better quality kinno.

The low-seeded kinno, he said, had the potential to be introduced as an alternative to the currently available highly-seeded kinno.

Dr Khan further said the institution had become a premier in the field of research and development of the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC) owing to a number of achievements by its scientists.

The research carried out at NIAB had a great impact on country’s economy as it had revolutionised cotton and textile sectors besides providing 22 new varieties of crops and developing biosaline agriculture technologies.

No salary: Hundreds of Iqbal Town employees have not been paid their salaries for the last two months owing to mismanagement by the officials concerned.

Town employees told newsmen on Friday that after the division of the defunct tehsil municipal administration of the city and Sadar into four towns, staff was also deputed according to requirements and the law.

The employees were paid salary by the Lyallpur Town till December, 2005, but after the approval of the budget for the six months of this year, now it was the responsibility of the town concerned to pay salaries to its staff.

They claimed the remaining three towns — Lyallpur, Jinnah and Madina — had paid salaries to their employees, but the Iqbal Town officials had failed to do the same for the last two months (January and February).

They said their family members had been facing problems owing to non-payment of salaries, and they were meeting their day-to-day requirements by getting loans from friends and shopkeepers.

They urged the chief minister to direct the town officials to pay salaries to its staff.