ISLAMABAD: In a bid to increase the yield from rice crops, nine hybrid and one long grain variety of rice were approved on Wednesday for commercial cultivation during the next kharif season.

The hybrid varieties have been developed by the private sector while the long grain variety was developed by the Punjab government’s Soil Salinity Research Institute, a research scientist at Pakistan Agricultural Research Council (PARC) said.

The varieties were given the nod by PARC’s Rice Variety Evaluation Committee in a meeting headed by the committee’s Chairman Dr Imtiaz Hussain.

The meeting was attended by PARC Chairman Dr Ghulam Muhammad Ali, representatives of national and multinational seed companies and federal and provincial research institutes.

The PARC chairman emphasised the importance of quality seeds to enhance the productivity and profitability of farmers and directed seed companies to provide high quality seeds to farmers.

The PARC was committed to performing its role in variety evaluation in a transparent manner in collaboration with the national agricultural research system, said Dr Hussain.

According to research scientists, the new varieties would replace most of the low yield varieties during next Kharif season.

According to the Rice Research Institute, hybrid seeds offer at least 15 to 20 per cent better yield as compared to the inbred variety grown under similar conditions.

Pakistan’s share in global rice trade is around 9.10pc which contributes more than $2 billion annually to the national kitty, according to the institute’s data.

Rice, the second most important cash crop of the country, covers 11pc of the total cultivated area. Since 2000, 10 to 12 varieties of rice have been under commercial cultivation in the country.

Published in Dawn, August 18th, 2022