ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Agriculture Research Council’s (PARC) Variety Evaluation Committee has approved 11 new high-yield rice varieties, including seven hybrid and four open-pollinated (OP) seeds, for cultivation in various ecologies.
PARC spokesperson said that 19 rice varieties were presented before the committee, including 14 hybrid and 5 OP, out of which eight varieties were rejected due to bacterial-leaf-blight (BLB) disease susceptibility and poor grain quality performance.
Details show that the approved hybrid seeds have yield potential of up to 92 maund per acre whereas the OP varieties have more yield potential than the existing IRRI-6 and KSK-133 varieties.
PARC Chairman Dr Iftikhar Ahmad, while lauding the efforts of scientists, said that the new varieties would not only produce promising crop yield but would also help farmers to raise their incomes. The variety evaluation committee on wheat has also recently released four new rust resistant wheat varieties including a bio-fortified variety having 50 per cent zinc contents.
