Biotech Updates

Pakistan's Punjab Seed Council Approves New Crop Varieties

January 13, 2016

New crop varieties, including three maize, and one each of wheat, green pea, groundnut, sorghum, seedless kinnow, mungbean, and canola were approved during the 54th meeting of the Punjab Seed Council at the Agriculture House on January 7, 2016. The meeting was chaired by the Agriculture Secretary Muhammad Sheharyar Sultan.

The meeting was convened for the approval of new crop varieties for cultivation. The Punjab Agriculture Secretary also constituted a sub-committee for a complete review of 19 Bt cotton and 2 non-Bt cotton varieties, as well as 11 mango varieties. The Secretary of the Seed Council will head this committee, which, after thorough analysis, will submit recommendations to the provincial secretary of agriculture.

The Chairman of Cotton Ginners Association (PCGA) Nawab Shahad Ali Khan urged the farmers to grow high yielding approved varieties to make the country self-sufficient in agricultural commodities. He aspired that cotton production in Punjab would be considerably enhanced through cultivation of Bt varieties, which have effective resistance against pests.

For more, read the news posted on the website of the Pakistan Biotechnology Information Center.