Biotech Updates

Improved Rice Varieties Gain Foothold in India

August 17, 2007

The Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) has developed five new rice varieties for release in different regions of India. These include Pusa Basmati 1460 and RP BIO 226, both of which are resistant to bacterial leaf blight. Pusa 1460, a Basmati type product developed using molecular marker assisted selection, is a semi dwarf type plant suitable for irrigated-transplanted production conditions. RP BIO 226, also developed through marker assisted backcross breeding, contains the bacterial blight resistance genes, xa21, xa13 and xa5 in the genetic background of an elite fine grained rice variety, Samba Mahsuri. The other rice varieties are: the high-yielding MTU 1075, also resistant to major diseases/pests; UPR 2870, a high-yielding variety that possesses resistance to leaf blast, moderate resistance to BLB, sheath rot, stem borer and leaf folder; and HRI-152, which has high tolerance to leaf blast.  

To read more, visit http://dare.gov.in/highlightS/h20.htm.