India: Karnal scientists develop 2 wheat, barley varieties

The Varietal Identification Committee of Wheat and Barley of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), New Delhi, has identified and recommended seven new wheat and barley varieties for the country.

During an interaction with the media, it was informed that among these, two varieties — one each of wheat and barley — had been developed by scientists of the Indian Institute of Wheat and Barley Research (IIWBR), Karnal. The already released variety of the IIWBR, “DBW327”, has also been recommended for area extension to Central India, covering Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Chhattisgarh and the Bundelkhand region of UP. Earlier, this variety was released only for the North West Plain Zone, said Dr Gyandendra Singh, Director of the institute.

These varieties were identified at the 62nd annual meeting of the All India Coordinated Research Project on Wheat and Barley at Udaipur in Rajasthan last week. Among these varieties, two new ones had been developed by IIWBR scientists.

“During the meeting, the committee identified seven new varieties — six of wheat and one of barley — for different zones and production conditions,” the Director said, adding that their new wheat variety “DBW359” and barley “DWRB219” had also been identified by the committee.

“All identified varieties have a good yield, disease resistance, quality and climate resilience,” he said. With these varieties, they were hopeful that the country would get newer choices of wheat and barley varieties. “The country has already produced 112.74 MT wheat, which is a record production, but the final production figure is awaited,” he said.

Tags: DBW359, barley, wheat, Indian Institute of Wheat and Barley Research, IIWBR, varieties, Indian Council of Agricultural Research, Varietal Identification Committee of Wheat and Barley, ICAR, DWRB219