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PAU’s novel wheat variety seeds make way to private shops even as varsity supply runs dry
Desirable for its heat-tolerant qualities, the PBW 826 wheet seed variety allegedly being sold at hefty rates
The newly-introduced heat-tolerant PBW 826 wheat variety has seemingly made its way to seed stores across Luhdiana and nearby districts at premium costs despite the Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) having officially exhausted the initial stock of the award-winning variety.
An agricultural department team had in a surprise inspection on Tuesday confiscated pamphlets being distributed by seed store owners located outside PAU Gate No 1 claiming the availability of the PBW 826 variety for ₹150 per kg.
Speaking of the varsity’s complaint, chief agricultural officer Amanjeet Singh said, “We have received a complaint from PAU regarding the sale of PBW 826 seed and our teams are conducting inspections. Pamphlets mentioning PBW 826 were found at two private shops and confiscated. Further checking is underway, but no seed stock has been found yet.”
Joginder Singh, a farmer from Moga, said the private store owners were selling the seeds to farmers who are either acquaintances or were being sent by a mediator. “A separate godown has been set-up and seed is being sold without a label and purchase bill,” he added.
Notably, the varsity had sold the seed at ₹100 per kg at its recent Kisan Mela with a cap of 2 kg seeds per farmer after checking Aadhar Card — to ensure the seed did not land in the hands of private companies.
Director seed, PAU, Rajinder Singh said the varsity has developed only 1,000 quintals of the seed and exhausted a large chunk at the Kisan Melas itself.
“The seed has been introduced this year and could not be multiplied within a year. The farmers were advised not to purchase uncertified products at a premium and we have flagged the issue with the agriculture department,” he added.
The Kisan Mela at PAU had seen farmers take a keen interest in the new wheat variety given its heat-tolerance quality. Farmers from across the state had suffered losses during the Rabi season due to sudden rise in the temperature during February and March.
Notably, a similar situation had emerged back in May 2020 when the vigilance team had confiscated paddy PB 128, 129 seeds developed by PAU that year after reports of it being illegally sold at private shops.
What is PBW 826?
The agricultural university, in August, had introduced the PBW 826 variety characterised by its better heat tolerance after four years of clinical and field trials. The new variety had witnessed 31% and 17% higher yield than HD 3086 and HD 2967 varieties respectively.
