BHU scientists develop high yielding wheat variety

Rich in iron and zinc, the wheat variety developed by Institute of Agricultural Science-BHU scientists, was dedicated to nation by Prime Minister Narendra Modi

A high yielding wheat variety -- Malviya 838-- developed by the scientists of Institute of Agricultural Science-BHU-- was dedicated to the nation by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday, Banaras Hindu University said in a press statement.

The group of BHU scientists worked for six years to develop the new wheat variety. (HT photo)

On the occasion, the Prime Minister also dedicated 34 other crop varieties that were climate-resilient and had high nutrition content to the nation from New Delhi. He also spoke to some farmers via video conferencing.

The communique by the BHU said professor Vinod Kumar Mishra, professor Hemant Kumar Jaiswal and Dr Sandeep Sharma from the department of genetics and plant breeding, professor Ramesh Kumar Singh from department of agronomy, professor Ramesh Chand and professor Shyam Sharan Vaish from department of plant pathology worked for six years to achieve this result.

“This is a biofortified wheat variety and gives relatively higher output. It is rich in zinc and iron,” professor Vinod Kumar Mishra said.

The biofortified varieties are 1.5 to 3.0 times more nutritious than the traditional varieties.

The communique further said: “Wheat production in neighbouring Bangladesh has been adversely affected by a fungal disease Wheat Blast. Being a neighboring country, there is a possibility of this disease coming to our country as it spreads through air. However, there is no effect of this disease on Malaviya 838. It is completely resistant variety. Therefore, if this variety is grown in the states of India adjacent to Bangladesh, then we can stop this disease from coming to India.”