Icrisat's new crop can withstand drought

The International Crops Research Institute for Semi-Arid Tropics (Icrisat), Hyderabad, has developed crop varieties that can withstand moisture stress and can grow in shorter duration to escape the wrath of drought.

Announcing this here today, Icrisat director William Dar said the rains might have come, but the water scarcity was far from over. Since erratic monsoon was a recurring feature in India, the Icrisat had right technologies to offer to cope with it.

Dar said about 142 improved varieties of dryland crops like jowar, bajra, gram, tur (arhar) and groundnut had been released in India and these were being cultivated on the large tracts of land. About half of the country's total bajra acreage was now covered with Icrisat varieties. This had helped boost crop productivity, he said.

The watershed development model, chalked out by the Icrisat, was being replicated in many parts of the country by state governments, non-government organisations and the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR).

Three Icrisat led consortia with the private and public sector participation were implementing watershed development projects in different parts. These included the Tata-Icrisat-ICAR project, supported by Sir Dorabji Tata Trust, being implemented in Madhya Pradesh and eastern Rajasthan and the Andhra Pradesh rural livelihood project.

The Asian Development Bank is also collaborating with the Icrisat and the ICAR in implementing watershed development projects at several locations in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Gujarat.

Similarly, the Icrisat had entered into collaboration with private sector seed companies to provide them an access to the high-yielding varieties and hybrids developed through conventional and biotechnological tools, Dar said. Over 25 seed companies were participating in this venture.