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| Scientists suggested that wheat exporters could source their supplies from the identified tracts to export to countries which have stringent norms to prevent the entry of disease-affected grains as part of export consignments. |
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| Some countries in which this disease did not exist have even banned wheat imports from India to ward off entry of the disease there. |
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| Wheat disease surveys carried out by wheat scientists indicated that the grains grown in Maharashtra and Karnataka were completely free of Karnal bunt infection. |
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| The areas delineated as disease-free also include some parts of Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh. |
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| According to Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) assistant director general S.N. Shukla, grain procuring agencies should not mix stocks sourced from the Karnal bunt-free areas with grains bought from elsewhere. The disease-free stocks should be offered to exporters. |
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| He told the Business Standard that several pockets in the traditional wheat belt of Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh had also been by and large free of Karnal bunt disease for several years now. These areas could also be earmarked for sourcing export-oriented supplies. |
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| The need for adopting such an approach had arisen after the rejection of some wheat consignments from India by importers in the past after the presence of Karnal bunt was detected in the exported grains. |
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| The Karnal bunt infection led to disagreeable odour to the grains, making them unfit for human consumption. The odour also made detection easy. |
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| The findings of the disease survey were reported to the national workshop of wheat scientists held recently. |
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| The workshop also identified ten new varieties of wheat and two of barley which had better in-built resistance against diseases. |
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| These will now be put before the central variety release committee for final approval for commercial cultivation in different agro-climatic zones. |
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| The identified wheat varieties were VL 832, HPW 155, PBW 502, HD 2824, MACS 6145, Raj 4037, GW 1189 (D), NIDW 295(D), UP 2565 and HD 2833. The barley varieties included RD 2624 and NDB 1173. |
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| The new wheat variety PBW 502 was resistant to Karnal bunt disease and was recommended for cultivation in the wheat belt comprising states of Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan. |
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| The quality and productivity traits of this variety are at par with the currently popular strain PBW 343. |
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| The strains VL 832 and HPW 155 had better disease resistance than the types commonly grown in the rainfed tracts of northern hills. The new HD 2824 type, on the other hand, was resistant to yellow and brown rust diseases. |
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| It was recommended for cultivation on irrigated lands in the north-eastern states. For the rainfed areas of this region, the scientists recommended MACS 6145 variety that ensured good yield and grain quality. |
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| In peninsular India, the workshop suggested cultivation of new varieties like Raj 4037, GW 1189 (D) and NIDW 295 (D). These varieties also had the capacity to resist disease attacks, besides yielding good quality grain. |
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| Among the new barley varieties, RD 2624 was recommended for the normal soils in the north-western plains while NDB 1173 was for saline and alkaline soils. |
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