German drug and agro-chemicals major Bayer today announced the launch of hybrid rice seed 'Arize AZ 8433 DT' with strong inbuilt tolerance to Brown Plant Hopper (BPH) and Bacterial Leaf Blight (BLB).
Brown Plant Hopper is the most destructive pest in rice growing areas of India and caused huge losses to farmers in the 2017 kharif season, it said in a statement.
"The introduction of Arize AZ 8433 DT is another step towards improving rice productivity in India," said Peter Mueller, Head of the Crop Science division at Bayer South Asia.
In the event of a BPH and BLB attack, Arize AZ 8433 DT offers yield advantage of up to 20 to 30 per cent over other susceptible open-pollinated varieties (OPVs), where yield losses could be up to 100 per cent, the company claimed.
Besides superior yield attributes, another advantage of cultivating 'Arize AZ 8433 DT' includes a significant saving on pesticide application, it added.
According to Bayer, pest tolerance has been achieved in the seed 'Arize AZ 8433 DT' through innovative technologies based on marker-assisted breeding.
"Though there are many chemical solutions available to control BPH, these have not been able to control the insect effectively in cases of medium to heavy infestation. The usual practice is to spray when the insect build-up has already happened. As an alternative approach, Bayer has developed hybrid seeds," it added.
The company further said that a single round of spraying pesticides costs Rs 500-600 per acre. Even with moderate infestation, rice farmers spray three to four times, depending on the incidence of BPH.
With Arize AZ 8433 DT, farmers are advised to scout their fields periodically and go for one spray, only if the BPH count exceeds economic threshold levels, or if hopper burn damage is observed in adjoining fields.
However, farmers will have to use pesticides for other pests such as Whitebacked Plant Hopper (WBPH) and Stem Borer etc, the company added.
Rice is a staple food crop for majority of India and a key focus crop for Bayer's Crop Science business in India.
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