The Hindu Business Line : Hybrid rice acreage likely to rise by 40 pc

DESPITE hurdles on the seed front, hybrid rice is slowly but surely spreading across the country. It is expected to cover 8 lakh hectares this year in five States, up from 5.6 lakh hectares last year.

Eastern Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh account for 80 per cent of the hybrid rice grown in the country. The additional revenues earned through the hybrid seed and rice in the country is estimated at Rs 920 crore.

Interestingly, 80 per cent of the hybrid rice seed is grown in Andhra Pradesh, that too in just two districts of Warangal and Karimnagar. Further, 95 per cent of the seed is grown in the private sector, and the rest in public sector.

Since the start of research on hybrid rice in 1989, rice scientists and the private sector have been able to release 20 hybrid varieties into the commercial market. The yields also have been 1-1.5 tonnes per hectare higher than regular rice varieties.

There is still very good potential to expand the acreage under hybrid rice, especially in the southern States, Dr B. Mishra, Project Director, Directorate of Rice Research (DRR), Hyderabad, has said.

In China, for example, nearly 50 per cent of the area under rice or in about 15 million hectares hybrid rice is grown.

The DRR has already developed the second-generation hybrid rice varieties such as the DRRH-20, which is short duration of 115 days. Similarly, the Pusa RH-10 variety, the first aromatic, super fine-grained variety is easily available. By using biotechnology methods, better varieties can be developed, he told Business Line.

The lack of popularity of hybrid rice in the southern States is attributed to the mild aroma. However, newer hybrid varieties, which do not have the aroma, are in the offing. Once, they are in the commercial market, it is expected that farmers in these States would also take up cultivation.

More than 25 seed companies are involved in the production of hybrid rice seed. These include Pro-Agro, PHI seeds, Mahyco, Syngenta, Advanta India Ltd., Nuziveedu Seeds, Ganga Kaveri, Vibha, Manisha, Rallis India, Ankur Seed etc.

On the other hand, in the public sector Maharashtra State Seed Development Corporation, Akola; Karnataka State Seed Development Corporation, Bangalore and UP and Tarai Seed Development Corporation, Pantnagar produce seeds.

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