New Delhi, June 22
The Indian Council for Agricultural Research today asked farmers to go in for early maturing variety seeds and not to be disheartened by the delay in monsoon.
“Farmers need not get worried about 10 to 15 days delay in monsoon, instead they should go in for early maturity varieties rather than late maturity varieties,” ICAR Director- General Mangal Rai told reporters.
He advised farmers not to get disheartened by reports about the delay in monsoon, saying that they should instead adopt “varietal” approach by picking up early maturing seeds as an alternative strategy.
Meanwhile, the ICAR today signed a four-year work-plan agreement (2005-2008) with Manila-based International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) for collaboration in rice research.
The major thrust area of the work-plan includes genetic enhancement of rice in terms of yield and quality and concentrates on exchanging germplasm and sharing knowledge so as to develop promising rice hybrids suitable for a large-scale cultivation in India.
The main objective of the agreement, signed by Dr Mangala Rai, DG, ICAR and Dr Robert S Zeigler, DG, IRRI, is to apply genomic and bio-informatic technologies to discover useful genes for increasing rice productivity in India.
