Haryana Agricultural University scientists develop new wheat variety with less water requirement

Hisar, February 2

Scientists of Wheat and Barley Section at Chaudhary Charan Singh Haryana Agricultural University (HAU) have developed a new high yielding wheat variety – WH 1402 – that requires just two spells of irrigation and moderate fertilisers.

This variety was most suitable for plains of Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Delhi, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Jammu and Kashmir, HAU vice chancellor Prof BR Kamboj said here on Thursday.

The average yield of this variety can be 50 quintals per hectare and maximum yield can be 68 quintals per hectare in just two water-spraying sessions, Kamboj said.

He said the variety was also resistant against yellow rust, brown rust and other diseases, and it gives 7.5 per cent more yield than NIAW 3170 – a good variety in low water zones.

The vice chancellor said the new variety has been released at the national-level for sandy, less fertile and less water availability areas.

“It is recommended to use pure nitrogen 90 kg, phosphorus 60 kg, potash 40 kg and zinc sulphate 25 kg per hectare. It will help stop over-exploitation of groundwater in areas where the water table has depleted deeper. It will prove to be a boon for areas with less water,” he said.

Agriculture College Dean Dr SK Pahuja said they recommend sowing of this variety in the last week of October to the first week of November and the quantity of seeds should be 100 kg per hectare. “It is also a good variety in terms of nutritional value of grain.”