Pulwama, Dec 06: A number of new seed varieties of different crops which were released by SKUAST-K( Share Kashmir University of Sciences and Technology Kashmir) have been notified by the central seed subcommittee New Delhi.
Dr Mohammad Ashraf Bhat, Professor Genetics and Plant Breeding and Nodal Officer for National Seed Project ( NSP) at SKUAST-K told Rising Kashmir that nine seed varieties of different crops which were released by the varsity in February of this year have been notified by the central seed subcommittee Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Government of India paving their way for onward transmission to farmers.
The varieties include Shalimar Soya bean -2, Shalimar Cow Pea-2, Shalimar Rajmash-3 and 4, Shalimar Chick Pea -2 (Desi Type), Shalimar Sarsoon-1, Shalimar Maize Hybrid -4, Shalimar wheat-3 and Shalimar Rice -6.
“ The notified varieties will be handed over to Agriculture Production and Farmer Welfare Kashmir for their onward transmission to farmers,” Bhat said, adding that sowing these varieties by farmers under approved package and practice of SKUAST-K will prove as an asset for ameliorating food production and to safe guard economic concerns of poor farmers and economic upliftment of all the stakeholders.
He added that each variety has its own characteristic.
“They are high yielding varieties resistant to diseases,” he said, adding that they are also high in protein content.
He informed that the protein content of Shalimar Soya bean – 2 is around 39.38 per cent and Shalimar Cow Pea is 27 per cent.
He said that three things are important for successful farming; seed variety, production management and farm mechanization.
“The seed should be of high yielding, crop should be managed as per approved package and practice and there should be sufficient spacing between plants so that it’s sowing, deweeding and harvesting can be easily done through machines,” he said.
He also said that the VC of SKUAST-K, Dr Nazir Ahmad Ganie has a specific focus on shifting from conventional to digital farming which includes use of artificial intelligence (AI).
