09-12-2016

Amoremuscularricevarietytakesonwheat

BSSatishKumar
BENGALURU:December09,201603:05IST
Updated:December09,201603:05IST
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Dr.ShailajaHittalmani,whoheadedtheresearchteamthatworkedonit,toldTheHinduthatthestrainhas12to13
percentproteincontent,whichishigherthanthe6to7.5percentinnormalrice.Wheathasabout14percentof
protein.

Usingconventionalbreeding,researchersraisedtheamountoflysine,anaminoacidthathelpssynthesizeproteins,
byabout20percent,amongotherbenefits.Thehigherproteinleadstoadecreaseinstarch,benefitingdiabetics,
Dr.Hittalmani,whoheadstheGeneticsandPlantBreedingDepartmentoftheUniversity,said.

Easiertodigest
Moreover,thericeproteiniseasiertodigestcomparedtowhatcomesfromnonvegetariansources.Itis
particularlygoodforchildrenandtheelderly,shesays.

Noextracost
Forthefarmer,thenewentrantisalucrativeoptionthatcanbegrownlikeanyothercereal,withoutextracosts.The
healthbenefitsofastrongerrice,however,arenotwidelyknownandthereisaneedtocreateawareness.

Thesameresearchteamhasalsoreleasedhighzincandhighirontypes,whichhavedoublethenormallevelofthe
twoelements.

ToorgrowersinVijayapuraseek
procurementcentres

Firoz Rozindar
Vijayapura: December 11, 2016 00:51 IST
Updated: December 11, 2016 00:51 IST
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VijayapuraisthesecondlargestproduceroftoordalintheStateafterKalaburagi.Theproductionwasbetterthis
yearcomparedwithotherdistrictsevenintheprevailingdroughtsituation.

Thegrowersdontwanttobeexploitedbytraderswhowillbuythecommodityatcheaprates,Ningaraj
Magimath,agrowerfromBabaladvillage,said.

Accordingtosources,whilethepresentmarketrateoftoordalisRs.4,800toRs.5,000quintalintheopenmarket,
theFoodCorporationofIndiaisbuyingitatRs.5,050perquintal.

ThefarmerssaidthattheStategovernmentshouldstartprocurementcentresbyannouncingahigherMSP.

Hesaidthatthisyear,amajorityofgrowershadswitchedovertotoordalhopingtogetbetterpricesasitwassold
aroundRs.120perkglastyear.

Thisyear,thegrowershavecultivatedtoordalonnearly4lakhhectares.Alreadyaround85,000quintalsofthecrop
hasarrivedinAPMCs.Meanwhile,M.D.Chabanur,AssistantDirectoroftheAPMCinVijayapura,hassaidthatthe
districtadministrationhadsubmittedaproposaltothegovernmentseekingopeningofprocurementcentres.
TubercropshaveasaviourinWayanad
district

E. M. Manoj
KALPETTA: December 10, 2016 01:16 IST
Updated: December 10, 2016 01:16 IST
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Genome saviour award for farmer for protecting genetic

diversity of tuber crops
N.M.Shaji,38,aprogressivefarmeratIllathuvayal,nearMananthavadi,hasbaggedtheNationalPlantGenome
SaviourAwardinstitutedbytheProtectionofPlantVarietiesandFarmersRightAuthority,India,forlifetime
engagementinprotectinggeneticdiversityoftubercrops.

Asmanyas102varietiesofedibletubers,includingmedicinalandaromaticvarieties,differentspeciesoftrees,
herbs,medicinalplants,andfishfindaplaceonhis1.5acreplot.

Beingamemberofsettlerfarmerfamily,agricultureispartofhisculture.

Afewdecadesback,tubersincludingcassava,sweetpotato,greateryam,taro,andelephantfootyamfilledthefood
basketofsettlerfarmersandthetribespeopleinWayanadandtheyusedtocultivatetubervarieties.

However,tubercultivationhasdrasticallydeclinedowingtovariousreasons.Whilethenewgenerationofthefarm
communityisabandoningcultivationoftraditionaltubercrops,Mr.Shajiandhisfamilyhavebeenconservingtuber
seedsforthenextgeneration.

Hehasalsoestablishedanetworkoffarmersthroughaninformalseeddistributionmechanismbywhichafarmer
transfersseedstoanybodyonconditionthatthesameamountisreturnednextyear.
WhenIstartedtocollectseedsoftubercropsnearly20yearsagomanyofmyfriendsmadefunofme.Now,they
propagatetheseedsseeingitsimportance,Mr.Shajisays.

Hewelcomesvisitors,includingstudents,farmers,andresearchers,fromvariouspartsofthecountrytolearnabout
hisgermplasmcollection,whichhasbeenchristenedKedaram.Mr.Shajihasvisiteddifferentpartsofthecountry
tocollectnewvarietiesoftuberseeds.

UnionAgricultureMinisterRadhaMohanSinghwillpresenttheawardatafunctioninNewDelhionDecember21.

Aquaticweedcontrolprogrammelaunched

Special Correspondent
December 09, 2016 19:53 IST
Updated: December 09, 2016 19:53 IST
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Grass carps to used to conserve fresh water resources

KOCHI:TheICAR(IndianCouncilofAgriculturalResearch)KrishiVigyanKendra,Ernakulam,haslauncheda
programmetocontrolaquaticweedusinggrasscarpsaspartofeffortstoconservelocalfreshwaterresources.

AstatementissuedbyKVKsaidalargenumberoffreshwatersourcesremainedunusableowingtoexcessweed
growth.Therearearound140speciesofaquaticweedsinwaterbodiesandamongthem,salvinia,hydrill,andpistia
arethemostdestructive.However,theuseofweedicideskillsfish,besidespollutingwatersources.

TheuseofgrasscarpstocontrolweedgrowthwaslaunchedatthePerunninakkulamShivaTemplepondnear
Thripunithura.Thepondisspreadover1.2acres.Grasscarpfishfingerlingswerereleasedatafunctionheldon
Tuesday.TheprogrammewasinauguratedbyA.Gopalakrishnan,Director,ICARCentralMarineFisheries
ResearchInstitute.KVKheadShinojSubramannianandseniorscientistVikasP.A.werepresent.

Bidtoconservebiodiversity:Saseendran
 Staff Reporter
KALPETTA: December 09, 2016 09:04 IST
Updated: December 09, 2016 09:04 IST
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ThoughtheStateisalsoknownasGodsOwnCountry,thepurityofthedivinepresencehasdisappearedwiththe
destructionofitsbiodiversity,Mr.Saseendransaidaddingthatthedestructionandoverexploitationofnaturewas
themajorreasonfortheincreasingnumberofhospitalsandpatientsintheState.

ThepastgloryoftheStatecanberestoredonlybyconservingbiodiversity,protectingwatersources,executing
properwastedisposalmechanism,andrevivingagriculture,forwhichthegovernmenthaslaunchedthe
comprehensiveprojectwithpublicparticipation,Mr.Saseendransaid.

Asmanyas23,000projectsfortheconservationofwatersources,wastedisposal,andagriculturewouldbelaunched
intheState.Ofthese512projectswouldbelaunchedinthedistrict,headded.

TheMinisteralsodirectedtheDistrictCollectortoensuretheactiveparticipationoftheyouthandNGOsforthe
smoothandsuccessfulimplementationoftheprojectandcompleteitinatimeboundmanner.