Wheat seed variety, HD 3386

11-05-2024

Wheat seed variety, HD 3386

Why in the news?

The Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI) recently introduced a new high-yielding wheat seed variety, HD 3386.

Key Points

• Wheat is a key rabi or winter crop, largely grown in states  Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar and Gujarat.
• The government purchases wheat from the farmers under the minimum support price (MSP) operations aimed at supplying free grain (18 MT annually) under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana and to build up a buffer.

Key facts about the new seed variant – HD 3386

• The new seed variant HD 3386, recently approved by the central seed committee of the agriculture ministry, is resistant to yellow, and leaf rust diseases mostly reported in the key wheat growing region of northwest Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan.
• New wheat seed variety is aimed at replacing the currently used seed HD2967 also developed by IARI in 2010 and was sown in around 25% of the total wheat sown area of 34 million hectare in the country last season.
•  In terms of yield, the existing variety has productivity of around 22 quintal/acre while the new variant has productivity of 25 quintal/acre.

About Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI):

• It is India’s largest and foremost Institute in the field of research and higher education, and training in agricultural science. It is situated in Delhi and is administered by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR).
• It's popularly known as Pusa Institute, began in 1905 at Pusa (Bihar) with the generous grant of 30,000 pounds from an American philanthropist, Henry Phipps.
• IARI was then known as the Agricultural Research Institute (ARI), which functioned with five departments, namely Agriculture, Cattle Breeding, Chemistry, Economic Botany and Mycology. Bacteriology unit was added in 1907.
• The name of ARI was changed to Imperial Institute of Agricultural Research in 1911, and in 1919 it was renamed Imperial Agricultural Research Institute.
• Following a devastating earthquake on 15th January, 1934, the institute was shifted to Delhi on 29th July 1936.
• Post independence, the institute has been renamed IARI.
• It attained the status of a Deemed University in the year 1958. It was responsible for the research leading to the "Green Revolution in India" of the 1970s.

                                                             Source: Financial Express

Consider the following statements with reference to

Statement-I

 Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI)is administered by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR).

Statement-II

It has been granted the status of ‘Deemed University’.

Which one of the following is correct in respect of the above statements?

A.Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct, and Statement-II is the correct explanation for Statement-I.

B.Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct, and Statement-II is not the correct explanation for Statement-I.

C.Statement-I is correct, but Statement-II is incorrect.

D.Statement-I is incorrect, but Statement-II is correct.

Answer A