BRRI dhan75 shows hope of early cultivation of robi crops

Bangladesh Rice Research Institute (BRRI) is going to introduce the BRRI dhan75, which is a short-duration and early maturity variety of Aman rice, in the market.

The variety is expected to create scope of timely cultivation of rabi crops such as wheat, lentil, mustard, maize, and others across the country.

A news release issued on Wednesday said the rice farming systems division of BRRI, has implemented an on-farm experiment with the collaboration of International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) in the field of farmer Liakat Ali at Fulhori village in Jhenaidah district.

United States’ development organisation USAID funded the project title Cereal Systems Initiative for South Asia (CSISA III).

Citing that harvesting of rice variety has already started in the trial plot, BRRI Kushtia regional station in-charge Mahbubur Rahman, said, “From the trial, we have seen that in just 105 days of using 20 days old seedlings, BRRI dhan75 yielded more than five tonnes of paddy per hector. The seedbed can be sown from 20 June to the first week of July.”

BRRI principal scientific officer under rice farming systems division, Amina Khatun, also the principal investigator of the project said, “BRRI recommends to sow this variety within 20 July to 20 August to get the best yield. However, we have found excellent results by sowing the rice at the end of June and early July, resulting in a harvest of the crop by the first week of October with very good yield.”

She also mentioned that due to the early maturity, farmers can cultivate lentil, mustard, maize, or other high-value winter crops in mid-October after harvesting BRRI dhan75.

Citing that farmers of Jashore, Jhenaidah, Chuadanga and Meherpur have already started to adopt this variety on a large scale, IRRI senior specialist Sharif Ahmed said that the grain size of the variety is long and slender.

“Also, one can sense a light aroma in the cooking process of the rice. Due to the long and slender grain, farmers are getting a higher price by selling it,” he said.

He added that collaboration with the local seed companies and leading farmers is taking place to make BRRI dhan75 seeds.

Shahjahan Kabir, director general of BRRI, expressed his hope that the new rice variety would bring blessings to the farmers by increasing cropping intensity all over the country.