Experiments on hybrid food
crops
Experiments in development of hybrid food and fodder crop
seeds are gathering pace. Federal agencies, tasked with
agricultural research and research wings of agricultural
universities, too, are now working more extensively in this
area. And, in some cases, the results have been very
encouraging. The National Agricultural Research Centre, for
example, has developed two hybrid fodder crop seeds Narc-Hybrid
2 and Narc-Hybrid 4 under a dedicated research programme to
get higher per-hectare fodder yields.
To enhance food crops’ productivity and ensure food
security, various agricultural researchers have been
experimenting with hybrid seeds of maize, rice, wheat and
sunflower for quite some time.
The results of these experiments have remained mixed,
ranging from renewed hopes for productivity to a better
understanding of what is required to make hybrid seed search
wider and more result-oriented.
The maize hybrid seed have been introduced for sowing.
Though corn output has been rising in recent years, the
rationale for developing corn hybrid seed is obvious.
“Further increase in production would create larger
exportable surplus besides encouraging the use of staple
grains in domestic consumption via lower prices,” says an
official of the Ministry of National Food Security and
Research.
The hybrid corn seed developed by the Punjab Seed
Corporation and the Breeders of Maize and Millet Research
Institute is expected to give 100 maunds per acre yield,
against the current average of 62 maunds.
And, the seed can be sown in both autumn and winter.
Some growers in Punjab have got higher per-hectare wheat
yields this year by using two Chinese hybrid varieties,
Beijing-6 and Beijing-7
Some years ago, two new varieties of hybrid rice GNY50 and
GNY53 were introduced in Sindh and Balochistan, and after
initial success of pilot projects, their commercial
cultivation had started.
Rice growers say these hybrid varieties have played a
great role in boosting paddy production in Sindh over last
three years.
In Balochistan, too, these varieties have helped boost
paddy output after the 2010 super floods though poor law and
order situation and resultant neglect of agriculture
prevented full — scale exploitation of the production
potential of these varieties.
Some growers in Punjab have got higher per-hectare wheat
yields this year by using two Chinese hybrid wheat varieties
Beijing-6 and Beijing-7.
They say that the use of these varieties might expand in
coming years, given their compatibility with our soil and
environmental conditions.
The two varieties were first brought in Pakistan and
tested at pilot projects three years ago. Guard Agri, a
local agricultural research company, in collaboration with a
Chinese company Sinoseeds, has already carried out
experiments, in 81 test fields, of other Chinese hybrid
wheat varieties.
Both companies are now developing a strategy for
marketing these varieties, industry sources say.
In 2006, hybrid sunflower varieties Parsun-1 and Hysun-33
were tested along with 11 other hybrids in three districts
of Balochistan and were found promising for large scale
cultivation.
Since then, these two varieties have been under
cultivation there and have led to higher sunflower output,
according to officials of provincial agriculture department.
Experiments in development of hybrid food and fodder crop
seeds are gathering pace. Federal agencies, tasked with
agricultural research and research wings of agricultural
universities, too, are now working more extensively in this
area.
And, in some cases, the results have been very
encouraging.
The National Agricultural Research Centre, for example,
has developed two hybrid fodder crop seeds Narc-Hybrid 2 and
Narc-Hybrid 4 under a dedicated research programme to get
higher per-hectare fodder yields.
In 2014, Pakistan Agricultural Research Council had
developed Canola Hybrid and sunflower (Parsun-3) hybrids
with good yield potential besides producing a few other
hybrid seeds with Parc Agro-Tech Company on pilot scale.
Patco-Parc is said to have already marketed around 50
tonnes of canola hybrid seed during last three years.
The seed is stated to have been distributed in many
districts of Punjab and KP through private seed company and
Patco, to more than 5,000 farmers.
Parc officials say, developing high-yield hybrid seeds of
canola and sunflower is the need of the hour to boost
domestic production of edible oil-producing crops and,
thereby, cut foreign exchange spending on imports of edible
oil.
Perhaps the most unnoticed hybrid seed development stories
can be found in fruits and vegetable sub-sector of crops.
“Over the years, we’ve developed a lot of hybrid
vegetable seeds and have been marketing them successfully,”
says an official of Agrico Pak, a local vegetables’ seed
company.
His company’s hybrid seeds for seedless okra,
early-harvest Slicer cucumber and broad-leaves Charleston
watermelons are competing with hybrid seeds of multinational
companies.
An accelerated drive for development of hybrid seeds for
food crops and fruits and vegetables has started yielding
results.
The success of hybrid technology in any crop, depends on
yield advantage over open pollinated varieties and
production as well as marketing feasibility.
“We’re meeting the first prerequisite but there are
problems in the second one,” says a senior official of Parc.
“The federal and provincial governments may consider
allocating additional money in their agricultural budgets to
incentivise production and marketing of hybrid seeds being
developed in the country.”
May, 2015
By
Mohiuddin Aazim
Source:
Dawn News