NSB registers 10 new varieties of Boro paddy

The National Seed Board (NSB) has registered 10 new varieties of paddy that can be cultivated in the upcoming Boro season.

The decision came at the 106th meeting of the National Seed Board held at the Ministry of Agriculture on Tuesday.

Of the 10 new varieties, the ministry said, two are inbred, developed by the Bangladesh Rice Research Institute (BRRI), another inbred variety is from the Bangladesh Institute of Nuclear Agriculture (Bina), and one other inbred variety was from Brac, and six other hybrid varieties were developed by other organisations.

An inbred rice variety is a pure line and it is the result of a cross between two or more different varieties and subsequent selection through several cycles of self-pollination or inbreeding.

Md Sayedul Islam, secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture and chairman of the National Seed Board, said the ministry is focusing on innovating newer hybrid varieties as they have a higher yield.

"We already have some 218 registered varieties of hybrid paddy," he added.

According to information disclosed during the meeting, Brridhan-101 and Brridhan-102, both developed by BRRI, are resistant to bacterial infection and rich in zinc respectively. During the trial period, Brridhan-101 had an average yield of 7.72 metric tons per hectare while the average yield of Brridhan-102 was 8.11 metric tons.

The variety developed by Bina, Bina Dhan-25, had an average yield of 7.64 metric tons per hectare during the trials.