Developed after years of research by agriculture scientists, the much-hyped new RR-564 Basmati variety seems to have proven a failure in its first commercial utilisation in Jammu and Kashmir.

Farmers, who had accepted the RR-564 from the agriculture department, had sown it in nearly 10,000 kanals of land. The entire crop stands ruined now, the farmers have reported.

The seed was developed by scientists at Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agriculture Science (SKUAST), Jammu, along with the Agriculture Department at Chakroi farm near Satwari, over a period of five years.

Balwinder Singh, a farmer from R S Pura, said, “The crop has uneven growth and some plants don’t have grain, which has astonished those who accepted the new seed.”

“The officials had told us that every kanal (where the new variety would be sown) would produce three quintals of Basmati rice. We will instead lose Rs 8,000-Rs10,000 per kanal now.”

The agriculture department had provided 100 quintals of seed to farmers, which were sown in R S Pura, Marh, Arnia, Bishnah and Satwari and other rice producing areas in the Jammu division.

A senior scientist at SKUAST-Jammu, Anil Sharma, however, said it was not the failure of the scientists but those who supplied seeds to the farmers.

“We developed the seed and gave it to the agriculture department after stringent checks. It was their duty to supply the seed to the farmers. Many farmers who took the seed directly from us have not complained about anything.”

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