More than 2.5 million hectares of hybrid rice planted in India in 2014
Indian Minister of Agriculture Mohanbhai Kundaria recently stated that the planting area of hybrid rice in India in 2014 has exceeded 2.5 million hectares, accounting for about 5.6 per cent of the total rice area.
The Indian government has not set targets for hybrid rice production, but India is committed to promoting hybrid rice cultivation through various crop development programs such as the National Food Security Mission (NFSM) and the East India Green Revolution (BGREI).
India's hybrid rice production has been increasing in the past nine years, mainly due to the increasing acceptance of hybrid rice in eastern Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. In 1996, the area under hybrid rice cultivation was 10000 hectares, increasing to 1 million hectares by 2006.
In Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh, hybrid rice was infected by the bacteria but did not suffer huge losses, the Kundaria said. The Centre for Cell and Molecular Biology (CCMB) and the Rice Research Institute (DRR) have jointly developed a bacterial blight-resistant variety, Samba Mahsuri improved rice. The variety was introduced in 2008 and is currently cultivated on 90000 hectares in Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Taka and Tamil Nadu.
World Agrochemical Network http://cn.agropages.com/News/NewsDetail---9149.htm
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