Agriculture Current Affair 18 January 2020

TNAU releases crop, horticultural varieties

Tamil Nadu Agricultural University (TNAU) has released seven agricultural crop varieties and six horticultural varieties for introduction in the State as Pongal gift to farmers.

The varietal release include 2 rice varieties — Co53 and ADT54, one variety of sugar cane — CoC 13339, a monopodia cotton (Co17), a blackgram variety VBN11, two millet varieties – Sorghum Co 32 and Tenai ATL 1.

The six varieties of horticultural crops recommended for release include banana – Co2, tomato hybrid – Co4, aggregatum onion – Co6, cassava – YTP 2, manila tamarind – PKM – MT2 and manathakkali – Co1.

While the Co53 could be introduced during late samba season and ADT54 could be released during thaladi season under irrigated conditions, the release said.

The mid-late high-yielding CoC13339 willreplace the current Co86032 sugarcane.

Co17 cotton will help promote mechanised harvest and high density planting; to overcome the yellow mosaic viral disease in pulses, Blackgram VBN11 is being introduced for adoption and the two millets have been introduced keeping in mind the nutritional security of children.

Record wheat acreage takes rabi sowing beyond 64 million hectares

India has sown wheat over a record area of 330 lakh hectares, taking the total planted area in the current rabi season to 641 lakh hectares, which is 8.6 per cent more than that sown in the corresponding period last year, according to data released by the Agriculture Ministry on Friday.

“The maximum wheat sown area in the past was a little over 320 lakh hectares. That way this a record of sorts. And the crop condition this year is very good,” said RK Sharma, Principal Scientist at the Karnal-based Indian Institute of Wheat and Barley Institute, a lab under the aegis of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research.