New Wheat Variety (HD-3385)

About HD-3385:

• It is the third HD variant wheat variety which looks most promising.
•  With the same yields as HD-3410, plant height of just 95 cm and strong stems.
• It is the least lodging-prone and most amenable for early sowing.
• This variety, sown this time at IARI’s trial fields on October 22, has reached the pollination stage.
• IARI has registered HD-3385 with the Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers’ Rights Authority (PPVFRA).

Key facts about Wheat

• Wheat is the second most important cereal crop in India after rice.
• It is the main food crop, in the northern and north-western parts of the country.
• It is a Rabi crop that requires a cool growing season and bright sunshine at the time of ripening.
• Temperature: Between 10-15°C (Sowing time) and 21-26°C (Ripening & Harvesting) with bright sunlight.
• Rainfall: Around 75-100 cm.
•  Soil required: Well-drained fertile loamy and clayey loamy (Ganga-Satluj plains and black soil region of the Deccan).

What is the Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers’ Rights Authority?

• The Govt. of India enacted “The Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers’ Rights (PPV&FR) Act, 2001”.
• To implement the provisions of the Act the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare established the Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers’ Rights Authority in 2005.
• The Chairperson is the Chief Executive of the Authority. Besides the Chairperson, the Authority has 15 memberr.

Q1) What are Cereal crops?

 These are mostly grasses cultivated for their edible seeds. Cereal grains are grown in greater quantities worldwide than any other type of crop and provide more food energy to the human race than any other crop.

Source: ICAR develops wheat that can beat the heat