Both the Centre and the state are collecting and conserving indigenous rice varieties to craft new ones.
The State Seed Testing Laboratory (SSTL) in Bhubaneswar, Central Rice Research Institute (CRRI) in Cuttack, National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources (NBPGR) in New Delhi under ICAR and Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers’ Rights Authority (PPV & FRA) in New Delhi are conserving indigenous varieties. The objective is to culture them, preserve them and come out with high-yielding varieties.
“Rapid urbanization and industrialization destroy rice varieties’ habitats. Besides, we use their best genes to generate new varieties,” said CRRI director Trilochan Mohapatra.
Now CRRI has nearly 30,000 indigenous varieties, including over 5,000 of Odisha and 11,000 of NBPGR. “We preserve them by maintaining a temperature of 4 degree centigrade and 30% relative humidity for medium-term conservation of eight years. But, NBPGR has nearly 10, 2000 varieties of different crops, including rice. It stores them by maintaining temperature of -18 degree centigrade and 15% relative humidity for long-term conservation of over 50 years,” said B C Patra, a CRRI scientist.
The NBPGR’s stock with CCRI includes 300 wild varieties, according to D C Pani, In-charge of NBPGR’s regional station in Cuttack. “Only 20 wild rice species have been identified in the world, including five in Odisha. Our 300 varieties belong to these five species,” he said.
Scientists genetically cleanse indigenous varieties of their weak and vulnerable characteristics to boost their productive potential and resistance capacity. Conversion of ‘nua dhusara’ from ‘dhusara’ and ‘nua kala jeera’ from ‘kala jeera’ by CRRI are pointers. Yield potential increases by 25% on an average after genetic cleansing, according to SSTL’s assistant agriculture officer C Panda.
While NBPGR collects up to 20 gram of a variety, CRRI gathers maximum 250 gram. But, SSTL collects 3 to 4 kg. India has over 80,000 indigenous rice varieties. The NGPGR, which also collects samples of other crops, keeps small quantities because of space crunch. Similarly, CCRI collects rice varieties not only from different states but also from foreign countries. But, SSTL stores larger quantities for detailed characterization of a variety.
“Each variety has over 62 traits and it is mandatory to analyze 29 and report to PPV & FRA for its acceptance,” explained S R Dhua, a former CRRI scientist and adviser to SSTL.