Kharif pulses: PAU bags 'Best Centre Award'
Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) has been conferred with the 'Best Centre Award' for its exceptional contributions to the development of high-yielding varieties and technologies in kharif pulses.
The award was presented by the Director General of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), Dr ML Jat, during the inaugural session of the annual group meet of the All India Coordinated Research Project (AICRP) on Kharif Pulses, held recently at SKNAU, RARI, Durgapura-Jaipur, Rajasthan.
The university has made significant strides in kharif pulses research by developing nine new high-yielding varieties of kharif pulses over the past five-six years at the state/national level. Among the mung bean varieties, SML 1827 (summer) and ML 1808 (kharif) were specifically developed for the state while ML 1839 and ML 2015 (kharif) were notified for the North Eastern Plains Zone (NEPZ) during 2023. In the case of urdbean, the PAU developed Mash 1137 (summer) and Mash 883 (kharif) for the state while Mash 1190 (summer) and Mash 878 (kharif) were notified for North Western Plains Zone (NWPZ). In pigeonpea, the PAU has released AL 882, a short-statured, early maturing variety, which was notified for the state in 2020 and AL 1747, a genetic stock moderately resistant to pod borer, which was registered with the ICAR-NBPGR.
In addition to varietal development, the PAU has been maintaining wild accessions of pigeon pea, mung bean and urdbean. The university has also recommended several interventions in crop production and crop protection to maximise the yield of kharif pulses.
