Ludhiana agri varsity, Gujarat firm sign pact to commercialise fodder variety
Pact signed with Alamdar Seeds for the licensing of berseem variety “BL 45”
Tribune News Service
Ludhiana, January 24
Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) has inked a pact with a Gujarat-based firm for commercialising a berseem variety, said officials. Berseem is a key water crop for livestock fodder.
The pact for the licensing of variety “BL 45” has been signed with Alamdar Seeds.
Ruchika Bhardwaj, senior millets breeder, Department of Plant Breeding and Genetics, said BL 45 is a high-yielding, late-maturing and multi-cut berseem variety with high green fodder and dry matter yield.
“BL 45 has better nutritional quality in terms of crude protein yield. This variety is resistant to stem rot and tolerant to insect and pests that generally hit berseem. BL 45 has been released and notified for the Northwest, hill and central zones of the country. This includes the parts of Uttarakhand, Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Maharashtra,” she added.
Mahesh Kumar, Additional Director of Research (Agricultural Engineering) and Zahid Husain Bhimani from Alamdar Seeds signed the memorandum of agreement.
Khushdeep Dharni, Associate Director, Technology Marketing and IPR Cell; SK Sandhu, head, Department of Plant Breeding and Genetics; and Ruchika Bhardwaj were present at the signing ceremony.
Ajmer Singh Dhatt, Director of Research, congratulated the scientists and the company for taking a key step towards the proliferation of the variety.
Dharni said the PAU was ensuring the dissemination of its varieties and technologies to the masses through commercialisation. He added that the varieties developed by PAU are popular in the national market.
