Punjab testing climate-resilient seeds: Expert

In the wake of widespread damage caused by floods in Punjab, experts say the state's future resilience depends not just on recovery but also on a strategic focus on climate-adaptive farming.

Speaking to The Tribune today, Prasanna Boddupalli, Managing Director of the Borlaug Institute for South Asia (BISA), said the work was underway to develop climate-resilient hybrid varieties of maize in collaboration with state agricultural universities, including PAU, Ludhiana.

On the way forward to rebuild Punjab's agriculture after the floods, Boddupalli, who is also the Regional Director for Asia at the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Centre (CIMMYT), said it was not just about improved hybrids.

"You also need to have improved management practices. Drainage systems need to be improved right in the fields from various areas. It is not just about improved seeds, but also improved agronomic management of the fields. Both are important when it comes to natural calamities like floods," he said on the sidelines of an event here today.

Noting that flood-tolerant and climate-resilient seeds can transform India's agricultural future and their adoption must be scaled up, Boddupalli mentioned that flood-tolerant maize varieties were under test.

"CIMMYT has developed maize hybrids that are tolerant to drought, heat and waterlogging, which are particularly suited for the South Asian tropics. Nearly 29 hybrids have been developed and released across several countries in Asia, including India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bhutan and Nepal. We are working with the Union Ministry of Agriculture and various state governments to scale up the seed production and deploy them in the targeted states," he said.

ICAR, PAU, Ludhiana, and some others are partnering with CIMMYT in co-testing maize hybrids, evaluating the farming conditions and going through the release process. "The aim is to develop and deploy climate-adaptive maize hybrids for the monsoon season where there is a major risk of exposure to drought, heat and waterlogging," Boddupalli said.

The work on heat-tolerant maize started around 2012 and completed only now, he said. "It is almost 15 years ago we started the waterlogging-tolerance project and developed a series of hybrids. What is really important is states like Punjab testing them and releasing them in large scale," said the expert.

Asked about concerns around adoption of these seeds, Boddupalli said: "We need to test them, make sure that under Punjab conditions these particular hybrids are holding good with data and then convince the policymakers.

"When there are such flood conditions, these hybrids need to be analysed vis-a-vis commercial hybrids. So, you have to generate data and show to the policymakers. We have to test them under the state or central varietal release system and then release them. The third step involves the large-scale seed production; without it, you can't reach thousands and thousands of farmers. This requires partnership with appropriate public or private seed companies."

Boddupalli said much of this work had been done for different hybrids."Almost 3,000 tonne of certified seeds of drought-tolerant hybrids are being deployed in India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal and Bhutan. For the first time, heat-tolerant maize hybrid is being produced at the community level in Bhutan. However, a lot more needs to done," the expert said.