Scientists at IARI have red-flagged the illegal cultivation of high-yielding Pusa Basmati varieties in Pakistan | Current Affairs | Vision IAS
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    Scientists at IARI have red-flagged the illegal cultivation of high-yielding Pusa Basmati varieties in Pakistan

    Posted 21 Mar 2024

    2 min read

    • IARI scientists have raised objections and called for action against Pakistan as it has officially registered India’s high-yielding Pusa Basmati varieties and also cultivating the same illegally. 

     

    • These varieties, originally developed by IARI, include:
      • Pusa Basmati-1121 (PB-1121) known for the extra kernel length of its grains. 
      • PB-1509, which matures in 115-120 days as against the 135-145 days of other high-yielding basmati varieties. 
      • PB-1847, PB-1885 and PB-1886 (all improved versions of PB-1509) have resistance to bacterial blight and rice blast fungal disease.

     

    • Legal protection 
      • All the varieties are notified under the Seeds Act, of 1966. 
        • The Act prohibits the export and import of seeds of notified kinds or varieties for sowing or planting 
      • They are also registered under the Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers’ Rights Act, 2001. 
        • This Act allows only Indian farmers to sow, save, re-sow, exchange or share the seeds of any protected/registered varieties.
        • The Act also enumerate breeder’s rights.

     

    • Basmati rice export from India
      • India is the leading exporter of Basmati Rice in the world. 
      • Major Export destinations are Saudi Arab, Iran, Iraq, U.A.E and Yemen where consumers want parboiled rice.                 
        • Parboiled rice has harder grains and is less susceptible to breakage on cooking for long.

     

    About Basmati Rice

    • Also known as ‘scented Pearl’, Basmati is a long-grain aromatic rice variety grown for many centuries mainly in the Himalayan foothills.
      • Currently, it is cultivated in the states of J & K, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, Uttarakhand and western Uttar Pradesh.
    • They require prolonged sunshine, high humidity and assured water supply. 
    • So far 34 varieties of Basmati rice have been notified under the seeds Act, 1966.
    • Tags :
    • Pusa Basmati
    • HY seeds
    • PPVFR Act
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