Agricultural scientists are trying to save the shrinking acreage of jowar, which once held the title of major food grain in Malwa-Nimar and other tribal areas of Madhya Pradesh. In this episode, Raj Vijay-2357 (RVJ-2357), a high yielding variety of jowar, has come under the Jowar Improvement Project of Government College, Indore. This variety of jowar has been approved by the state-level committee allowing new seeds. Only its notification is yet to be issued. After seven years of research, this variety has been prepared, which has been allowed to grow in Madhya Pradesh as a state variety.
About five quintals of breeder seed of RVJ-2357 has been prepared near Jowar Improvement Project Center. This seed has been given to different Krishi Vigyan Kendras of Madhya Pradesh for cultivation, so that its base and then authentic seeds can be prepared in more quantity in the coming time. Once the authentic seed is ready, it will be available to the mango farmers to grow.
Dr. Usha Saxena, a sorghum breeder scientist appointed at the center, says that this is a big achievement for the Jowar Improvement Project Center. It is expected that farmers will adopt this and it will help in increasing the area under depleting jowar. The bitterness of this jowar will also be a very digestible food for the animals. Principal Scientist and former in-charge of the project Dr. AK Badaya says that during the research, this seed was sent to the Indian Institute of Micrograin Research, Hyderabad (IIMR).
IIMR had given the seeds of this jowar to eight different Jowar Improvement Project Centers of the country for growing and viewing. It performed well for two years, but fell behind in the third year. Because of this, this species could not be accepted for every state but all over India, but it has been accepted at the state level in Madhya Pradesh.
Here are its features
- Production up to 43 quintals per hectare, rich in protein
The biggest feature of new jowar variety RVJ-2357 is that its productivity is higher than the previous varieties. Agricultural scientists have claimed that its productivity per hectare will be 35 to 43 quintals.
It will mature about a week earlier than the previous varieties with a duration of 100-110 days. The height of the plants will be 235 to 150 cm. It will have more immunity against diseases.
This sorghum will be rich in protein digestible for humans. Protein in grains is 12.45 percent, starch is 61.7 percent. Iron is 20.6 ppm and zinc is 11.8 ppm. Apart from grains, this bitter gourd will also be of very good quality in the form of animal feed, whose protein will be digested quickly by the animals.
About 40 years ago, the area of jowar in Madhya Pradesh was 25 lakh hectares, but at present it has been reduced to 2.34 lakh hectares. Jowar is now grown in the state only in Jhabua, Alirajpur, Betul, Chhindwara and areas connected with Maharashtra.
This news has not been edited by Apni Kheti staff but has been published by various news feeds
Source: Nai Dunia