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GAZIPUR, 6 Feb (BSS): The Bangladesh Rice Research Institute (BRRI) has developed eight more high-yielding varieties (HYV) of rice, six of which are expected to be released for commercial cultivation by the next year.
The other two fine quality of aromatic rice are now awaiting the concerned authorities' approval to go for cultivation at the field level.
The BRRI had so far released thirty-one high-yielding Modern Varieties (MVs) of rice. Twenty-one of these are suitable for cultivation in the Aus and Boro seasons and ten in the transplant Aman season.
The scientists at the BRRI opposed the idea of some imported hybrid varieties of rice for massive cultivation at field level because the experimental cultivation of those varieties at BRRI's different stations has failed to give optimum results.
The country needs hybrid varieties to come with the increasing demand for food-grains but such varieties would not be suitable unless they are developed on the basis of local agro-ecological and climatic situation, they observed.
It is learnt that recently the government had allowed some private firms to import hybrid varieties of rice seeds for field cultivation but without a proper laboratory test it would be risky to release those varieties for massive field cultivation.
Some hybrid varieties were examined by the BRRI, but only a single variety(CNSGC-6) was found suitable for cultivation.
The Director General (DG) of BRRI said the success of hybrid varieties depends on their yield capacity in comparison with the local popular ones, quality of rice and the benefit to the peasants.
It should be wise to take into account these issues before release of hybrid varieties for massive cultivation at the field level.
The sources said, BRRI entomologists have identified 175 species of rice insect pests, 99 species of parasites and 88 species of predators.
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