ICRISAT, BARI launch improved groundnut variety

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The Hyderabad-based International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) and Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute (BARI) have released BARI Chinabadam-12 (ICGV 07219), an improved groundnut variety in Bangladesh. The variety is available for cultivation for the upcoming season post rains.

It demonstrates greater resistance to foliar fungal diseases and matures four days earlier than its counterpart. Additionally, the variety features desirable seed size, with kernels weighing 44-48 grams per 100 kernels, showing a sizeable increase of 4-8 grams compared to the check variety.

“This improved variety is more resistant to diseases and has been designed to meet the needs of food processing industries,” an ICRISAT executive said.

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The variety clocks an average on-farm yield of about 2.0 to 2.2 tonnes per hectare. It has been approved for commercial release after successful testing in the country.

“This new variety presents a valuable opportunity for expanding groundnut cultivation in areas typically submerged during the rainy season, such as the ‘Char regions’ (newly-formed landmasses in a river or estuary) or locations adjacent to rivers with sandy-loam soil,” Manjurul Khadir, Principal Scientific Officer at BARI’s Regional Agricultural Research Station, said.

“I look forward to further releases, and it is great that BARI is currently testing high oleic acid groundnut varieties to meet the industry’s demands,” Sean Mayes, Research Programme Director (Accelerated Crop Improvement) at ICRISAT, said.