India Develops High Yielding Red Gram

NEW DELHI - Jan 27/05 - SNS -- Plant breeders at the National Pulses Research Centre (NPRC) released a new, short season red gram variety, named Vamban-3, which they say has both better agronomic and quality characteristics.

The variety was developed under the All-India Coordinated Pulses Improvement Project, which is jointly financed by Indian Council of Agricultural Research and the Tamil Nadu Government. Seed will be available in June and July.

Vamban-3 is a cross between Vamban-1 and the Gulbarga variety. The variety matures between 100 and 105 days, making it suitable for inter-cropping with groundnuts, sorghum and cotton. It is also features pod borer pest tolerance and resistance to sterility mosaic disease.

Under trials at several locations, the variety has out-yielded existing ones by up to 25%. Under rain fed conditions, breeders expect yields to average 1,000 kilograms per hectare, compared to 1,200 under irrigation.