Srinagar, Oct 14 : New varieties of rice which were distributed among farmers in Kashmir have shown good results, as farmers have managed to procure more produce as against traditional varieties.
Farmers from different areas of Kashmir told news agency—that after trying the new variety of rice provided by the agriculture department, they produced crops this year and that too disease free.
Mansoor Ahmad, a farmer from Kulgam, said that he was sowing traditional varieties but every year rice blast was common.
“This year I have tried SR3 rice given by the agriculture department and my produce is almost double and it is completely disease free,” he said. “People who have sowed the traditional varieties were having the same problems this year again.”
Nazir Ahmad, another grower from Pulwama said that the varieties given to them by the agriculture department have shown good results.
“I have four kanals of agricultural land, and the yield in the last few years was around 2.5 quintal per canal, however, this year it was around 4 quintal,” he said.
He said that new varieties are disease resistant and fetch more in the market as compared to traditional varieties. Besides, the rice is of high quality.
A top official of the agriculture department that SR3, SR4 and SR5 rice series have shown a very positive result on ground as the yield is 4-5 quintal per kanal.
He said that traditional varieties are prone to diseases and varieties of agriculture are being distributed after successful trails.
Notably, there are reports of rice blasts from different areas of Kashmir in traditional varieties
