NEW PADDY VARIETY' PRATYASHA"

   " Pratysha " is the 21st variety developed by Mankombu rice Research station. The new seed" Pratyasha" is from the stables of the Mankombu Rice research Station (RRS), the 21 st variety  developed there to be precise. the RRS, which functions under the aegis of the kerala Agricultural University, had earlier developed the highly popular"Uma" variety, which was being used by over 80 percent of farmers in Kuttanad, and by about 50 percent across the state.
   However, unpredictable climate changes forced the RRS to think of variety that could ripen faster then" Uma" which takes 120 to 130 days to reach the harvesting stage.The research on " Pratysha" actually began way back in 1994, but the variety got approval from crop standard authorities late last year.
   "Pratysha" according to Ms Leenakumari,RRS Director, is a short duration variety that can be harvested after 100-105 days, which   means the sight of crop being damaged by rain just before ripening will not be as frequent as it has been. The yield, admits the developers, is slightly less than that of "Uma" with" Pratysha" offering  5 to 5.5 tonnes a hectare in place of Uma's 6 to 7.5 tonne a hectare capability
   At the same time, Pratysha promises better taste than Jyothi and Uma varieties and has much more nutritional value with a higher content of iron and zinc..
    More over farmers who could have only one round of cultivation in a year can go for both'puncha and the second round as well, courtesy the one month duration difference between the existing varieties and 'Pratysha'
    The RRS has developed 560 kg of new variety, 500 kg of which has been distributed to farmers- portion of it during the last season and some portion during the present' puncha' season. The remaining seeds have been given to seed farmers for mass production..

Prof. John Kurakar