Shimla:The Himachal Pradesh Agriculture Department has introduced two high-yielding varieties of wheat -- DBW 222 and DBW 187 -- to boost foodgrains production in the state. The high-yielding wheat varieties, DBW 222 and DBW 187, have yield of 60 quintals per hectare, compared to 35-37 per quintal of existing varieties.
Around 23,000 quintal seeds of these two varieties have been supplied to farmers at 50 per cent subsidy, subject matter specialist, at the Himachal Pradesh Agriculture Department Rajiv Minhas said. Minhas further added that DBW222 (Karan Narendra) has high rust resistance and lodging tolerance and possesses better agronomic attributes besides adaptation to sowing time, while DBW 187 (Karan Vandana) is extremely rich in protein and iron.
The new varieties has been timely sown (October 15 to November 15) in lower hills of Kangra, Una, Hamirpur, Solan, Bilaspur and Sirmaur districts as rains provided required moisture in the soil and paved way for timely sowing of wheat even in the rainfed areas, said director agriculture B R Takhi. Wheat is being produced in 3.30 lakh hectare in the state and the production target is 6.17 lakh MT (metric ton) while the total foodgrains production during 2022-23 is estimated at 1649.97 thousand MT.