Ludhiana: In a significant breakthrough towards enhancing crop production in the country and tackling the impact of climate change on agriculture, the Punjab Agricultural University has set up an innovative crop breeding research facility to grow wheat six times a year under controlled climatic conditions, sources said. The state of the art facility 'AccelBreed, was inaugurated by Punjab finance minister Harpal Singh Cheema at Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) in Ludhiana on Monday in presence of top university officials.
The research facility spread on 541.87 square meters and comprising eight controlled chambers, is equipped with fully automated system to regulate various environmental conditions like light, heat, humus etc. In the AccelBreed facility of the PAU, crop rotation cycles are possible up to 5-8 cycles per year as per an official. The research facility is touted to be a milestone towards enhancing the crop production and food security of the country by providing food to 10 billion people by 2050.
Sources said that research experiments on wheat, paddy, brassica, peas and chickpeas will be accelerated through speed breeding technology at the AccelBreed facility of the PAU and wheat can be harvested in 60-65 days through the method. Similarly, the cultivation period can be accelerated in paddy, brassica and peas through this method. Through this technology, not only environment-friendly cultivation will be possible, but food security around the world can be ensured by speeding up the cultivation of major crop varieties.
PAU Agriculture Biotechnology Department Director, Dr Praveen Chhuneja said that AccelBreed has the ability to research over 40,000 plants under extreme conditions. Dr Chhuneja said that the wheat crop normally takes 145 to 160 days to ripe, but at the AccelBreed centre, it is ready in 50 to 60 days given the enhanced exposure of the crop to light. The technology will be of great benefit to farmers as well as scientists as it often took 12-12 years for scientists to develop a new variety.
The research facility will help in speeding up the research work and save time of the scientists.
