India already has two such devices in the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) centers and is expected to increase to seven by the end of this fiscal year, Mint officials said.
Seed breeding technology allows rapid development of crops by creating controlled environmental conditions such as temperature, light intensity and daily length in the chamber, allowing seed processing in a shorter time compared to the conventional manner.
The process of reproduction of seeds from the original breeding material of plants into the final seeds, which are distributed to farmers, is called “generation”. This can be used in crops such as wheat, rice, cotton, soy, millet, corn and mustard.
The controlled atmosphere accelerates plant growth and allows more generations instead of one or two under natural conditions every year. This shortens the breeding cycle of seed by 2-3 years, which will reduce it from the current six years.
Development assumes importance because the facility would allow scientists to develop and release new varieties in a shorter period of time.
“The Reduction in the Breeding Cycle Will Allow Researchers to Quickly Develop and New Variety. This Advancement Will Expedite the Development of High-Yielding, Disease-Resistant, and Quality Crop Variety, Making Them Available to Farmers MORE,” MANGI LAL JAT, Secretary Department of Agricultural Research and Education (Dare), and Director General, Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) Told Mint.
The proposed devices will be developed on ICAR institutions across the country, such as Central Institute for Cotton Research (CicR), Nagpur; Indian Institute of Rice Research (Iirr), Hyderabad; Indian Agricultural Research Institute (Iari), New Delhi; Indian Institute of Agricultural Biotechnology (IIAB), Ranchi; and the Indian Institute of Research Corn (IIMR), Ludhian. While some devices will be devoted to a particular crop, others will support multiple crops.
Each center would mean an investment anywhere £2 crore and £12 crore, depending on the area and equipment.
The device is expected to transform crop research by allowing the development of four generations of crops per year, thus significantly shortening breeding cycles. In traditional agriculture, a farmer or researcher can usually grow only 1 or 2 generation (or crop cycles) per year due to seasonal limits. However, scientists can produce four generations every year using controlled environments.
“With the help of technology, the breeding cycle will be reduced to two to three years from six years at present, ensuring that varieties edited by genome or hybrid varieties will reach the fields much earlier,” said DK Yadav, Deputy CEO (Science Crop Science), ICAR, Delhi.
Research facilities at the Indian Institute of Mustard Research, Bharatpur, Rajasthan and Central Soild Salinity Research Institute (CSSRI), Karnal, Haryana, are already functional, while others will be briefly launched, Yadav added.
Traditionally, it takes 8-10 years to develop a new crop variety and convert it to a field. This time, speed breeding centers can reduce by three to four years. This means that farmers would gain access to high -profit and durable climate resistant varieties much earlier, which helped them improve productivity and income.
“By permitting several generations of crops every year, these centers quickly monitor the supply of high -profit seed varieties. For farmers, this means a faster approach to improved seeds that can withstand pests, illnesses and irregular weather, which will lead to better yields and more secure income,” said Ajai Rana, Federation of India chairman.
In 2014–2024, it developed a national system of agricultural research, including ICAR Institutes and State/ A Central Agricultural Universities, were 1,380 cereals, 412 oil seeds, 437 pulses, 376 fibers, 178 fora, 88 sugar trembling varieties and 29 other crops.
Agriculture and allied sector contribute approximately 16% to Indian GDP and support about 46.1% of the population. These seed farming devices are likely to increase productivity and improve agriculture income. This pressure comes at a time when climate change and irregular weather patterns lay unprecedented stress on agriculture.
(Tagstotranslate) equipment for breeding India seeds
