The acreage of 'Durum' wheat, which is known for its high protein content and is mostly used in making breads and pasta, has increased by 18 per cent to reach nearly 6.5 lakh hectares in Madhya Pradesh. Head of the Indore-based regional station of Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI) Akhileshnandan Mishra while talking to mediapersons on Sunday, said, "As per our estimate, during the current Rabi season, the Durum wheat has been sown on 6.5 hectares of land in the State. During the last Rabi season, it was sown on 5.5 lakh hectares."
Mishra further said, “In view of the new comparatively high yielding varieties, the inclination of farmers towards Durum wheat farming is increasing. This is a good sign, because during the past few years, its acreage in the State had gone down.” He said that during this Rabi season, the IARI's regional station here has provided farmers with four high quality varieties of Durum wheat. Out of these, one variety has been developed for the areas having limited irrigation facilities.
The other three varieties are developed for areas with sufficient irrigation supply. He said, “Right now the status of Durum wheat cultivation in the State is good. The current cold season is proving quite beneficial for the crop. We are expecting a bumper crop of Durum wheat this time." It is essential to promote the Durum variety with an aim to achieve to nutritional requirement target in
the country and to save the wheat crop from rust disease, he said. According to experts, wheat naturally contains nutritional contents like iron, zinc, fibre, yellow pigment and beta carotene. Because of its exclusive high nutritional qualities, this variety of wheat can be very helpful in tackling malnutrition. Durum is commonly known as 'Malwi' or 'Kathia' wheat. It is slightly harder than the normal wheat and is considered ideal for making food products like semolina, wheat porridge and pasta.