The Agriculture College and Agriculture Research Centre, Boerdar in Raigarh district have developed new varieties of turmeric and coriander that provide more immunity and better yield.
Agriculture scientists have attained this success as the result of rigorous research and experiments of last nine years. Proposal for issuing notification regarding these newly-discovered varieties has been sent to Central Government's Notification Committee, officials stated.
As soon as the proposal is approved, seeds of these new variety turmeric and coriander will be made available to farmers. The farmers engaged in spice cultivation are expected to reap more profit by using advanced seeds of these new varieties. Use of these seeds will not only reduce the input cost but will also increase the production. These newly-discovered varieties of turmeric and coriander have been named as Indira Coriander-1 and Indira Turmeric-1.
Officials of Indira Gandhi Agriculture University stated that large number of farmers in the State are engaged in cultivation of spices, especially coriander and turmeric.
Research and experiments to discover Indira Coriander were underway since year 2006-07. Since then, scientists of Agriculture College and Agriculture Research Centre, Boerdar have been consistently making efforts to discover the new species.
Indira Coriander takes a period of 95 days to ripe fully. Its yield is 8 quintal per hectare, which is 18.5 per cent more than the national average. This variety has better immunity against diseases, pests and aphids. leaves and seeds of this variety have enhanced aroma and flavour. Its saplings are around 90 cm tall which generally bear fruits in 45 days.
Officials informed that the new variety of turmeric- named Indira Turmeric-1 has production of 18 to 20 tonnes per hectare, which is 20 per cent more than national average. It has better immunity against several diseases.
The variety has been found to better yield when paired with nitrogen fertiliser. Number of primary tuber of Indira Turmeric is 4 while its secondary tuber is around 9-10. This variety of turmeric has been discovered after constant research since year 2004-2005.