New Hybrid Maize through Molecular Biology.

Maize is the third major food crop in India. It is a rich source of calories and proteins for the disadvantaged sections of the society. The Indian variety of maize is deficient in essential amino acids i.e. lysine and tryptophan. Under a project sponsored by the Department of Biotechnology (DBT) a high quality protein maize has been developed which has 40% more of the essential amino acids than the normal variety. The Union Minister for Science and Technology and Earth Sciences, Shri Kapil Sibal revealed this at a press conference in New Delhi today.

Vivek Hybrid 9 is one of the best maize hybrids developed by Vivekananda Parvathiya Krishi Anusandhan Sansthan (VPKAS) and is being cultivated in the states of Uttarakhand, Himahcal Pradesh, J&K, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamilnadu and Maharashtra. Its disadvantage is that it is late maturing. Thus it does not normally fit into the cropping pattern of the cultivators in the hilly States. Accordingly DBT sought to rectify the disadvantages of Vivek and improve upon its quality protein content. It sponsored a project at VPKAS with the twin objectives. Success has been achieved on both these counts. The new early maturing Hybrid variety (FQH 4567) has been developed with 40% more lysine and tryptophan content and a 10% higher yield. Field trials in several States have given excellent results in cultivation of FQH 4567. Accordingly, it has been accepted for release for commercial cultivation. It is envisaged that with the release of the new variety for commercial cultivation nutritional food security of the disadvantaged sections of the society would be better ensured.

Source : Press Information Bureau
Date : January 16, 2008