An
aromatic rice variety Sunaulo Sugandha released in Nepal
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A
new rice variety, Sunaulo Sugandha, having a unique combination
of aromatic grain and high yield, was released in Nepal
by the National Seed Board (NSB) Nepal on 20 March 2008.
The variety was developed in Chitwan by the NGO, Local Initiatives
for Biodiversity, Research and Development (LI-BIRD), CAZS
Natural Resources (CAZS-NR), Bangor University, UK and the
National Rice Research Programme (NRRP) of the Nepal Agricultural
Research Council (NARC). |
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It
was bred with the active participation of farmers from the
Jaskelo Yuba Club (JYC), Chitwan. This was in a farmer participatory
process called client-oriented breeding (COB) where breeders
meet the real needs of their clients – the farmers
– by closely working with them. In initial participatory
research in Chitwan by LI-BIRD and CAZS-NR, farmers appreciated
some of the good traits of Pusa Basmati 1, such as excellent
grain quality, but they disliked the low straw yield from
the dwarf crop. To try to improve on Pusa Basmati 1, it
was irradiated and selections made from the resulting population
that was found to be highly diverse as it had previously
naturally crossed to other, unknown, varieties. Sunaulo
Sugandha was the most successful of all of the many selections
(a sister line, Sugandha-1, is quite widely grown). |
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The
combination of high yield (13% more than Masuli) with a high
market price (already 33% more than Masuli, a marker variety
for setting the price trends of rice trade in Nepal) is exceptional
and makes it a highly profitable variety. Farmers increase
their profit by nearly 80% when they grow Sunaulo Sugandha
instead of Masuli. Sunaulo Sugandha grain fetches a high market
price because it has good aroma, excellent eating quality,
and there is a high recovery of grain after milling with few
broken grains. |
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The
variety matures in about 150 days after seeding.
It yields up to 5.8 t ha-1 of grain and averages
3.8 t ha-1 under farmers’ levels of inputs
and management. It has been recommended for cultivation
in the terai and foot hills of Nepal up to 500 m
in medium and lowlands under both rainfed and irrigated
conditions. Unlike many other aromatic varieties,
it has sturdy plants, of about one metre in height,
so it does not lodge even under high fertility conditions.
The variety is resistant to blast, field tolerant
to bacterial leaf blight (BLB) and easy threshing.
Overall it has an enormous advantage over Masuli,
particularly where the latter does not do well because
of lodging problems and high blast infestation.
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In
hundreds of participatory trials in 29 districts
of Nepal across the terai and selected hilly districts
it was found to be highly preferred by both growers
and consumers. These trials have been conducted
by networks of District Agriculture Development
Offices (DADOs) of the Department of Agriculture
(DoA), the Institute of Agriculture and Animal Science
(IAAS) and NGOs. Farming communities, especially
Community Based Seed Producer Groups (CBSPG), from
various districts of Nepal also collaborated in
its verification and scaling out. This research
was funded by Department for International Development
(DFID) Plant Sciences Research Programme, UK. |
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