Pusa Krishi Vigyan Mela to kick off on Thursday

New Delhi, Feb 25 The Pusa Krishi Vigyan Mela 2021, a three-day event of ICAR-IARI, will be inaugurated by chief guest and Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar on Thursday.

Ahead of the annual event, IARI Director A.K. Singh on Wednesday briefed the achievements and inovative works done during the year, which will be showcased in the fair.

He said that a total of 15 varieties of field crops were released during this year. In rice, Pusa Basmati 1692, an early maturing Basmati rice variety with high yield (52.6 q/ha) has been released and notified for the states of Delhi, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh (Basmati GI area).

Two biofortified wheat varieties, namely HD 3298 with 43.1 ppm iron and 12.1 per cent protein, and HI 1633 with 41.6 ppm iron, 41.1 ppm zinc and 12 per cent protein, were also released during this period. In maize, a baby corn hybrid AH-7043 has been released.

( With inputs from IANS )