We focus on grains and food industry.
We focus on grains and food industry.
We focus on grains and food industry.
We focus on grains and food industry.
We focus on grains and food industry.
We focus on grains and food industry.
We focus on grains and food industry.
We focus on grains and food industry. current time
Kashmir’s New Paddy Varieties Combine Higher Yields With Early Harvest
Kashmir’s paddy farmers could see a significant improvement in productivity and farm returns with the introduction of two newly developed rice varieties that have delivered yields of around 7.2 tonnes per hectare, nearly 2.5 times the national average. The varieties, Shalimar-4 and Shalimar-5, were developed at the Mountain Research Centre for Field Crops (MRCFC), Khudwani, under Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology-Kashmir. Shalimar-4 has been developed mainly for the plains, while Shalimar-5 is considered more suitable for higher-altitude areas.
A major advantage of the new varieties is their resistance to blast disease, a fungal infection that can cause substantial losses in rice crops. Their shorter maturity period is another key benefit, allowing farmers to harvest the paddy between September 15 and 25. The earlier harvest could give growers an opportunity to cultivate a second crop within the same agricultural year. This could be particularly useful in Kashmir, where cultivable land is under increasing pressure and farmers are seeking ways to generate higher returns from relatively small holdings. Official data shows that nearly 34,000 hectares of cultivable agricultural land were lost in the region between 1996 and 2023, raising concerns over the long-term sustainability of farming. The new varieties could therefore help improve rice productivity while enabling more efficient use of available farmland. Their shorter crop cycle may also support greater crop diversification and help farmers make better use of their limited land resources.
The varieties offer another source of farm income through paddy straw. Grain and straw make up roughly equal portions of the crop’s total biomass. Paddy straw has commercial importance in Kashmir, where it is used as cushioning material for apple cartons and as fodder for cattle during the winter months. With higher yields, disease resistance, earlier maturity and additional value from straw, Shalimar-4 and Shalimar-5 could strengthen the economics of paddy cultivation in Kashmir. The varieties also come at a time when farmers are facing rising input costs and increasingly uncertain weather conditions, making productivity gains and shorter crop cycles more important for farm incomes.
