Mahyco enters into joint venture with US RiceTec for HT rice and wheat
Shirish Barwale, Managing Director, Mahyco Pvt. Ltd
Seeds major Mahyco has formed a 50:50 joint venture with US-based seed company Ricetec, called Paryan, to introduce eco-friendly, non-GMO herbicide tolerant (HT) rice and wheat varieties to Indian farmers.
The JV, one of several that Mahyco has entered into with a global seed company following the highly successful JV with Monsanto, will be aimed at licensing HT traits and HT-marked hybrids and varieties for rice and wheat to seed companies, all of which will introduce the technologies into their own seed varieties.
The rice and wheat hybrids and varieties resulting from these technologies are resistant to the widely used broad spectrum herbicide ‘imazethapyr’.
The promoters claimed that farmers can freely use the herbicide ‘imazethapyr’ without fear of the plants turning yellow, making them ideal for direct sowing without fear of weeds. While the wheat varieties are suitable for zero-tillage cultivation.
In the case of HT rice, the technology that the JV will bring to market is called ‘FullPage’. This is a new generation double stack mutant herbicide tolerant rice technology.
In the case of wheat, the technology is called the ‘FreeHit’ system. This is also a unique, double-stacked, herbicide-tolerant mutant in specially bred wheat varieties and a specially formulated herbicide that helps farmers control weeds and increase yields.
Explaining the benefits of the technology, Shirish Barwale, Managing Director, Mahyco, said field studies show that the cost of seven kilograms of hybrid rice seed with this technology plus the herbicide ‘imazethapyr’ is around Rs 5,150 per acre, while six kilograms of another rice seed along with a complex mix of herbicides costs around Rs 4,000 per acre.
“But this additional cost of using the old conventional seeds does not include tractor rent, cost of ploughing and labour for transplanting rice, which ranges between Rs 6,500-7,000 per hectare depending on the area where the rice is grown,” Barwale said.
In addition, savings will be achieved because less irrigation is required with DSR rice.
While rice transplanted using the conventional puddling method requires about 15 irrigations, DSR rice requires about 10 irrigations.
“By reducing methane emissions through the use of DSR, rice farmers can earn up to two carbon credits for rice, which can then also be converted into cash for additional income for the farmers,” said Ajai Rana, head of Asia Pacific for RiceTec in India (operating as Savannah Seeds).
In India, rice is grown on about 44 million hectares of land per year, while wheat is grown on about 30 million hectares. Of this, hybrids in rice account for only about 9 percent of the area, while in wheat it is even less. Rice is grown by DSR method on only about 0.5-0.6 million hectares annually.
Rana said their field studies have shown that the yields per hectare of DSR rice grown with their seeds and rice grown conventionally are almost the same.
First print: Aug 01, 2024 | 12:12 AM IST