ICAR: World's first genome-edited rice varieties to boost yields 30%

NEW DELHI: The Indian Council of Agricultural Research ( ICAR ) - the country's premier agriculture research organisation - has developed the world's first genome-edited improved varieties of rice to boost yields by 20-30%, conserve water and reduce emission of methane - a potent greenhouse gas.

Releasing the two genome-edited varieties - ' DRR Dhan 100 (Kamala)' and ' Pusa DST Rice 1 ' - Union agriculture minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Sunday said these two climate-resilient and high yielding varieties would ensure a second green revolution in the country. He instructed ICAR officials to make these seeds available to farmers at the earliest.

"Scientists are currently in the process of getting Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) of these two varieties. Certified seeds will reach farmers for cultivation in minimum two years," said an official.

Genome-editing, particularly the CRISPR-Cas technology , is being recognised as a breakthrough in precision breeding. It enables scientists to make targeted changes in the native genes of living organisms, and creating new and desirable traits without introducing foreign DNA.

ICAR claimed that the cultivation of these improved rice varieties in about five million hectares of the recommended area will produce 4.5 million tons of additional paddy, save a minimum 7,500 million cubic meters of irrigation water due short-duration maturity (20 days early), and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 20%. "Development of these two varieties using genome-editing technology has paved the way for using this innovative method in other crops too for higher yields, climate resilience and improved quality to achieve the targets of 'Viksit Bharat'," said an ICAR statement.

Genome-edited 'Kamala' is recommended for cultivation across major rice-growing states, including Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, Kerala, Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Jharkhand, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal. The other new variety - 'Pusa DST Rice 1' - is also recommended for cultivation in most of these states.

Recognizing the transformative potential of the new technology, ICAR initiated a genome-editing research project in rice in 2018 and selected two widely cultivated mega rice varieties - 'Samba Mahsuri (BPT5204)' and 'MTU1010 (Cottondora Sannalu)' - to further enhance their qualities through technological interventions.

ICAR scientists eventually enhanced these varieties with better stress tolerance, improved yield, and climate adaptability without compromising their existing strengths, and developed the two new genome-edited varieties 'Kamala' and 'Pusa DST Rice 1'.