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Tuesday, March 19, 2024
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35 new potato varieties to be launched soon

Karnataka: The Hassan Horticulture Research Extension Station of the University of Horticultural Sciences-Bagalkot (UHS-B) will launch 35 new varieties of potatoes soon.

Though the current potatoes varieties have fully met the market demands of rapidly expanding potato industry yet the newer varieties of potatoes will have more tolerance to major diseases, higher yields, better storability and processing qualities.

The new varieties of potatoes will expect to respond to various demands of the potato industry regarding quality while increasing the variety options available to farmers

Potato is cultivated on around 33,000 hectares in the state and Hassan alone accounts for 12,000 hectares.

The station of university is in the process of producing seeds of potatoes locally to prevent the practice of importing them from north India, which is  expensive.

The University researchers are developing high yielding, pest-resistant and high tolerant varieties in association with All India Co-ordinated Research Project of Potato. The field trials of all new varieties are under way . Already, Jyoti, Surya, Kufri, and Himalini varieties have been introduced to farmers. Among the new varieties, which are set to be released, AICRP C-28 variety is the one to be watched due to its distinct features. The new variety, which is a 125-day crop (around 15 days more than traditional variety) will give an yield of around 40 tonnes/acre unlike traditional variety, which gives around 30 tonnes. This is a heat tolerant and pest-resistant variety whose tubers will be bigger in size.