BENGALURU: Chillies literally add spice to life, and each region has its own special variety. To preserve local varieties and provide seeds to farmers at cheap rates, the Indian Institute of Horticulture Research (IIHR) has developed virus-resistant local chilli varieties, which are likely to hit the market next year.
Speaking at the Aatma Nirbhar Krishi workshop organised by IIHR, its director M R Dinesh said that eight years of research has paid off, and five local varieties varieties will be in the market by December 2021. The use of local varieties of seeds would reduce dependence on imported ones, and save the country around Rs 150-200 crore in foreign exchange, he said.
Principal scientist at IIHR for vegetable breeding T Madhavi Reddy said that farmers bought seeds from private firms costing between Rs 40,000 and Rs 70,000 per kg, depending on the demand for the crop. But IIHR would be supplying the seeds at Rs 20,000-Rs 25,000 per kg, based on the region they are to be cultivated in. For example, in Guntur, farmers want chillies 8cm in length and 1cm in width, highly pungent and less wrinkled. But in Maharashtra, the requirement is for less pungent chillies which are rich in colour. Five such segments have been identified to suit local preferences.
Conventional breeding techniques have been used on watermelons too. Reddy said there is high demand for Arka Shama, a variety of oval-shaped watermelon with dark green exterior, brick red on the inside, which is juicy, tasty and has less fibre. They received feedback that there was a high demand for this, and farmers are keen on growing it, she said.
“We (consumers) cannot tell the difference. It is for the benefit of farmers. Most are disease-resistant varieties and consume less water,” Reddy said. IIHR has also partnered with private institutions to come up with innovative snacks such as jackfruit seed and mushroom seed chocolates, jackfruit juice etc.