After almost a decade, the Jharkhand state seed subcommittee released nine high-yielding varieties of rice, groundnut, soya bean, sugarcane and chickpea crops, following a notification by the Gover

After cancelling its licence to sell 12 varieties of Bt cotton seeds last year, the State government has allowed Maharashtra Hybrid Seeds Company (Mahyco) to sell the seeds in the coming kharif season, subject to certain conditions.

Confirming this, State agriculture commissioner Umakant Dangat told The Hindu on Monday that Mahyco had given an affidavit to him stating that the company would supply 10 lakh packets of Bt cotton seeds of the popular MRC 7351 variety.

Of the total amount, Rs 3,500 cr will be disbursed in the khariff season and another Rs 2,500 cr during rabi plantation

Naveen Patnaik-led Biju Janata Dal (BJD) government on Monday announced to provide Rs 6,000 crore loan to the farmers at two percent interest rate through co-operative societies. This comes close on the heels of earlier scheme to provide free mobile handsets and health insurance to farmers, marking the overdrive by the ruling dispension to woo a prominent section of voters in the run up to the elections.

The Maharashtra government has lifted the ban on sale of Bt Cotton seeds supplied by Mahyco Seeds for the coming Kharif season "in public interest".

The Minister of Agriculture Ghulam Hassan Mir today dedicated the Mobile Plant Health Clinic van for district Udhamur under ATMA at Kissan mela held at village Neeli Nallah Jib.

The MLA Udhampur Balwant Singh Mankotia was also present on the occasion. Over 500 farmers including women participated in the Kissan Mela. Addressing the function Mr Mir said the mobile plant health clinic will act as an early warning system for the detection of diseases and pests for avoiding loss and it will also help in collecting location specific useful information of diagnosis making capacity.

"Climate change is projected to reduce timely sown irrigated wheat production by about 6% in 2020. In case of late sown wheat, the projected levels are to the extent of 18%," Pawar said in the Rajya Sabha.

Climate change is likely to bring down the production of key foodgrain crops like wheat and rice in the country by up to 18% in 2020, Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar said today.

The state government has increased the crop loan limit of farmers by 15% which will come into effect from the coming kharif season starting from mid June this year.

A delegation of the All-Jammu and Kashmir Kisan Union called on Governor NN Vohra at Raj Bhawan here today and presented a memorandum of their demands.

The Haryana Government bought tebucanazol from a multi-national company at 34-38 per cent more cost than the prevailing market rates at the time the deal was inked to buy the fungicide for the trea

Scientists Work On Breeds That Can Resist Climate Change

Researchers based at the Rice Research Station at Mankombu here are working on new hybrid derivatives of rice seeds, which could withstand the vagaries of climate change, salinity and waterlogging in eco-fragile regions like Kuttanad. A recent World Bank commissioned report had warned that the world was moving to a one degree celsius increase in mean temperature, and this would create extreme heatwaves and life-threatening rise in sea levels. The study also pointed out that coastal and wetland areas near the sea would be the most affected, creating havoc in the prevalent eco-system.