Mangaluru: In a significant development for agriculture, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to launch 109 improved, climate-resilient, and nutrient-rich varieties of annual and horticultural crops in the second week of August. Among these are two innovative cashew hybrids from Puttur’s Directorate of Cashew Research (DCR) and two varieties each of coconut and cocoa from ICAR-Central Plantation Crops Research Institute (CPCRI) Kasaragod.
The DCR’s Nethra Jumbo-1 hybrid, developed by Dinakara Adiga and his team, stands out for its cost-effectiveness. This hybrid produces nuts weighing 12g, with over 90% being uniformly sized. It yields about 29-30 kg of kernel per 100 kg of nuts and has a higher grade kernel (W130) compared to the existing export standard grade W180. This variety reduces labor costs by Rs 16,000 per tonne and, at current market prices, can add Rs 26,000 per tonne in profit.
Another notable cashew hybrid, Nethra Ganga, created by Gangadhara Nayak’s team, features large nuts (12 to 13g) and clusters with a good yield. This variety flowers within two years of planting and continues to produce nuts from December to April, with a kernel percentage of 29.5% and a yield of over 5 kg per plant by the third year.
The CPCRI Kasaragod has developed two promising coconut varieties. Kalpa Suvarna is a dwarf, high-yielding variety known for its sweet tender coconut water and good quality copra. It produces 108-130 nuts per year and is suitable for processing tender coconut water and copra. Kalpa Shatabdi, a tall variety, offers large fruits with high copra content and good quality tender coconut water, yielding 105-148 nuts per year.
In cocoa, VTLCH-1 and VTLCH-2 are early-bearing, high-yielding hybrids. VTLCH-1, suitable for high-density planting under arecanut and coconut shade, produces 1.5-2.5 kg of dry beans per tree annually and is resistant to black pod rot and tea mosquito bug. VTLCH-2 also offers high yields and disease resistance, with similar bean characteristics, and is ideal for arecanut and coconut gardens.