Buoyed by feedback from farmers that an improved rice variety released by the Agricultural Research Station (ARS), Mannuthy, Thrissur, in 2017 is a high-yielding one, the ARS is now gearing up for a large-scale demonstration to further enhance the yield.

The ‘Manuratna’ variety developed by the ARS, which is a Kerala Agricultural University (KAU) facility, has been yielding on an average 6.5 to 7 tonnes a hectare. The yield has been as high as 9 tonnes in the Kole paddy lands, for which the variety was originally developed. “We believe that with proper management, it can be increased to up to 10 tonnes a hectare,” A. Latha, Professor and Head, ARS, Mannuthy, said.

The ARS will perform the demo on 35 acres of Kole land in Cherpu grama panchayat, Thrissur, to try and improve the rice variety further, she said. An advantage of Manuratna is that it can be harvested in 100-105 days when other comparable short-duration varieties take a minimum of 115 days.

“The demonstration will be a participatory one with the involvement of local farmers,” Dr. Latha said.