The Central Rice Research Institute (CRRI) has developed an unique drought-resistant variety of paddy seed named ‘Sahabhagi’ that can survive and produce crop even without water for over three weeks. The roots of Sahabhagi variety paddy can penetrate deeper into the soil enabling it to draw ground water. “The new paddy seed can survive without water for over three weeks”, he said.

In drought conditions, plants begin to produce more of this hormone, which creates a number of changes to their physical structure. Their seeds lie dormant in the ground in order to wait out the dry period.  They slow their growth in order to conserve energy.  Tiny pores in their leaves are closed in order to prevent water from being lost.

International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) has successfully completed necessary research, experiments and validation of the new flash-flood tolerant variety paddies. The experiments at the field levels showed that the varieties can sustain 12 to 16 days submergence paving the way of producing average five tonnes per hectare in flash flood prone areas. Repeated successes in getting expected production of flood- tolerant paddy in Bangladesh and India in recent years have ushered in a new era in the disaster-prone agriculture sector of the country, sub- continent and other flood- prone countries. The success was achieved through farming Swarna Sub1 along with three new Sub1 entries of BR11 Sub1, IR64 Sub1 and Sambamasuri Sub1 flood-tolerant varieties of paddy using participatory variety selection mother trial methods. IRRI 250909

Organic agriculture is a safe, sustainable farming system, producing healthy crops without damage to the environment. It avoids the use of artificial chemical fertilizers and pesticides on the land, relying instead on developing a healthy, fertile soil and growing a mixture of crops. In this way, the farm remains biologically balanced, with a wide variety of beneficial insects and other wildlife to act as natural predators for crop pests and a soil full of micro-organisms and earthworms to maintain its vitality.
The avoidance of artificial chemicals means organic farmers minimize health and pollution problems. Pesticide particles travel on the wind for many miles.

The best reason for buying organic food is simply that it tastes extremely good, but undoubtedly there are sound health reasons for doing so too. It has been shown in some studies to have more vitamins and trace elements than conventionally grown food and, of course, it will not have been treated with noxious chemicals. There is a vast array of pesticides used in conventional agriculture, many of which are extremely toxic to humans, causing cancers as well as other illnesses.

Now, the sugarcane industry can take to drip method for cultivating the water-intensive crop, reducing input costs and also get higher yields. Agricultural scientists have taken a cue from the SRI (System of Rice Intensification) cultivation.