Pokkali rice seedlings

Pokkali rice seedlings

• Farmers in South 24 Parganas district in West Bengal are betting on the pokkali variety of rice from Kerala to tide over a crisis­like situation created by severe seawater incursion into paddy fields in vast areas of the Sundarbans after cyclone Amphan hit West Bengal
• The pokkali variety, known for its saltwater resistance, flourishes in the paddy fields of coastal Alappuzha, Ernakulam and Thrissur districts. The uniqueness of the rice has brought it the Geographical Indication (GI) tag and is the subject of continuing research.
• Pokkali rice had been in the news because of its uniqueness and also because a group of people in Kerala have been trying to revive the cultivation of that variety in the State
• The science society was aware of the problem facing the Sundarbans farmers and it was decided that pokkali seeds could be tried out as saltwater incursion had been quite serious in vast areas of the Sundarbans.
• About 80% of the rice paddies in the Sundarbans faced the problem of saltwater incursion and if the pokkali experiment succeeded, it would be a good step to turn around the fortunes of the farmers
• Five kilos of Vyttila­11 variety of pokkali seedlings were sent by post by Francis Kalathungal, who is part of the Pokkali Samrakshana Samithi, which has been at the vanguard of a movement to revive pokkali cultivation and prevent it from dying out. 
• The success of the experiment in the Sunderbans will be a big boost to pokkali cultivation even in Kerala.
• Vyttila­11 is the latest variety to come out of Kerala Agricultural University’s field station in Vyttila
• Vyttila­11 promises a better yield of about 5 tonnes per hectare than the previous varieties and is crossed with the Jyoti variety of rice popular in Kerala. The crop duration is about 110 days.

Source: The Hindu