High-yielding and pest-resistant variety of soybean developed
Part of: GS Prelims and GS-III – Economy
In news
Indian Scientists have developed a high-yielding and pest-resistant variety of soybean.
Scientists from MACS- Agharkar Research Institute (ARI), Pune, an autonomous institute of the Department of Science & Technology, in collaboration with Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) have developed this variety.
Key takeaways
This newly developed variety is called MACS 1407.
It is suitable for cultivation in Assam, West Bengal, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and North-Eastern states.
Its seeds will be made available to farmers for sowing during the 2022 Kharif season.
In 2019, India produced around 90 million tons of soybean.
Soybean is widely cultivated as oil seeds and a cheap source of protein for animal feed and many packaged meals.
India is striving to be among the world’s major producers of soybean.
High-yielding, disease resistant varieties of the legume can help achieve this target.
