Faisalabad:New wheat varieties are imperative to increase productivity amid climate change and harsh weather conditions, said Dr Sajid-ur-Rehman, Director General Agriculture Research Punjab.
Addressing the Annual Wheat Research Program 2024-2025 at Ayub Agricultural Research Institute (AARI) here on Monday, he said that AARI scientists have so far introduced more than 705 varieties of different crops and new seed varieties are contributing Rs.180 billion per annum to the national kitty.
He said that wheat is the major crop of Pakistan which was cultivated over more than 17.4 million acres of land in Punjab last year. He stressed innovation in the agriculture sector which was the baseline of national development.
He urged agri scientists to accelerate their research efforts and introduce new wheat varieties which have more resistance against climatic changes and give maximum production even during harsh weather conditions.
Chief Scientist Wheat Department AARI Dr Javaid Ahmad said that AARI scientists con
ducted 79 research experiments this year and introduced two new wheat varieties.
These varieties helped obtain 24 million tons wheat production this year by enhancing per acre yield up to 41 maunds in Faisalabad, Gujranwala and Sahiwal divisions which is record in the history of Punjab, he added.
He said that enhancement in wheat production is prerequisite to cater to domestic food requirements but unfortunately our farmers are still using centuries-old methods of wheat cultivation and harvesting.
He said that wheat was a profitable crop if the grower increase its production. He said that progressive farmers obtained 80 maunds per acre yield in Punjab by utilizing the latest techniques. If the ordinary farmer shifts his farming to modern technologies, he could also increase crop production, he added.
He said that Wheat Department AARI had so far introduced more than 90 wheat varieties. The wheat variety Akbar-2019 had 41 PPM zinc and it is the first zinc fortified wheat variety in Pakistan, he added.
Whe
at experts Dr Nadeem Ahmad, Hammad Tanveer, Fida Hussain, Dr Muhammad Sarwar, Muhammad Owais, Majid Nadeem, Muhammad Elyas Khokhar, Muhammad Kashif Aziz, Naveed Kamal, Azhar Mehmood and Ahmad Kamal also addressed the function and stressed the need for cultivation approved varieties for enhancing productivity.
Dr Imtiaz Hussain Member Crop Sciences PARC Islamabad, Dr Aziz-ur-Rehman, Dr Makhdoom Hussain, Dr Muhammad Aslam, Dr Khalid Hussain, Dr Muhammad Zafar, Dr Abid Niaz, Deputy Director Agriculture Information Faisalabad Muhammad Ishaq Lashari, Muhammad Zul-Kifl, Sadaf Shamim, Saadia Ajmal, Madam Saira, Madam Iqra, Madam Aneela Ali, Madam Maham and others were also present in the meeting.