Kalanamak Rice

About:

• Kalanamak is a traditional variety of paddy with black husk and strong fragrance.
• It is considered a gift from Lord Buddha to the people of Sravasti when he visited the region after enlightenment.
• Grown in 11 districts of the Terai region of north-eastern Uttar Pradesh and in Nepal, the traditional variety has been prone to ‘lodging’, a reason for its low yield.
• Its yield is barely two to 2.5 tonnes per hectare.
  • Lodging:
    • Lodging is a condition in which the top of the plant becomes heavy because of grain formation, the stem becomes weak, and the plant falls on the ground.

Geographical Indication (GI) tag:

• The traditional Kalanamak rice is protected under the Geographical Indication (GI) tag system.
• It’s recorded in the GI application that Lord Budhha gifted Kalanamak paddy to the people of Sravasti so that they remembered him by its fragrance.

New varieties:

• Addressing the problem, the Indian Agriculture Research Institute (IARI) has successfully developed two dwarf varieties of Kalanamak rice.
• They have been named
  • Pusa Narendra Kalanamak 1638 and
  • Pusa Narendra Kalanamak 1652.
• The IARI says the new name is in recognition of its association with the Acharya Narendra Dev University of Agriculture and Technology in Ayodhya, for testing the two varieties.
• The yield of the new varieties is double that of the traditional variety. The IARI and the Uttar Pradesh Council of Agriculture are working together to make the seeds available to farmers at the earliest.