Low Arsenic Accumulating Rice Cultivar for Safe Human Consumption

CN1794-2-CSIR-NBRI, a rice cultivar developed in joint collaboration between CSIR-NBRI, Lucknow and Rice Research Station, Chuchura, is suitable to be for cultivation in arsenic contaminated areas.

The cultivar has exhibited low arsenic in grains (147 µg kg-1) and high yield [5.0 (kharif)-6.0 (boro) t/ha].

The cultivar demonstrated a yield advantage of 10-15% over popularly grown varieties which would also increase income of farmers.

The cultivar has been developed using popular cultivar as parents through conventional breeding method, hence there is no eco-hazard issue.

The larger beneficiary are the marginalized and malnourished rural population, whose chief constituent in diet is rice. Thus there should be a drastic reduction in arsenic related ailments.

Socio-economic benefits:

It is estimated that rice contributes up to 50% of the total dietary arsenic for West Bengal and Bangladesh populations where rice is the staple food. In this backdrop the following socio-economic benefits of Muktashree emerged.