Ezhome Rice varieties Ezhome-1 and Ezhome–2 are the first high yielding, non-

lodging Lodging refers to the use of a short-term dwelling, usually by renting the living space or sometimes through some other arrangement. People who travel and stay away from home for more than a day need lodging for sleep, rest, food, safety, shel ...

organic

red rice Red rice is rice that is colored red due to natural anthocyanin content. It is usually eaten unpolished or partially polished, and has a red bran layer, rather than the more common pale brown. Red rice has a nutty flavor. It has the highest nut ...

varieties Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

. They are designed for the

saline Saline may refer to: Salt-related * Saline (medicine), a liquid with salt content to match the human body * Saline water, non-medicinal salt water * Saline, a historical term (especially American) for a salt works or saltern Places United States ...

-prone Kaipad rice fields of

Kerala Kerala ( , ) is a States and union territories of India, state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile ...

. They yield awn-less, non-shattering grains, and favourable cooking qualities, better than local

cultivar A cultivar is a kind of Horticulture, cultivated plant that people have selected for desired phenotypic trait, traits and which retains those traits when Plant propagation, propagated. Methods used to propagate cultivars include division, root a ...

s. The average yields of ‘Ezhome-1’ and ‘Ezhome-2’ are 3.5 tonnes/ha and 3.2 tonnes/ha respectively under close-planted and no-management conditions of Kaipad. This yield is 70% and 60% more than that of local cultivars. These varieties differ in duration, have distinct morphological and qualitative traits, and have different

salinity tolerance Halotolerance is the adaptation of living organisms to conditions of high salinity. Halotolerant species tend to live in areas such as hypersaline lakes, coastal dunes, saline deserts, salt marshes, and inland salt seas and springs. Halophiles are ...

mechanisms, imparting varietal diversity to the unique

ecosystem An ecosystem (or ecological system) is a system formed by Organism, organisms in interaction with their Biophysical environment, environment. The Biotic material, biotic and abiotic components are linked together through nutrient cycles and en ...

of Kaipad. These new seed varieties have been developed by the

Kerala Agricultural University Kerala Agricultural University (KAU) is a State university (India), state university for agricultural education, recognised as a State Agricultural University by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR). It is situated in Vellanikkara ...

with the participation of farmers of

Ezhome Ezhome is a census town in Kannur district in the Indian state of Kerala. Demographics As of 2011 Census, Ezhome had a population of 19,261 which constitutes 8,716 (45.25%) males and 10,545 (54.75%) females. Ezhome census town spreads over ...

panchayat. This is the first venture of Kerala Agricultural University in development of a variety i) adopting the combined strategy of Global Breeding (traditional), and

participatory plant breeding Plant breeding is the science of changing the traits of plants in order to produce desired characteristics. It is used to improve the quality of plant products for use by humans and animals. The goals of plant breeding are to produce crop varie ...

, and ii) carrying out all stages of variety development directly in the problem area of farmers.

References

* Vanaja, T., Neema, V.P., Mammootty, K.P., Balakrishnan, P.C., Jayaprakash Naik, B. (2017)
"A high yielding organic rice variety suited for coastal saline and non-saline fields: ‘Ezhome-2’"
''Journal of Organics'', 4(1). 28 pages. * Rice Agriculture in Kerala Rice production in India Rice varieties {{Poaceae-stub