‘VL Barik Dhan’ an early and long slender rice variety for cultivation under medium elevation of Northern hills

Abstract

VL Barik Dhan is an early-maturing (115-120 days) rice variety developed by ICAR-Vivekananda Parvatiya Krishi Anusandhan Sansthan (VPKAS), Almora, Uttarakhand which was officially notified vide S.O. No. 1560(E), dated 26.03.2024. It is well-suited for irrigated transplanted conditions of Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, and Jammu & Kashmir. With its long, slender grain (6.90 mm kernel length; L/B ratio 3.28), the variety is gaining popularity among the younger generation in the hilly areas. VL Barik Dhan has shown stable and consistent performance across medium hill regions, with an average yield of 4,500 kg/ha over three years of testing under the All India Coordinated Rice Improvement Project (AICRP). It has demonstrated significant yield advantages of 15.49%, 82.41%, and 16.81% over the national check VL Dhan 86, regional check Shalimar Rice 3, and local check, respectively. The variety was developed through the cross VL 31339 × BL 122. It has a plant height of 95-100 cm and exhibits a semi-dwarf, semi-erect, and non-lodging plant type with green basal leaf sheath, compact and well-exerted panicles and awnless grains. It also showed excellent grain quality, with hulling recovery of 80.7%, milling recovery of 72.2%, and head rice recovery of 67.2%. The variety has intermediate gelatinization temperature (ASV 5.0) and amylose content of 24.21%, gel consistency of 22 mm, and rarely showed grain chalkiness. In terms of disease resistance, VL Barik Dhan has shown moderate resistance to major rice diseases including leaf blast, neck blast, brown spot, sheath blight, and bacterial leaf blight, making it a promising and reliable choice for farmers in hill regions seeking higher productivity and quality grain.