‘BRRI Dhan-90’, invented by Bangladesh Rice Research Institute (BRRI), has been cultivated experimentally for the first time in the coastal area of Khulna in the current Aman season.
Cultivated on only three Kathas of land, this high yielding modern variety of fragrant rice has produced bumper yields. The yield of this thin and fragrant rice per hectare is five tones and this has caused a huge response among the farmers in the area.
At present, the paddy fields of the local Baran variety are still green and only flowering. It will take about two more months for these paddy to be harvested. But with the expected yield in less than 118 days after planting at the same time, new possibilities have emerged with BRRI Dhan-90 variety.
By cultivating this new variety in the lands which are about medium high and high, it will be possible to cultivate Robi crops especially mustard, potato, vegetables after harvesting the paddy in mid ‘Kartik'.
Usually in this area no new crop can be cultivated as the local variety of Aman paddy ripens very late. As a result, most of the land in the area is monoculture and remains arid for 7-8 months of the year.
BRRI Dhan-90 ripens in just four months and the yields are very high. The maximum yield per hectare of local Rani Salt, Jatai, Harkoch, Vatel paddy is 3.5 to 4 tons. BRRI Dhan-90 can produce up to 5 tons there.
The Department of Agricultural Extension has no information about the cultivation of this paddy in the field in the greater Khulna coastal area. Even very few people know about BRRI Dhan-90 being cultivated in Dauniafad village of Batiaghata.
Ranjit Roy, a farmer from Guptamari village, was the first to cultivate this paddy. An amateur paddy farmer collected 2 kg of seeds from BRRI. Seeing the yield of this paddy, many people have increased their interest in cultivating this paddy.
Ranjit Roy is very happy to get three mounds yield on his three Katha of rented land. He said, "I never thought I would get such a good yield of paddy on such a small area”.
Arti Roy, a farmer from Dainiyafad village said, "I have never seen such a good yield of such beautiful small grains of paddy before. This rice is delicious to eat and is suitable for cooking in various festivals as it has aroma.
BRRI scientists say that this rice can be exported abroad. Not only in the coastal area of Khulna, but also in the whole country, the scientists hope that BRRI Dhan-90 will become very popular as an advance Aman paddy. Only in 2019, this variety was cleared for field cultivation by the Seed Certification Board.
