As NCRI releases three hybrid seed varieties, farmers predict bumper harvest this season

The National Cereal Research Institute (NCRI) Badeggi recently released hybrid varieties of rice, acha and soybean. In a document obtained from the Executive Director of NCRI, Dr Aliyu Umar, the three crops will be released to farmers this planting season. COLLINS NNABUIFE speaks with farmers on their readiness to adopt the new crop varieties.

THE National Cereals Research Institute (NCRI) Badeggi is one of the 15 commodity research Institutes under the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

The mandate crops of NCRI include rice, soybean, Beneseed, Acha, Castor Seed and stevia.

The Institute has the mandate to conduct research into genetic improvement of these crops, and all aspects of the production of these mandate crops include mechanisation and their utilisation.

Recently NCRI has registered and released different varieties of crops for rice, Acha and Soybean, which it plans to release for seed multiplication and planting this new planting season.

Nigerian farmers expressed eagerness to plant these new crop varieties as they hope to harvest big this season after some seasons of low yield and pest attack.

Rice

Rice is the world’s most important staple food and will continue to be so in the coming decades, be it in terms of food security, poverty alleviation, youth employment, use of scarce resources, or impact on the climate.

Specifically, Nigeria needs an increased supply of rice because of the increasing populations and decreasing land and water resources and this is true because of urbanisation and an aging farming population.

Hybrid rice technology offers an opportunity to increase rice yields and thereby ensures a steady supply. During the last three decades in Nigeria, rice yield growth has reached a plateau and no significant increase is being realised in productivity levels using inbreds.

Hybrid rice has the potential to increase yields by 15 percent to 20 percent over those of conventionally bred varieties.

Hybrid rice is a proven and successful technology for rice production, and can contribute significantly towards improving food security, raising rice productivity and farmers’ income and providing more employment opportunities over the next three decades.

For the past two decades, yield of rice has ranged between four to eight tons per hectare and with the increase in human population coupled with the dwindling arable land space for agriculture, there is need to exploit other technologies that can help leverage this problem of low yield in rice cultivation.

It is the belief of NCRI that using local germplasm to exploit heterosis breeding (hybrids) could enable it  to break the current ceiling that the already released mega commercial inbred has demonstrated

Inbred rice varieties generally have low yield with maximum yield potential ranging between four- 8eightmetric ton per hectare coupled with susceptibility to most of the biotic and abiotic stresses.

Also there have been agitation for the registration and release of hybrid rice varieties in Nigeria because of its higher yield potential reported in other countries to meet with fast teeming population across the country, low yield of inbred varieties will no longer be sustainable, hence the genetic improvement of hybrid rice to increase rice production

The Arize TEJ Gold which was developed by NCRI with a donor from Bayer Nigeria, has earliness to flowering compared to the former variety (Check), the yield advantage is 28.42 per cent over the former variety.

The variety also resists pests and disease unlike Check; it has a maturing period of between 115 and120 days. During the trial, the transplanting method gave a best yield of 9.7 tons per hectare.

The second variety of rice released by the Institute is the Arize 6444 Gold, which also showed tolerance to pest and disease, it has a yield advantage of 15.29 per cent over Check, with high productive tillers.

This rice variety has wider adaptability, early maturing of between (115 and 120 days. The transplanting method gave the best yield potential of 10 tons per hectare.

Chikwe Obioma, an Ebonyi State based rice farmer said this new rice varieties would make rice production more profitable because of its high yield capacity.

Obioma said that though the variety he plants gives him about four to five tons per hectare but this new variety with 10 ton per hectare capacity will be a game changer for him.

He said in the next planting season, he would ensure he plants this new variety and abide by all the good agronomic practices to get a good harvest.

Acha

The Institute also developed, registered and released its first Acha (Fonio) variety called NCRIACH 1 and NCRIACH 2.

Acha (Digitaria spp.) is a cereal crop. It is the most ancient indigenous cereal of West Africa with cultivation history dating back to 5000 years.

Acha is cultivated under a large range of environmental conditions, from a tropical monsoon climate in Western Guinea to a hot, arid desert climate in the Sudan and Sahel Zones.

In the 2008/2009 agricultural season, the available statistics indicated a total of 648,247 hectares harvested with 480,227 tons of grains produced.

In Nigeria, Acha is grown mostly in the Northern States, though recent trials indicate that Acha can also be grown in the Southern part of the country.

Acha is a very nutritious grain, high in leucine, methionine, cysteine and valine. It is richer in magnesium, zinc, iron, and manganese than other cereals and found to be significantly richer in thiamine (vitamin B1), riboflavin (vitamin B2), calcium, and phosphorus.

It is a crop that has a lower glycemic index than sorghum, corn, and rice. It can be consumed as stiff or thin porridge, couscous, added to salad or mixed with other flours for baking.

In Nigeria, two species of Acha are being cultivated (Digitariaexilis and Digitariaiburua). In the past few years, Acha has gained in popularity inside and outside of Nigeria because of its nutritional qualities.

It is cultivated for food, feed, fodder and fuel. It has medicinal value, recommended for diabetics and delivering women as a control in the spike of sugar level.

Over the years, Nigerian farmers have been cultivating local accessions of both species. Local accessions in the farmers’ fields have the yield of between 300-500kg and 500-700kg per hectare for D. exilis and D. iburua respectively.

For the crop to be part of the developed formal seed system there has been agitations for varieties to be registered and released in the country.

The crop is becoming popular, and the demand for improved seeds is also on higher demand, low yielding accession will not meet the need of the teeming population, therefore the development of this high yielding and good quality varieties

The released NCRIACH 1 has a potential yield of 818.03 kg per hectare; it is high yielding, with a yield advantage of 41.87% over and above the Popular Check.

It has high tillering/culm branching, good grain quality, and good market value. It also resists Leaf Miner Pest, tolerant to Leaf spot and leaf rust diseases. It can be planted in Northern, Southern and Derived Savannah Ecologies

The NCRIACH 2 has a potential yield of 1.48 t per hectare, a yield advantage of 47.45% over and above the Popular farmers’ variety.

It also has good tillering ability and resistance to lodging, good grain quality, good marketing value, tolerant to Leafminer pests, tolerant to Leaf spot, Strip and moderately resistant to leaf rust disease, and can also be planted in Northern, Southern and Derived Savannah Ecologies.

In Kano State, Musa Adamu, an Acha farmer said he had been battling with pests on his farm where he had spent a lot of money to control them.

Adamu said this new variety that resists the Leafminer pests and tolerant to leaf spot would ensure that he gets a good harvest, while saving the money he spends on chemical purchase.

Soybean

The third crop released by NCRI recently are the new Soybean Varieties which include the NCRISOY 3 (TGX2024-7E) which is early maturing (days to maturity: 90 – 100), with yield potential of  3.3 tons per hectare

It is tolerant to bacterial pustule, Cercospora leaf spot and rust, it has large seed size, early maturity, high promiscuous nodulation, non-shattering, non-lodging.

The protein content is 39.2 per cent, while the oil content is 20.71 per cent. this variety was registered and released by NCRI in collaboration with International Institute for Tropical Agriculture (IITA) in 2022

Another Soybean Variety is the NCRISOY 4 (TGx2020-4E) which is early maturing between 89 – 98 days, yield potential of 3.1 tons per hectare, tolerant to bacterial pustule, Cercospora leaf spot and rust.

It is high yielding, with large seed size, high promiscuous nodulation, non-shattering, non-lodging.

It contains 43.97 percent protein, and 20.96 per cent oil. This variety was registered and released by NCRI in collaboration with IITA in 2022.

The third soybean variety released by NCRI is the Sc Signal which is also early maturing (100 days), high yielding (potential Yield: 3.3 tons per hectare).

The variety is tolerant to rust disease (Phakopsorapachyrhizi), it is non-lodging, non-shattering and high pod clearance

The protein content is 43 per cent, while the oil content is 28 per cent. This variety was developed and released by SEEDCO Nigeria in 2022.

Oche Abu, a soybean farmer in Otukpo, Benue state, expressed delight over the new soybean variety released by NCRI.

Abu said the high protein and oil content of the new varieties would be a big business for farmers after harvest.

He said high yielding capacity of these varieties would also be a money spinner for the farmers who have been battling with low yield over the years.