Staff Reporter, Dhaka : Bangladesh Rice Research Institute (BRRI) has developed two high-yielding rice varieties, BRRI dhan105 and BRRI dhan106. BRRI dhan105 is a low glycemic index (GI) i.e., diabetic rice variety suitable for Boro season and BRRI dhan106 is a high-yielding T.Aus rice variety suitable for non-saline tidal areas in Bangladesh. In the 109th meeting of the National Seed Board held on 02 March 2023 these varieties were released for commercial cultivation. Secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture, Wahida Akter presided over the NSB meeting while Director General of BRRI Dr. Md. Shahjahan Kabir and other high officials of different organizations were present. With that the total number of BRRI developed rice varieties has reached to 113.

Among the newly developed varieties, BRRI dhan105 is a low glycemic index (GI) rice i.e., a diabetic rice for Boro season. BRRI dhan105 has green leaf, erect flag leaf, medium slender grain, intermediate leaf senescence, with the GI value 55.0. So, it is expected to gain wide acceptance as a diabetic rice due to its low GI properties. The plant height of the variety is 101 cm. The average grain yield of the variety is 7.6 t/ha. If proper management is provided, it can produce 8.5 t/ha grain yield. The grain size and shape of the variety is medium slender and grain color is golden. Its growth duration is 148 days. The thousand grain weight of this variety is 19.4g. The amylose content of BRRI dhan105 is 27.0% and protein content is 7.3%. The cooked rice is neat and tastes savory.

BRRI dhan106 is a high-yielding rice variety suitable for non-saline tidal submergence areas for Aus season. The flag leaf is erect, wide and long, dark green in color. The purple color is present at the base of the plant and the tip of rice grain. The average plant height is 125cm. Its average yield is 4.79 ton per hectare which is 17.4 percent higher than the check variety BRRI dhan27. If proper management is ensured, it can produce 5.49 ton per hectare yield. The special feature of the new variety is having lodging tolerance ability. The grain size and shape of the variety is medium bold and golden in color. Its growth duration is 117 days, thousand-grain weight of this variety is around 24.5 grams which will be accepted by the farmers of Barishal regions. Its grain contains 27.2% amylose and 8.5% protein. The cooked rice is fluffy.

After selecting the homozygous breeding lines, the yield performance was tested for three years in the BRRI research field. Then the yield performance of the breeding line was tested in the farmer field of non-saline tidal areas of the country in 2020-21. Later in 2021-22, the breeding line was considered as lodging tolerance in the study of the Plant Physiology Division in BRRI, then the breeding line was evaluated in 6 (six) non-saline tidal areas of Bangladesh in 2022-23 under the supervision of Seed Certification Agency. After checking the results of such testing and retesting the National Seed Board team finally decided to release a high-yielding T.Aus variety for cultivation in non-saline tidal areas of Bangladesh.