Punjab: Sheller owners decide to boycott PR-126 variety

Punjab: Sale of fake and hybrid seeds of the much-hyped short duration paddy variety PR-126 is once again in the news. The issue has angered sheller operators, who have refused to store the fresh produce. The decision was taken after a general body meeting of rice millers. Tarsem Lal, president of the All India Rice Millers Association, said hybrid variety paddy was sown last year but the percentage of broken grains ranged from 30 to 45 per cent. The rice yield after milling was only about 62 kg per 100 kg of paddy, while millers had to deliver 67 per cent paddy stock with them. If the yield is low, millers will have to compensate for the loss. “A similar situation will be faced this season as well.

Therefore, it has been unanimously decided to boycott the storage of PR-126 variety. We want the government to first conduct laboratory tests to check the authenticity of seeds and assess paddy-rice conversion ratio,” Tarsem Lal said. He said, “PR-126 is an excellent variety, but the problem started when Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann started promoting it. Some companies sold fake and hybrid seeds to farmers claiming that it was PR-126 variety. But, the result was that after milling 100 kg of paddy, the paddy-to-rice conversion ratio was only 61-62 kg.” Bharat Bhushan Binta, president of Punjab Rice Industry Association, said, “Millers have no problem with PR-126 variety. The problem is with the rice production norms set by the Center, which needs to be revised.”