LAHORE: The 36th meeting of the Sindh Seed Council on Monday approved three cotton varieties for general cultivation.

These varieties have been developed by the Central Cotton Research Institute (CCRI) Sakrand, a subsidiary of the Pakis­tan Central Cotton Comm­ittee (PCCC) Multan. The approved varieties include one non-BT (CRIS 644) and two BT varieties (CRIS 674 and CRIS 682).

CCRI claims that these varieties have high-quality fiber are heat tolerant with higher yield.

The council’s meeting, held in Karachi after four years, brought together agricultural experts, cotton specialists, breeders, progressive farmers, and representatives from public and private institutions.

The meeting, chaired by Sindh Agriculture Mini­ster Sardar Muhammad Bakhsh Mahar, discussed new cotton, wheat, maize and rice varieties and deferred approval of some varieties pending further experimentation. The breeders were told to come up with the seeds that are heat-tolerant, not easily vulnerable to pest attacks and consume less water.

Published in Dawn, September 10th, 2024