India's new velocity centers to deliver faster improved seeds

Copyright © HT Digital Streams Limit all rights reserved. Vijay C Roy 3 min read 28 Sept 2025, 06:31 PM IST A controlled atmosphere accelerates plant growth, which allows several generations each year instead of just one or two under natural conditions. (AFP) Summary The seed breeding technology makes it possible to create rapid crop development by creating controlled environmental conditions such as temperature, light intensity and day length in a room, allowing seeds to process seeds at a shorter time compared to the conventional way. India intends to establish five modern seed facilities across the country to encourage advanced seed research and develop high yields, disease resistant crops, senior government officials said. India already has two such facilities at the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) centers, and is expected to increase to seven by the end of this financial year, officials told Mint. The seed breeding technology makes it possible to create rapid crop development by creating controlled environmental conditions such as temperature, light intensity and day length in a room, allowing seeds at a shorter time compared to the conventional way. The process of multiplying seeds from the original plant breeding material to the final seeds distributed to farmers is known as ‘generation’. It can be used in crop varieties such as wheat, rice, cotton, soybeans, vultures, maize and mustard. A controlled atmosphere accelerates plant growth, which allows multiple generations each year instead of just one or two under natural conditions. It shortens the breeding cycle of a 2-3-year seed, reducing it from the current six years. The development assumes meaning, as the facilities enable scientists to develop and release new varieties within a shorter time. ‘The reduction in the breeding cycle enables researchers to quickly develop a new variety. This progress will expedite the development of high yields, disease resistant and quality crop varieties, making them available to farmers faster, ‘Mangi Lal Jat, Secretary, Department of Agricultural Research and Education (Dare), and Director-General, Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) told Mint. The proposed facilities will be developed at ICAR’s Institute across the country, such as the Central Institute for Cotton Research (CICR), Nagpur; Indian Institute of Rice Research (Iirr), Hyderabad; Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI), New -Delhi; Indian Institute of Agricultural Biotechnology (IIAB), Ranchi; and Indian Institute of Maize Research (IIMR), Ludhiana. Some facilities will be devoted to a specific crop, but others will support various crops. Depending on the area and facilities, each center would involve an investment from all over £ 2 and £ 12 crore. The facilities are expected to transform crop research by enabling the development of four crop generations per year, thereby significantly shortening the breeding cycles. In traditional farming, a farmer or researcher can usually only grow 1 or 2 generations (or crop cycles) per year due to seasonal limits. However, using controlled environments, researchers can produce four generations each year. “With the help of technology, the breeding cycle will be reduced to two to three years from six years, which will ensure that genome-edited varieties or hybrid varieties reach the fields much earlier,” says DK Yadav, Deputy Director General (Crop Science), ICAR, Delhi. The research facilities at the Indian Institute of Mustard Research, Bharatpur, Rajasthan and the Central Sainity Research Institute (CSSRI), Karnal, Haryana, are already in operation, with others starting, Yadav added. Traditionally, it takes 8-10 years to develop a new crop variety and transfer them to the fields. Speeding centers can reduce this time by three to four years. This means that farmers would gain access to high yields and climate-precious varieties much earlier, which helps them improve productivity and income. “By enabling multiple crop generations each year, these centers will quickly detect the delivery of high yields, climate-food seed varieties. For farmers, it means faster access to improved seeds that can withstand pests, diseases and volatile weather, leading to better yields and safer income,” said Ajai Rana, chairman of the Federation of the Federation of India. During 2014–2024, the national agricultural research system, including ICAR institutes and state and central agricultural universities, developed 2 900 location-specific improved crop varieties and hybrids. This included 1.380 grain, 412 oilseeds, 437 pulses, 376 fiber crops, 178 forage crops, 88 sugarcane varieties and 29 other crops. Agriculture and the related sector contribute about 16% to the GDP of India and support about 46.1% of the population. These seed facilities are likely to increase productivity and improve farm income. This pressure comes at a time when climate change and volatile weather patterns place unprecedented tensions on agriculture. Catch all the business news, market news, news reports and latest news updates on Live Mint. Download the Mint News app to get daily market updates. More topics #wheat #rice read next story