National Rice Research Institute (NRRI) has developed a mobile app for Android called riceXpert that will provide information related to farm practices, Union Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh said on Monday.
The Android app, listed on Google Play, provides information to farmers in real-time on insect pests, nutrients, weeds, nematodes and disease-related problems, rice varieties for different ecologies, farm implements for different field and post harvest operations, he said.
The app has Web-based application systems which facilitates flow of information from the farmer to the farm scientist and get offer quick solutions. The farmers can send the photo and voice through this mobile app. This would be a real boon to farmers, he added.
Singh was speaking at a farmers' fair. Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, Member of Parliament Bhartruhari Mahtab, ICAR Director General Trilochan Mohapatra among others were present at the event.
Highlighting various measures taken by the Central government in the farm sector, the Agriculture Minister congratulated the team of NRRI scientists for developing this unique IT-enabled handheld mobile app and world's first high protein rice variety 'CR Dhan 210'.
The 'CR Dhan 210' variety, which has 11 percent protein in comparison to 6 percent in normal rice varieties, has been notified by the Central Varietal Release Committee for cultivation in different states in irrigated condition.
"It is worth noting that this Institute is working to develop rice varieties through 'Doubled Haploid' technique.
The rice varieties developed through this technique will have the yield potential equivalent or better than hybrids in one hand, and on the other hand, farmers need not to purchase the seeds every year as they can save their own seeds for next crop," the Minister added.
NRRI is a government's owned research body under Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR).
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