BHU's agriculture department licenses high-yield, disease-resistant rice to private firm

Banaras Hindu University (BHU) has licensed a rice variety developed by its scientists to an industry partner so that it can be produced on a large scale and supplied to farmers in India and abroad.

The new variety, called Malaviya Manila Sinchit Dhan-1 (MMSD-1), was developed after nearly 18 years of research by BHU in collaboration with the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), Manila.

The university has signed an agreement with Trimurti Plant Sciences Pvt. Ltd., a Hyderabad-based seed company, to produce and distribute the variety. The agreement was signed at the BHU campus in the presence of vice-chancellor Ajit Kumar Chaturvedi.

The agreement was signed by BHU registrar Arun Kumar Singh and Amit Kumar Shukla, deputy general manager at Trimurti Plant Sciences. The partnership follows a public-private model in which the university will provide the breeder seeds and the company will multiply them and supply them to farmers.

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Officials said the collaboration was made possible with the support of BHU’s intellectual property rights and technology transfer cell, which works to help transfer university technologies to industry.

Rice variety developed by BHU scientists

The rice variety was developed under the leadership of Shravan Kumar Singh from the department of genetics and plant breeding at the institute of agricultural sciences, BHU.

Researchers say MMSD-1 can produce a yield of around 55 to 64 quintals per hectare and matures in about 115 to 120 days. It can grow in both transplanted and direct-seeded conditions and requires relatively less water. The variety performs well in states such as Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Odisha.

The grains are long and slender and break less during milling, which can help farmers get better prices in the market. The variety is also moderately resistant to common rice diseases and pests.

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Variety notified for key rice-growing states

Prof. Shravan Kumar Singh said the variety was released and notified by the Government of India in 2025 for major rice-growing states. He said it could help improve productivity and increase farmers’ income.

BHU officials added that through such collaborations the university wants to ensure that research done in laboratories reaches farmers and benefits agriculture on the ground.