Winter vegetables with short growing seasons and high yields, such as gram, onion, peas, carrot, turnip, radish, garlic, spinach, and coriander, are the subject of the research.
In order to replace hybrid crops with high-yielding local crops, agriculture scientists and researchers at Sindh Agriculture University (SAU) prioritized research on new varieties and the expansion of certified vegetable seeds varieties.
They have begun studying native and non-native vegetable species. The research has begun with the projects “Genetic characterization, evaluation, and selection of onion germplasm entries for resistance to onion thrips” and “Characterization and identification of early maturing and high yielding chickpea genotypes.”
The study is being conducted with assistance from the National Research Programme for Universities (NRPU), Higher Education Commission Islamabad, and the Sindh Higher Education Commission (SHEC), Karachi, under the direction of specialists from the Faculty of Crop Production, Department of Plant Breeding and Genetics, Sindh Agriculture University.
Winter vegetables with short growing seasons and high yields, such as gram, onion, peas, carrot, turnip, radish, garlic, spinach, fenugreek, and coriander, are the subject of the research.
In this regard, a study event was held on Wednesday at the experimental field which was attended by Dean of Crop Production Faculty Dr. Inayatullah Rajpar, Dean of Crop Protection Faculty Dr. Manzoor Ali Abro, Dean of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Sciences Faculty Dr. Ghiyasuddin Shah Rashidi, Director of Institute of food Sciences and Technologies Dr. Aijaz Ali Soomro, Chairman of the Department of Agronomy Dr. Aijaz Soomro and a large number of teachers and students.
Dr. Shahnawaz Marri, Dr. Wajid Ali Jatoi, and Dr. Tanveer Fatah Abro stated during a briefing that they had begun researching various vegetables, including 35 varieties of gram from Sindh, Punjab, and Egypt, with the help of the Sindh HEC.
The university’s experts and students were conducting research on high-yielding short-term vegetable varieties, which they predicted would produce fruitful outcomes.
They continued, “While research is also being done on new sunflower and wheat commodities in the field, under the “Genetic characterization, evaluation, and selection of onion germplasm entries for resistance to onion thrips” project, university experts are researching 12 different onion varieties from Sindh, Punjab, KPK, and Balochistan as well as different vegetable varieties, keeping in mind Sindh’s climate.
The deans on this occasion expressed their satisfaction with the research work and stated that the research on local crops rather than hybrid seeds would satisfy the farmers’ demand for certified vegetable seeds. With increased production, they promised to “promote the local crops.” Additionally present were Drs. Zahoor Soomro, Shabana Memon, Nasreen Fatima, Muniza Baloch, Tanveer Ahmed Soomro, and Irfan Ali Baloch.