Gazipur, June 19, 2025: Bangladesh Rice Research Institute (BRRI) has developed three more new varieties of rice. Among them, one is salinity tolerant, one is high-yielding Boro and the other is resistant to blast disease. With this, BRRI has developed a total of 121 rice varieties, including eight high-yielding or hybrid varieties.
The three newly developed varieties are; salinity-tolerant BR-112, high-yielding boro BR-113 and blast disease-resistant BR-114. These three new varieties were approved at the 114th meeting of the National Seed Board (NSB) on Wednesday.
The board meeting, chaired by Mohammad Emdad Ullah Mian, Secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture, was attended by Mohammad Khalequzzaman, Director General of the Institute, and senior officials of the concerned ministries and departments.
The institute authorities said that among the newly developed varieties, Bri Rice-112 is a salinity-tolerant and medium-lived Aman variety. The dug leaves of this variety are more upright than the conventional Bri Rice-73. Bri Rice-112 is capable of yielding 4.14 to 6.12 tons per hectare depending on the level of salinity. The life span of this variety is 120 to 125 days and the height of the plant is 103 to 105 centimeters. The stem of the plant is strong. Due to this, it does not fall. The rice of this variety is medium-fine and white. The rice is neat. It can tolerate salinity. The grains are medium-fine and the rice does not fall off easily from the ears. Since the life span is relatively short, there will be opportunities for cultivating sunflower and salt-tolerant mustard on medium to high lands after harvesting in coastal saline areas.
The Bri Dhan-113 variety has been released as an alternative to the popular Boro season variety Bri-29. It is a high-yielding variety with medium-fine grains. The cotyledons of this variety are erect, wide and long and the paddy remains green even when ripe. The plant is strong and sturdy, so it does not bend easily. The average lifespan of the variety is 143 days. The shape and size of the rice is medium-fine and the color is white. It looks a lot like Nazirshail. The amylose content of this rice is 28 percent and the rice is neat. In addition, the protein content is 8.4 percent. The yield test of the proposed variety showed that the variety gave 11.5 percent more yield than Bri Dhan-88. The average yield of this variety is 8.15 tons per hectare. If properly managed in a suitable environment, the variety is capable of giving a yield of up to 10.1 tons per hectare.
The authorities further said that the new Bri rice-114 is a long-lived blast disease resistant variety of the Boro season. The leaves of this variety are erect, wide and long. The plant is strong and does not bend. The color of the leaves is dark green. Its average yield is 7.76 tons per hectare. The grains are medium-sized and golden in color. The rice is neat. The special feature of the variety is that it is resistant to blast disease. As a result, farmers will not have to worry about blast disease in cultivating this variety of rice, and production costs will be saved.
Director General of the Institute Mohammad Khalequzzaman said, "Now that the varieties have been approved, we will be able to market these rice seeds. Farmers will benefit by cultivating these varieties of rice. Their production will also increase. Rice cultivation could not be done in coastal areas due to high salt content in the water. Now our Bri Dhan-112 can be easily cultivated in those areas. Apart from this, we are hopeful that other varieties will make an important contribution to our rice production.
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