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DHAKA, Aug 8, 2025 (BSS) - The Bangladesh Rice Research Institute (BRRI) has released six newly developed stress-tolerant rice varieties, approved recently by the National Seed Board (NSB). 

Agricultural scientists believe the newly-developed rice verities will significantly boost food production and help bring an additional 20 to 25 percent of the country's fallow land under cultivation.

Currently, about 0.47 million hectares or 5.5 percent of the country's total land area remains fallow. Of this, 18 to 20 percent has already been brought under cultivation through 32 existing stress-tolerant rice varieties developed by BRRI. 

With the release of the six new varieties, experts hope a further share of this uncultivated land will come under productive use, which could lead to a major shift in the country's rice production landscape.

The six new varieties have been developed to withstand a range of climatic and environmental challenges, including tidal waves, floods, salinity, and diseases like blast. These challenges have increasingly affected agricultural output across the country due to the growing impact of climate change. 

BRRI Director General Dr Mohammad Khalequzzaman noted that the institute has been prioritizing the innovation of stress-tolerant varieties to respond to these emerging threats, especially flash floods, salinity, and droughts.

Among the new varieties is BRRI Dhan-109, a tidal wave-resistant rice developed through hybridization between BRRI Dhan-44 and BRRI Dhan-52. Following field trials conducted at both BRRI's research plots and farmers' fields in tidal-prone areas between 2020 and 2022, the variety showed an average yield of 6.32 tonnes per hectare in low tide zones, and 5.40 tonnes per hectare overall, significantly higher than the average 4.50 tonnes per hectare recorded for comparable varieties.

Another addition, BRRI Dhan-110, has been developed for flood-affected regions and can withstand flash floods and submergence. The variety has a life cycle of 123 days in flood-free areas and extends to 133 days in submerged areas. It offers a 20.5 percent higher yield than BINA Dhan-11, a commonly grown variety in similar regions.

BRRI Dhan-111, a Joly Aman variety, performs particularly well in lowland conditions, surpassing the yield levels of both BRRI Dhan-91 and traditional local Aman varieties.

Meanwhile, BRRI Dhan-112 has been introduced as a saline-tolerant transplanted Aman variety, which is not only resistant to lodging but also capable of tolerating saline conditions for up to three weeks.

For the Boro season, BRRI has released BRRI Dhan-113, a high-yielding variety intended as a stronger alternative to the widely cultivated BRRI Dhan-29. It has demonstrated an average yield of 8.15 tonnes per hectare, which is 11.5 percent higher than BRRI Dhan-88. 

Another important addition is BRRI Dhan-114, a long-duration Boro variety equipped with the Pi9 gene, which provides strong resistance to blast disease. It yields approximately 7.76 tonnes per hectare on average.

Dr M Abdul Momin, protocol officer at BRRI, said the new varieties outperform earlier stress-tolerant strains in both lifespan and yield. While existing submergence-tolerant varieties can survive underwater for up to 18 days, the new ones can endure over 21 days. For instance, the yield of the saline-tolerant BRRI Dhan-113 is over 12 percent higher than BRRI Dhan-88, averaging about 7 tonnes per hectare in saline zones.

BRRI's Chief Scientific Officer and Head of the Plant Breeding Division, Dr Khondoker M Iftekharudowla, said Barishal, Sylhet, Rangamati, Cox's Bazar, and Bhola have been identified as suitable zones for the expansion of these new stress-tolerant varieties. 

However, he noted that it is still too early to accurately predict the total land area that will be brought under cultivation using these new strains.

Director General of the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) Saiful Alam expressed optimism that the new varieties will play a crucial role in expanding crop production by converting previously fallow land into productive farmland, thus contributing to national food security.

According to official data, Bangladesh has a total land area of 14.84 million hectares, of which about 3.74 million hectares, 25 percent, is unavailable for agriculture due to urban expansion, infrastructure development, and homesteads. 

While the net cultivated area has declined from 8.85 million hectares in 1985 to 7.84 million hectares in 2011, the total harvested crop area has increased to 14.95 million hectares as a result of intensified farming practices, including double, triple, and even quadruple cropping on the same land annually.

With the release of these six new varieties, BRRI has now developed a total of 121 rice varieties, including eight high-yielding or hybrid types.