Varanasi, Oct. 25 -- Vice-chancellor prof Ajit Kumar Chaturvedi visited the rice breeding research field under the department of genetics and plant breeding at the Institute of Agricultural Sciences, Banaras Hindu University (BHU), on Friday. The research programme is led by prof Shravan Kumar Singh, head of the department. BHU's Rice Breeding Research is known both in India and abroad for developing high-yielding and popular rice varieties. One of its recent successes, Malaviya Manila Sinchit Dhan-1 (MMSD-1), has become very popular among farmers for its excellent traits. Prof Singh said that MMSD-1 performs well under both transplanted and direct-seeded (DSR) conditions. It matures in about 105 days under DSR and 115-118 days under transplanted conditions. The variety gives a yield of 55-60 quintals per hectare, and its grains are long, slender, and of premium quality. This variety has been developed in collaboration with the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), Philippines, and its centres in Varanasi and Hyderabad. htc...