A team of Scientists from Agharkar Research Institute (ARI)in Pune, Maharashtra, have developed ‘MACS 4028’, a biofortified wheat variety, which shows high-protein content of around 14.7% good nutritional quality having zinc 40.3 ppm, and iron content of 40.3ppm and 46.1ppm (parts per million) respectively. Key Points: The development done by the scientist has been published in the Indian Journal of Genetics and Plant Breeding. MACS 4028, a semi-dwarf variety, matures in a period of 102 days and has a very good yielding ability of 19.3 quintals per hectare. This variety also shows a better resistance to crop disease like stem rust, leaf rust and common pests of dryland wheat including foliar aphids, root aphids, brown wheat mite. It has been included under the Biofortified category by Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) during the year 2019. What is the biofortified variety? Fortified varieties are developed to provide the crop with the right amount of essential nutrients. The quantities of iron, Zinc, Vitamin A &D in these varieties are increased through changes in genes.
