Kashmir scientists develop wheat varieties to solve crop cycle issue

Scientists at the Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology, Kashmir (SKUAST-K) have developed two new wheat varieties that could help farmers harvest on time and thus boost the total food grain production of the Union Territory.

To introduce a successful rice-wheat cropping system in Kashmir has been a more than decade old research target. The idea was conceived in the early 2000s when the evaluation of plant varieties began under the All India Coordinated project on Wheat & Barley, funded by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research.

 “One of the major challenges with earlier wheat varieties was that most of the planting material came from sub-tropical regions such as Haryana and Delhi,” Asif Bashir Shikari, professor of genetics and plant breeding at SKUAST-K, said. “In Kashmir’s climatic conditions, these varieties tended to mature late, often around June or July.”

Wheat, a rabi crop, is sown in October and typically harvested in early summer. In Kashmir, however, where rice is the dominant kharif crop, the timing is critical. Farmers need to vacate their fields by May-June to transplant paddy. When wheat stays in the field until June, the rice-wheat rotation, a mainstay of food security and livelihoods, breaks down.

“Although those varieties were high-yielding, they affected the cropping cycle,” Dr. Shikari explained. “That is why plant breeders in Kashmir prioritised developing early-maturing wheat varieties that could be harvested by end May.”

Decade-long pipeline

After nearly a decade of breeding and testing, researchers at SKUAST-K developed two new wheat varieties, called Shalimar Wheat-4 (SW-4), which matures by the last week of May, and Shalimar Wheat-3 (SW-3), which matures in the first week of June. Both are designed to fit the rice-wheat rotation.

The new varieties are also broadly similar to earlier wheat types in agronomic traits and cold tolerance. But they stand out for their early maturity, a trait that has often come with trade-offs.

“Early maturity often carries a potential yield penalty. There is generally a negative correlation between maturity duration and yield,” Dr. Shikari said. “Breeders sometimes accept this trade-off because timely maturity is more critical for cropping systems.”

The researchers said the new varieties are high-yielding but that even their gains in productivity are secondary to its ability to fit into the rice-wheat cycle.

“Their timely maturity makes them highly valuable,” Dr. Shikari added.

The varieties were developed using conventional breeding techniques, including cross-breeding and selection. Scientists generated thousands of progenies from hundreds of crosses and screened thousands of pedigree lines before identifying a promising candidate that matured early.

Shabir Hussain Wani, assistant professor of genetics and plant breeding at SKUAST-K, who developed SW-3, said the breeding pipeline followed a sequential pathway.

“First, we spent years selecting the best plants in the lab and research fields; this is called pedigree selection. Then we tested the wheat for 2-3 years at different university research stations to see how it performs in different environmental conditions,” Dr. Wani said.

“After that, we tried it in real farmers’ fields for about two years with help from the Agriculture Department. In total, it takes about 9 to 10 years to complete the entire process of testing and validation.”

Another important trait is resistance to yellow rust, a fungal disease that gives leaves a rusty-yellow appearance and leads to stunting and lower yield. It prevails in Kashmir’s climate.

“Yellow rust has been a recurring problem for farmers here,” Dr. Wani said. “Resistance reduces risk, especially in years with favourable conditions for disease outbreaks.” 

The new varieties are suited for mid-altitude regions up to about 1,850 m above sea level. With its official release, the next step is scaling up seed production and distribution to farmers. Researchers expect the varieties to benefit farmers in regions such as Gurez, where wheat is often grown for fodder, with grain as an additional benefit.

“Besides, SW-3 is also biofortified with iron and zinc content of more than 40 ppm, protein content of 12 %, is disease-resistant, and with a potential productivity of up to 38 quintals per hectare,” Dr. Wani said.

Reaching remote farmers

Indeed, in October 2025, SKUAST-K introduced SW-3 to farmers in the Gurez valley near the Line of Control. According to official data, 70 quintals of SW-3 seed along with a scientific package of practices were distributed among 700 farmers, covering more than 70 ha in the valley.

The outreach programme was aimed to extend modern agricultural technologies to isolated villages, where farmers often use traditional seed systems and have limited access to scientific innovation.

For many farmers, the promise of early maturity is as important as yield. Abdul Hamid, a 52-year-old in Kulgam, said early-maturing varieties could help stabilise the rice-wheat cycle.

“If this wheat matures by May, we can prepare the fields for paddy on time. Even if the yield is similar, the timing itself is a big benefit for us,” he explained. “Also this will resolve our problem of growing fodder shortage. We grow wheat both for its grain and fodder. The stalks, called kand, are essential fodder. We dry and store them for the harsh winter.”

Shabir Ahmad, a 34-year-old farmer in Gurez who grows wheat primarily for fodder, said the new varieties could offer more security in the high-altitude environment.

“In Gurez, cold and disease are always a problem. Yellow rust has damaged crops in the past. If these varieties resist rust and mature early, it will be safer for us. We mainly need fodder for livestock and grain is a bonus. But timely harvest means we can plan our fodder supply better and avoid losses from unexpected weather,” he said.

Hirra Azmat is a Kashmir-based journalist who writes on science, health, and environment.

Published – February 20, 2026 07:30 am IST