Kalanamak rice variety is an epitome of best aromatic rice cultivated and consumed in Northeastern part of Uttar Pradesh [1]. To the local palate, this heritage rice Kalanamak is even classed superior to Indian mystery rice Basmati. However, over centuries of cultivation and farmers' way of handling seed, neglect by rice research institutions and double onslaught on economic front by High Yielding Varieties (HYV), its area went down from 50,000 ha to less than 2,000 ha (Table 1).

Table 1: Area (Estimate of PRDF) During 1960 to 2021 Under Kalanamak Varieties in 11 Districts Covered Under Geographical Indication (GI)

Deterioration in grain "quality" and loss of aroma happened due to a gamut of reasons starting from spontaneous mutation and out-crossing that resulted into mixtures of aromatic and non-aromatic types, non-scientific seed production and altered cultivation, environment change and processing practices. However, by continued researches done at Participatory Rural Development Foundation (PRDF) during 1998 to 2021, varieties and technologies were developed to save Kalanamak and bring its old glory back. 

Kalanamak variety of rice has been under cultivation since time immemorial. Exact history of its cultivation is not recorded but it is believed that Kalanamak was a preferred variety for offerings given to Lord Buddha some three thousand years ago [1]. Kalanamak has been in cultivation mainly in Northeastern part of Uttar Pradesh and western and central part of Nepal Tarai. Over a period of a few thousand years under cultivation and with no system of scientific seed production, there has been rapid decline in its grain quality. People raised voices for its declining grain quality and reducing area but nothing concrete was done to improve the situation by any research institution.

Farmers produce were assembled through “Aggregation Centres” created in the districts. After processing rice was packed with Organic Certificate under FSSAI logo. Local and export marketing agencies were contracted to sell the produce. Besides, through exhibitions and the Kisan Bazar of Mandi Parishad, U.P. Government the products were sold to the consumers. Thus, the farmers received fair price and consumers got pure Kalanamak rice.

Out of 250 germplasm accessions of Kalanamak rice, Accession No. 3 was handed by Pureline selection method of breeding to develop variety KN3.

KN3 was crossed with Swarna Sub1 and segregating generations handled through pedigree method of breeding to develop semi-dwarf variety Bauna Kalanamak 101. KN3 was hybridised with Improved Sambha Mahsuri to develop variety Bauna Kalanamak 102. Variety Kalanamak Kiran was developed from the cross KN3 x Swarna Sub1 and notified in 2019 as Kalanamak Kiran by the Central Variety Release and Notification Committee of Government of India. These varieties were tested multi-location by the AICRIP trials in whole country and at RATDS by Department of Agriculture in U. P. Grain qualities were tested at NDUAT Ayodhyay, NRRI Cuttack, ICAR-IIRR Hyderabad and IICT Hyderabad and R-FRAC, Lucknow.

To develop Organic Protocol KN3 variety was used and inputs like green manure, poultry manure, Bhumi Shakti, FYM, Trichoderma, Pseudomonas, Herbozyme, Amrit Pani, Decomposer etc were used singly and in combination. Series of trials were conducted multi -location in Gorakhpur, Mahrajganj and Siddharth Nagar districts. The best combinations were recommended to the farmers for use to produce Organic Kalanamak Rice. Participatory Guarantee System (PGS) of the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare was used to certify the product as “Green” and “Organic”.

Initial Research to Improve Kalanamak

Initial research on Kalanamak started with the collection of its germplasm [2] and mutation [3]. Using 42 morpho-agronomic characters, accession was described and catalogue was prepared [2] and the entire collection was deposited in the National Gene Bank at NBPGR New Delhi [2,4-6]. The mutants were mostly of academic nature [7, 8] but few were tested in yield trials but none were found superior to existing varieties [9].

Purification and Release of First Kalanamak Variety

PRDF in Gorakhpur, under two projects financed by U. P. Council of Agricultural Research (UPCAR) has made extensive collection of Kalanamak from all possible sources. These sources include National Gene Bank of NBPGR, New Delhi; N. D. University of Agriculture and Technology, Faizabad; Central Rice Research Institute Cuttack and farmers of Basti, Deoria, Gorakhpur, Sant Kabir Nagar, Siddharth Nagar, Kushinagar and Mahrajganj districts. PRDF tested hundreds of collections of Kalanamak extensively. It was not surprising to find out that some of the collections of Kalanamak were non-aromatic although the grain appearance was identical to aromatic Kalanamak accessions. Some accessions had mixtures of scented and non-scented Kalanamak in various proportions. One of the pureline selections developed by panicle-to-row method from the collection of Siddharth Nagar district was tested as KN3-27-3-3 and released by U. P. State Variety Release Sub-Committee and notified by the Central Variety Release Committee in 2010 as KN 3 [10-13].

Development and Release of Bauna Kalanamak 101

Bauna Kalanamak 101 was developed out of a cross Kalanamak KN 3 with Swarna Sub1 and tested as UPCAR-KN-2-19-14-1-1. Regional Agricultural Technology Demonstration and Testing Station (RATDS) of Department of Agriculture conduct varietal trials annually to identify new varieties for release. PRDF had proposed a number of semi-dwarf breeding lines of Kalanamak for testing. These breeding lines were tested at RATDS during the years 2012 to 2015 in state trial called “Paddy Standard Varietal Trial: local aromatic, irrigated”. The average yield superiority of UPCARKN-2-19-14 was 46.41 over its check Kalanamak KN3. The State Variety Release Sub-Committee released it in 2016. The Central Sub-Committee on Crop Standards, Notification and Release of Varieties for Agricultural Crops of Government of India approved in its 75th meeting and notified it in its Gazette No. 3-51/2016-SD. IV dated 23rd December 2016 with the name “Bauna Kalanamak 101”.

Development and Release of Bauna Kalanamak 102

Bauna Kalanamak 102 was developed out of a cross Kalanamak KN 3 with Improved Sambha Mahsuri and tested as UPCARKN-1-5-1-1-1 at RATDS of Department of Agriculture U. P. during 2012, 2013 and 2014. It was released and notified during the year 2016 as Bauna Kalanamak 102. Its plant height is around 95cm, lodging resistant and suitable for harvesting by combine harvester. Based on the overall test, the test entry UPCARKN-1-5-1 (Bauna Kalanamak 102) yielded 32.37 quintal / ha. That way it out-yielded the check variety Kalanamak KN3 by 30.37%. Bauna Kalanamak 102 matures earlier than Kalanamak KN3 by 10 days. In all India trials (AICRIP) conducted by Indian Institute of Rice Research (IIRR) Hyderabad in Kharif 2014, the mean yield was 3198 kg/ha as against 2792 of Kalanamak KN3 and flowering duration earlier by 11 days across India. In the year 2017 it was released by U. P. State Department of Agriculture and notified by Government if India as “Bauna Kalanamak 102” and notified by Government of India [14].

Development and Release of Kalanamak Kiran

Selected out of cross of Kalanamak KN3 and Swarna Sub1, was tested at RATDS of Department of Agriculture as PRDF-2-14-10 (Kalanamak Kiran), was tested at RATDS during 2013 – 2016. It stood at first rank with average yield of 32.95 quintal / ha. It out-yielded the check variety Kalanamak KN3 by 26.58 %. Its aroma content was confirmed by the Indian Institute of Chemical Technology (IICT), Hyderabad as almost equal to KN3. It is semi-dwarf, lodging resistant and suitable for harvesting by combine harvester (Table 2). 

Table 2: Distinguishing Morpho-Agronomic Characters of Kalanamak Kn 3 And Bauna Kalanamak 101, Bauna Kalanamak 102 And Kalanamak Kiran Rice Varieties, Notified by The Government of India

Bauna Kalanamak 102 has the same level of Iron and Zinc as its original parent Kalanamak and thus worthy of inclusion in the NutriFarm schemes and any other biofortification schemes. It is under Notification by the Government of India during 2018.

Protocol for Organic Production of Kalanamak

Protocol for producing organic Kalanamak rice was developed based on the multi-location and multi-year trial (Table 4). Based on the results a manual prepared for farmers [15-17], using Trichoderma and Pseudomonas in combination showed synergistic effect and increased the yield (Table 4). Additional treatments with green manure, BGA, PSB were added for farmers of different area. Plant protection measures using Waste Decomposer, Amrit Paani etc were also perfected. Gorakhpur district has been selected under the Organic Crop Production scheme under Paramaparagat Krishi Vikas Yojna (PKVY). PRDF as the Regional Council of National Centre of Organic Farming (NOF) Ghaziabad of the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare certifies it under Participatory Guarantee System (PGS) system and give labels of “PGS- INDIA - GREEN” and “PGS- INDIA - ORGANIC” categories. Organic production of Kalanamak rice is adding fuel to the fire of increasing the area under Kalanamak and tripling farmers’ income on much larger scale.

Morpho-Agronomic Characters and Cultivation Practice

Kalanamak is strongly photoperiod sensitive variety with short basic vegetative phase and heads during mid-October. Morpho-agronomic characters (Table 2) and grain quality characters (Table 3) of Kalanamak make it very suitable for production and consumption. 

Kalanamak should be cultivated only during Kharif season to maintain its grain quality. Due to small grain size, lower 1,000-grain weight, 30 kg / ha, seed rate is recommended. Ideal time of its nursery sowing is last week of June to first week of July. Once the seedlings have attained the age of about 30 days, these are ready for transplanting. A temperature range of 25 to 30 degree Celsius is ideal for aroma retention in the grain. If the temperature is higher than 30 C, the leaves will synthesise the aroma but it will not accumulate in the grain. For raising nursery of Kalanamak, wet seedbed method of raising the nursery is recommended. In case green manuring is not possible 6 – 10 tonnes of FYM or compost should be applied before ploughing. It has also been found by experienced farmers that application of 2 quintals of Neem cake is useful not only to supply the Nitrogen but also to reduce the incidence of pests and diseases. Fertilizer dose of 60: 30: 30 kg/ha for KN3 and 120:60:60 N: P: K kg/ ha for Bauna Kalanamak is needed. Transplanting is done using 20 cm X 15 cm spacing. Weed management are easier for Kalanamak due to its vigorous vegetative growth. Harvestings is done by the end of November. Sheath blight and grain sucking pests need to be controlled.

Grain Quality

Kalanamak with short grain is classed as Medium Slender variety. These have very high (70%) head rice recovery. These cook soft and have excellent grain elongation (Table 3). 

Table 3. Grain Quality Characters of Kalanamak KN 3, Bauna Kalanamak 101, Bauna Kalanamak 102 and Kalanamak Kiran Rice Varieties (Analysed at NRRI Cuttack, NDUAT Ayodhyay, ICAR-IIRR Hyderabad and IICT Hyderabad and R-FRAC, Lucknow)

* All India average of 15 locations from AICRIP trials, ** Analysis done at R-FRAC, Dept. of Horticulture, Govt. of U. P., Lucknow

In all India testing under AICRP, coordinated by Indian Institute of Rice Research, Hyderabad it was found to have all favourable grain quality characters (Table 3). Kalanamak varieties have the highest level of Iron and Zinc combined. Due to this reason, Kalanamak was the only rice variety from north India included in the NutriFarm Project of the Ministry of Agriculture, Government of India. Government of U. P. had included Kalanamak in the NutriFarm project also. Kalanamak is the most nutritious of all rices in terms of protein, iton, zinc, Vitamin A (beta Carotene) while being sugar free (Table 4).

Table 4. Yield of Rice Grain (q/ ha) in Different Treatments at Various Locations, Kharif 2012

* Highest yield and significantly higher than all other treatments, **Basal at Gorakhpur was Herbozyme @ 40 kg/ ha, at Mahrajganj, FYM @ 10 tons/ha and at Siddharth Nagar, Bhumi Shakti @ of 1,750 kg/ha.

Economics of Kalanamak and Tripling Farmers Income

Price Structure: Due to poor yield, poor quality and lesser income as compared to HYV rice, area under Kalanamak had declined (Table 1). However, now with the availability of better quality variety Kalanamak KN3 and high yielding ones like Bauna Kalanamak 101, 102 and Kalanamak Kiran those negatives have been annulled. Government announces Minimum Support Price (MSP) for fine rice around Rs. 1750/ qtl. However, most farmers cannot get that rate due to various reasons and are compelled to sell their paddy at lower prices. Compared to that, Kalanamak rice sells between Rs. 3,500 to Rs. 4,500 /- per quintal. Thus, now Kalanamak farmers are tripling their income. Protocol for producing Organic Kalanamak has been developed (Table 4) that fetches 20 percent higher price. Common rice with average yield of 40 qtl/ha can give a net profit Rs. 35,500. Kalanamak KN3 and Bauna Kalanamak can give an average yield 25 and 35 quintal per ha respectively. This amounts to a net profit of Rs. 56,875 for KN3 and for Bauna Kalanamak varieties Rs. 88,750. The net profit thus will be double to triple (Table 5). This should bring prosperity to the farmers of eastern U.P. Production of Organic Kalanamak further benefits organic farmers by as much as Rs. 1,10,000/- per ha, which amounts to tripling the income (Table 5).

Table 5:     Comparative Profitability of Common rice Kalanamak KN3, Bauna Kalanamak (Bauna Kalanamak 101, Bauna Kalanamak 102 and Kalanamak Kiran), 2021

Marketing Linkage to Assure Tripled Income 

In the past marketing and consumption of Kalanamak has been limited to eastern part of U. P. and by those who migrated to other parts of India from this region. Now, consumers and marketers are looking for diversification of Basmati market to promote local specialty rice varieties. Common slogan that “Basmati for your eyes and Kalanamak for your palate” is popular in eastern U. P. Under this changed thinking, processers, marketers and consumers are coming up from far-and-wide. PRDF is facilitating this expansion by generating awareness through publicity and exhibitions [15]. Growing interest of consumers in Organic Food is also creating market for Kalanamak [18]. Under Participatory Guarantee System (PGS) certification, PRDF is producing “PGS INDIA Green” and “PGS INDIA Organic” certified rice. 

It has been displayed in various exhibitions including the World Organic Summit (Vishwa Jaivik Kumbh), Krishi Unnati Mela 2018, Ardh Kumbh in 2019 and state level exhibitions in New Delhi, Lucknow, Gorakhpur and Prayagraj. PRDF continues to link hundreds of farmers and marketers under MOU, with many agencies including Patanjali, Amazon, Jai Bharat (Home Buddha) etc. During 2017 -18 about 20 tons and during 2018-19 total of 40 tons was even exported to Singapore. During 2018 -19 large quantity of Organic Kalanamak Rice certified under PGS was also sold in the local market and Kisan Bazar of Mandi Parishad, Lucknow. These efforts are fuelling the demand and ultimately increased production of Kalanamak rice. U. P. State Government has assigned 5 districts under “One District One Product”. These efforts are tripling farmers’ income (Table 5) jointly [19].

Improved varieties of Kalanamak rice namely KN3, Bauna Kalanamak 101, Bauna Kalanamak 102 and Kalanamak Kiran have been developed. Package of practices to produce common and organic Kalanamak rice and its certification under PGS have been perfected. Hundreds of farmers are linked with the local and export markets on attractive terms for sales on long-term basis. Summarily, compared to Rs. 35,500 / ha net profit from common HYV rice, Kalanamak KN3 gives Rs. 56,875, Bauna Kalanamak Rs. 88,750 and Organic Bauna Kalanamak Rs. 1,10,000 net profit per hectare. Consumers are assured of quality. With the PRDF arranged contract growing, by involving farmers and marketing companies from Kharif 2018 onwards, tripling the net profit of the farmers is assured sustainably.

Acknowledgment

Various organizations like U. P. Council of Agricultural Research (UPCAR) Lucknow, Tata Trusts Mumbai, Sujalam Sufalam Project Lucknow and Department of Agriculture U. P. under its Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojna (PKVY) projects have supported the researches of PRDF on Kalanamak rice over a period of past 20 years. Due acknowledgement is made for their financial support through which the varieties and technologies for Kalanamak rice could be developed. Due to their financial supports and untiring efforts of PRDF staffs, Kalanamak rice was saved from extinction and brought to distinction. Various staffs employed in the PRDF projects since 1998 have made their contribution. Their names appear in the Reference part as a token of appreciation and acknowledgement.

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