THE INSTITUTE FOR AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH (IAR) SAMARU RELEASES IMPROVED VARIETIES FOR FOOD SECURITY AND NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT
Muhammad Rislan ymahmad@abu.edu.ng The Institute for Agricultural Research (IAR) Samaru has obtained the green light for the registration and release of highly productive varieties of maize, sweet sorghum, and cotton in Nigeria. The approval was granted at the just concluded 29 th meeting of the National Varietal Release Committee (NVRC), through the National Committee on the Naming, Registration and Release of Crop Varieties, Livestock Breeds and Fisheries held at the National Centre for Genetic Resources and Biotechnology (NACGRAB), Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria. At the meeting, five improved maize varieties, SAMMAZ 59, SAMMAZ 60, SAMMAZ 61, SAMMAZ 62 and SAMMAZ 63, with an average yield potential above 5.0 tons/hectare and tolerant to maize streak virus, rust, leaf blight, and curvularia leaf spot were approved for registration and released. The varieties, SAMMAZ 59 and SAMMAZ 60 have an outstanding characteristic of high pro-vitamin A content of 16.3 μg/g which are...