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PBW 725 wheat Photo: Dhally Romy · Pexels License · source ↗

PBW 725 wheat

PBW 725 is a bread wheat variety bred at Punjab Agricultural University (PAU), Ludhiana and notified in 2017 for the North-Western Plains Zone, especially Punjab and Haryana. It is one of PAU's flagship modern releases — a high-yield, rust-resistant timely-sown irrigated variety designed for the rice-wheat cropping system.

Key features

  • Breeder: Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana
  • Notification year: 2017
  • Zone: NWPZ — primarily Punjab, Haryana; also Western UP and Rajasthan
  • Duration: 154-160 days
  • Average yield: 58-60 q/ha; potential 75 q/ha
  • Grain: amber, bold; test weight ~42 g/1000 grains
  • Protein: ~12 percent
  • Resistance: high resistance to yellow rust and brown rust at release; moderately resistant to Karnal bunt

Cultivation

PBW 725 is timely-sown irrigated. PAU sowing window is 25 October to 15 November. Seed rate 100 kg/ha at 18-22.5 cm row spacing. NPK 125:62.5:30 kg/ha (PAU package) with N split as 50 percent basal, 25 percent at CRI, 25 percent at tillering. Five to six irrigations are required at CRI, tillering, jointing, flowering, milking and dough stages. PBW 725 responds well to higher fertility but does not lodge in standard packages.

Pests and diseases

PBW 725 was released with strong yellow and brown rust resistance based on Punjab pathotype surveys at PAU. Karnal bunt response is moderate — flag-leaf stage spray with propiconazole 25 EC at 0.1 percent is recommended where pressure is high. Aphids and termites are managed with imidacloprid 17.8 SL seed treatment.

Adoption

PBW 725 is among the top three timely-sown irrigated varieties grown in Punjab and Haryana. PAU Ludhiana itself, Punjab State Seed Corporation, Haryana Seed Development Corporation and IFFCO carry breeder and certified seed. It is widely paired with rice in the kharif-rabi rotation; sowing is increasingly done with Happy Seeder over paddy residue.

See also: HD 2967, HD 3086 Pusa Gautami, DBW 222 Karan Narendra, PBW 1 Zinc Biofortified.

Sources

  1. Compendium of Wheat Varieties Notified in India. ICAR-IIWBR Karnal.
  2. PBW 725 variety page. Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana.