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WB 02 — iron + zinc biofortified wheat Photo: Sajal's Gallery · Pexels License · source ↗

WB 02 — iron + zinc biofortified wheat

WB 02 is an iron and zinc biofortified bread wheat variety bred at ICAR-IIWBR, Karnal and notified in 2017 for the North-Western Plains Zone. It is one of the earliest Indian wheats to carry dual Fe and Zn biofortification, and was released alongside PBW 1 Zn as part of the Government of India's biofortification push.

Key features

  • Breeder: ICAR-IIWBR, Karnal
  • Notification year: 2017
  • Zone: NWPZ — Punjab, Haryana, Western UP, Rajasthan
  • Duration: 142 days (timely-sown irrigated)
  • Average yield: 51.6 q/ha; potential ~65 q/ha
  • Grain iron: 42 ppm — 30-40 percent higher than baseline (~28-32 ppm)
  • Grain zinc: 42 ppm — comparable to PBW 1 Zn
  • Grain: amber, medium-bold; chapati quality acceptable
  • Resistance: moderate to yellow rust and brown rust

Cultivation

WB 02 is timely-sown irrigated. Sowing window 25 October to 25 November. Seed rate 100 kg/ha at 22.5 cm row spacing. NPK 150:60:40 kg/ha with split N as 50 percent basal, 25 percent at CRI and 25 percent at tillering. Five to six irrigations are needed (CRI, tillering, jointing, flowering, milking, dough). Iron and zinc accumulation responds to adequate soil micronutrients — apply 25 kg ZnSO4/ha and 10 kg FeSO4/ha basally on deficient soils.

Nutritional rationale

Both iron-deficiency anaemia and zinc deficiency are widespread in northern India, especially among women and children. Conventional wheat carries 28-32 ppm Fe and 25-32 ppm Zn; WB 02 raises both to roughly 42 ppm. With per-capita wheat consumption of around 150-200 g/day in NWPZ, WB 02 can deliver an extra ~3-4 mg Fe and Zn each day at no cost to the consumer — supporting the Government of India's Poshan Abhiyaan goals.

Adoption

WB 02 is multiplied by ICAR-IIWBR Karnal, state seed corporations of Punjab, Haryana and UP, and partner ATMA agencies. HarvestPlus India and ICAR run combined awareness and seed-village programmes alongside PBW 1 Zn. Adoption is concentrated in farmer-producer-organisation linked clusters where the harvest can be aggregated and marketed under a biofortification label.

See also: PBW 1 Zinc Biofortified, HD 3226 Pusa Yashasvi, DBW 187 Karan Vandana, HD 3086 Pusa Gautami.

Sources

  1. Compendium of Wheat Varieties Notified in India. ICAR-IIWBR Karnal.
  2. Biofortified Varieties. ICAR.