DBW 316 (Karan Prema): A new high yielding biofortified wheat variety

DBW 316 (Karan Prema), is a new biofortified high yielding bread wheat variety released and notified recently by the ‘Central Sub-Committee on Crop Standard Notification and Release of Varieties for Agricultural Crops’ Govt. of India vide gazette notification number SO 1056(E) of March 06, 2023 for commercial cultivation in North-Eastern Plains Zone (NEPZ) of India. NEPZ is the second largest wheat producing zone in India where wheat is subjected to the terminal heat stress due to late sowing after harvesting of long duration rice crop. The new variety DBW 316 is tolerant to various diseases such as wheat rusts, wheat blast and foliar blight, and has high heat tolerance (HSI 0.19) and drought tolerance (DSI 0.88) level. It has recorded a potential yield level of 68 q/ha under late sown conditions of NEPZ. DBW 316 is rich in zinc and contains high grain protein (13.2%) which categorizes it as a biofortified wheat variety. DBW 316 has other quality attributes such as high bread loaf volume and bread quality score, high chapatti quality score, high sedimentation value and good grain appearance. High end-use quality with biofortified value and high yield potential make DBW316 a suitable variety for boosting farm economy, food and nutritional security of the country.