The Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) is expanding partnerships with State Agricultural Universities to develop radiation-bred crop varieties aimed at improving farmer incomes, Union Minister of State Dr Jitendra Singh told the Rajya Sabha on Thursday.

The disclosure came in a written parliamentary reply outlining how nuclear agricultural technologies, a method that uses controlled radiation to create improved plant varieties, are being deployed across India’s farming sector. These initiatives target higher crop yields and greater resilience to climate stress.

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For millions of farmers facing unpredictable monsoons and depleted soil nutrients, such scientific interventions could mean the difference between a failed harvest and a profitable season. The government’s push to scale these technologies signals a broader strategy to address food security through advanced research.

How Nuclear Agriculture Technology Works

Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC), the primary research arm under DAE, develops what scientists call mutant crop lines. This process, known as mutation breeding, involves exposing seeds to gamma irradiation, a type of high-energy radiation that causes genetic changes in plants. Some of these changes produce desirable traits such as drought resistance, higher nutritional content or faster maturation.

Promising mutant lines are then transferred to State Agricultural Universities for multi-location trials. These field tests evaluate whether the new varieties perform better than existing crops under real farming conditions across different soil types and climates.

Varieties that pass these rigorous trials are officially released for cultivation. BARC’s Trombay crop varieties, named after the Mumbai suburb where the research centre is located, have reached farmers’ fields through this collaborative process.

Universities Drive Farmer Adoption of Nuclear Crop Varieties

State Agricultural Universities play a critical role beyond laboratory testing. Through seed multiplication networks, these institutions produce and distribute improved seeds at scale. BARC supplies what is called nucleus seed, the original pure genetic stock, while universities handle breeder seed production for wider dissemination.

The partnership extends to practical demonstrations. BARC works with universities on farmer participatory trials, where cultivators test new varieties on their own land under local conditions. This hands-on approach helps validate performance while giving farmers direct experience with improved crops.

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DAE scientists also participate in agricultural fairs and Krishi Melas organised by universities. These events showcase new varieties and technologies directly to farming communities.

Advanced Facilities Support Agricultural Research

BARC provides State Agricultural Universities access to sophisticated scientific equipment that most institutions cannot afford independently. These include gamma chambers, the enclosed devices that deliver controlled radiation doses for mutation breeding, and molecular biology tools for analysing plant genetics.

The collaboration also covers isotope tracer facilities. These use radioactive markers to track how nutrients and water move through soil and plants, helping researchers understand crop nutrition at a molecular level. Radiometric analysis capabilities support detailed soil-water-plant studies.

Faculty members and postgraduate students from partner universities often conduct portions of their research at BARC facilities. This arrangement strengthens national expertise in nuclear agricultural sciences while producing trained researchers who return to their home institutions.

BRNS Funding Supports University Research

The Board of Research in Nuclear Sciences (BRNS), DAE’s research funding arm, provides competitive grants to State Agricultural Universities. These extramural funds support projects in mutation breeding, radiation processing and food irradiation, a technique that uses radiation to extend shelf life and eliminate pathogens from harvested produce.

BRNS also funds biocontrol technologies and provides scientific equipment for basic and applied research. Projects backed by these grants have led to development of new crop mutants and stress-resilient plant lines.

Training programmes and workshops organised by BARC offer short courses on mutation breeding, radiation processing and advanced biotechnology. Scientists and students from agricultural universities receive hands-on training, building capacity across the national research network.

The parliamentary response did not specify budget allocations for these programmes or provide data on how many farmers have adopted Trombay varieties.