KMR 301

KMR 301 is a finger-millet variety from the UAS Bengaluru research station at Mandya, bred for higher yield under irrigated and assured-rainfall management in Karnataka. It combines a high yield ceiling with good blast tolerance and responds strongly to nutrition and water, making it a choice for the better-managed ragi fields of the state.

Plant typeFinger millet variety
MaturityAbout 110–115 days
Yield potentialAround 35–45 q/ha under irrigated / assured-rainfall management
Disease resistanceGood blast tolerance
SoilRed loam and fertile irrigated soils
SeasonKharif

• Sowing timeNursery mid-June to mid-July for the kharif crop; also grown in the Karnataka summer season under irrigation
• Seed rateAbout 5 kg/ha for the nursery of a transplanted crop; 8–10 kg/ha for line sowing
• Spacing22.5–30 cm between rows, about 10 cm within the row, 2 seedlings per hill when transplanting
• Sowing methodTransplanting is standard for the irrigated crop this variety is aimed at
• IrrigationIrrigate at establishment, tillering, panicle initiation and grain filling; KMR 301 rewards assured water with a much higher yield
• FertilizerAround 75:40:40 kg N:P2O5:K2O per hectare under irrigation with farmyard manure, nitrogen in 2–3 splits
• HarvestingAbout 110–115 days to maturity; harvest ear-heads at brown, hard grain, dry and thresh

Actual yield depends on sowing time, soil, irrigation, weather, seed quality and crop management.

• Karnataka

• GPU 28

  For years the single most widely grown ragi in Karnataka — high tillering, good blast resistance and an easy-to-thresh semi-compact ear.

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• GPU 67

  A later UAS Bengaluru release grown alongside GPU 28, often preferred where blast pressure is high for its strong resistance.

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• GPU 45

  An early UAS Bengaluru variety for short-monsoon and late-sown situations, dodging end-of-season drought by maturing quickly.

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• VL Mandua 352 (VL 352)

  A VPKAS Almora release bred for the Uttarakhand and central Himalayan hills — early, cold-tolerant and suited to the short hill season and rainfed terrace fields.

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• VL Mandua 379 (VL 379)

  A newer VPKAS Almora hill finger-millet variety in the VL Mandua series, grown in Uttarakhand alongside VL 352 for improved yield on terrace fields.

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• CO 15

  A TNAU Coimbatore finger-millet variety for Tamil Nadu, suited to both irrigated and rainfed conditions with a bold grain.

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• ML 365

  A widely adapted medium-duration variety grown across several southern states, valued for stable yield, a non-lodging habit and easy threshing; a common choice for line sowing.

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• PR 202

  A long-standing variety popular in northern and eastern ragi tracts including parts of Uttarakhand and the plains, medium duration with a good straw yield for fodder.

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• Indaf 9

  One of the Indaf ("Indo-African") finger-millet varieties from UAS Bengaluru that first lifted ragi yields in the 1970s–80s; still grown and valued as a benchmark improved type.

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• Dapoli 1

  A Dr. Balasaheb Sawant Konkan Krishi Vidyapeeth (Dapoli) finger-millet variety for the high-rainfall lateritic Konkan tract of Maharashtra, where ragi (nachni) is a staple.

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