Shekhar (KL-223)

Shekhar, with the breeding number KL-223, is a linseed variety from Chandra Shekhar Azad University of Agriculture and Technology (CSAUAT), Kanpur, grown widely across Uttar Pradesh. It matures in roughly 130–140 days and is documented as moderately resistant to rust (Melampsora lini) and to Alternaria blight. It performs in both sole-crop and sequence systems — it has been reported as a promising variety in the black-gram–linseed cropping system of central Uttar Pradesh — and is used in rice-fallow situations as well. Its seed oil content sits in the usual Indian range of about 40–42%. As a higher-yielding release than the old T-397 check, Shekhar is a reasonable choice for Uttar Pradesh growers who can give the crop a basal nutrient dose and, where available, one or two irrigations.

Plant typeOpen-pollinated
Maturity130–140 days
Yield potentialHigh for Uttar Pradesh conditions — around 12–16 q/ha managed; seed oil about 40–42%
Disease resistanceModerately resistant to rust and Alternaria blight
SoilClay / black soil
SeasonRabi

• Sowing timeMid-October to mid-November as a line crop; earlier sowing reduces exposure to rust and bud fly
• Seed rate25–30 kg/ha (10–12 kg/acre) for line sowing; 35–40 kg/ha for broadcast and rice-fallow sowing
• FertilizerRainfed: about 30–40 kg N and 20 kg P2O5 per hectare, all basal. Irrigated: up to 60:40:20 kg N:P:K/ha, half the N basal and half at branching with the first irrigation
• HarvestingHarvest at about 130–140 days when the capsules are brown, dry and rattle but before they split; cure in a stack, then thresh gently.

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

• Uttar Pradesh

• T-397

  The old national check variety, released around 1960 — a small brown-seeded, spreading type still grown across Bundelkhand, Bihar, Assam, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan for its wide adaptation and tolerance to rust, wilt and drought.

  View variety details

• Neelam

  A variety carried in state recommendations for its combined rust and wilt resistance, grown mainly in the central and eastern tracts. Treat the specific release centre and year as not independently confirmed for this record — its standing rests on the disease-resistance trait it is listed for.

  View variety details

• JLS 9

  A JNKVV, Jabalpur release for Madhya Pradesh, grown as a rainfed and utera crop across the state; a medium-duration line with moderate wilt and rust tolerance. Exact yield and oil figures are not independently confirmed for this record.

  View variety details

• JLS 73

  A newer Jabalpur (RARS Sagar) line developed under the AICRP on Linseed, noted for a very high alpha-linolenic (omega-3) fraction in its oil — of interest where the crop is grown for the health-food market rather than only for total oil.

  View variety details

• RLC 153

  An IGKV, Raipur release for Chhattisgarh, bred for the state's rice-fallow and utera situations. Treat its exact duration, yield and disease figures as not independently confirmed for this record — its fit is the eastern relay system it was developed for.

  View variety details

• Kiran

  A variety carried in recommendations for rainfed situations, with a bolder seed than T-397. Treat the specific release centre, year and yield as not independently confirmed for this record.

  View variety details