T-397

T-397 is the long-standing check variety of Indian linseed, released around 1960 from Kanpur. It is a small brown-seeded, spreading-type plant that matures in roughly 125–145 days, with a seed oil content of about 42–43%. Its enduring value is breadth: it is documented as suited to the Bundelkhand tract of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Assam, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, and as tolerant to rust, wilt and drought — the reason it is still grown on the marginal, un-irrigated rabi land that most Indian linseed occupies. Newer varieties out-yield it clearly on land that can carry a fertiliser dose and one or two irrigations, so T-397 is best understood as a hardy benchmark for low-input conditions rather than a yield leader.

Plant typeOpen-pollinated
Maturity125–145 days
Yield potentialMedium — around 8–12 q/ha managed, 5–8 q/ha rainfed; seed oil about 42–43%
Disease resistanceTolerant to rust, wilt and drought
SoilBlack soil and heavy loam; wide adaptation on marginal rainfed land
SeasonRabi

• Sowing timeMid-October to mid-November as a line crop; late September to October for a rice-fallow (utera/paira) crop broadcast into standing paddy. Earlier sowing escapes 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 (utera/paira) 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 125–145 days when the capsules are brown, dry and rattle but before they split. Stack to cure, then thresh gently and winnow the small seed.

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

• Uttar Pradesh
• Bihar
• Madhya Pradesh
• Rajasthan
• Assam

• 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

• Shekhar (KL-223)

  A high-yielding variety from CSAUAT, Kanpur, widely grown in Uttar Pradesh — including in black-gram–linseed and rice-fallow systems — and moderately resistant to rust and Alternaria blight.

  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