Ganga Safed 2
Released 1963 as a three-way top-cross hybrid, not a composite; farmers re-sowing it made it sell like an open-pollinated variety — see FAQ.
Quick facts
- Crop
- Maize
- Type
- Hybrid
- Season
- Kharif
- Maturity period
- 100–110 days
- Seed rate
- 10 kg per acre (PAU). Being a composite, it is seed you can save and resow, unlike a hybrid
- Expected yield
- 40–50 q/ha
- Suitable soil
- Loam
- Disease resistance
- Moderate — leaf blight
- Release
- Released 1963 from the Delhi maize breeding centre, pedigree (CM 400 × CM 300) × CM 600; notified for Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal and Rajasthan
Actual yield depends on sowing time, soil, irrigation, weather, seed quality and crop management.
About this variety
Ganga Safed 2 (also written Ganga Safed-2) is one of India’s earliest publicly bred maize releases, from the Rockefeller Foundation-assisted Intensive Maize programme of the early 1960s. It was released in 1963 from the Delhi maize breeding centre with the pedigree (CM 400 × CM 300) × CM 600 — a three-way, top-cross hybrid combination of inbred lines, not a composite. Its white, semi-flint grain and its age as one of the oldest surviving public releases are why it is still sold today. It is decades-old, publicly bred hybrid germplasm that farmers have re-sown from their own harvests for generations. So current agri-extension sources generally market and describe it as an open-pollinated, seed-saveable variety. That is a difference in how it is used and sold today, not in how it was bred; see the FAQ below.
Should you pick this variety?
Pick Ganga Safed 2 if you want white, semi-flint maize grain for local food use and cheap seed from your state seed corporation, in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal or Rajasthan. It takes 100–110 days. The 40–50 q/ha yield comes from one source, so treat it as a rough guide. It is a 1963 release, so a modern hybrid like DHM 117 can give more if you can pay for fresh seed every season. Farmers do re-sow Ganga Safed 2 seed, but expect the yield to slip.
Sowing & cultivation
- Sowing timeLast week of May to the end of June in the kharif season (PAU)
- Seed rate10 kg per acre (PAU). Being a composite, it is seed you can save and resow, unlike a hybrid
- Spacing60 x 20 cm, about 33,333 plants per acre, with the seed 3–5 cm deep
- Sowing methodLine sowing with a planter or drill at 3–5 cm. Keep the plant population up: a composite varies more from plant to plant than a hybrid, and gaps show up directly in the yield
- IrrigationFour to six irrigations, with the crop never short at pre-tasselling, silking or grain filling (PAU)
- FertilizerPAU gives its full-season maize 50 kg N, 24 kg P2O5 and 12 kg K2O per acre, and its shorter-duration ones 35 kg N, 12 kg P2O5 and 8 kg K2O. Either way, one-third of the nitrogen with all the P and K at sowing, one-third at knee-high, one-third before tasselling
Advantages & considerations
Why farmers may choose it
- One of the longest-surviving public maize releases in India, so seed remains cheap and widely available through state seed corporations
- White, semi-flint grain suited to regional food preferences in its recommended belt
Things to consider
- The 100–110 days and the 40–50 q/ha yield come from one farming-news source. That source gives the yield "per acre", but we read it as per hectare, because 40–50 quintals per acre would be far too high for maize. Treat both numbers as a rough guide.
Suitable regions
States this variety is recommended for — check locally, since a state can have more than one recommended zone.
- Uttar Pradesh
- Bihar
- West Bengal
- Rajasthan
Why farmers re-sow this hybrid, and what it costs
Ganga Safed 2 was released in 1963 as a three-way top-cross hybrid, not as a composite. Because farmers kept re-sowing their own grain for decades, in the market it behaves almost like an open-pollinated variety, and that is why you still find cheap seed of it through state seed corporations.
Re-sown hybrid seed does germinate and does give a crop, but the stand becomes uneven in height and maturity and the yield slides a little with each cycle. If you are growing it for white grain for the house or for the local market, that may be an acceptable trade. If you are selling the crop, buy a fresh lot from the state seed corporation every season or at least every second season; it is the cheapest seed of the lot anyway.
Where the planting material comes from
This is a hybrid, so seed kept from your own harvest will not breed true. The next crop comes up uneven in height, maturity and yield. Buy fresh certified seed every season and keep the bag tag until harvest.
How it compares with other varieties
Every Maize variety with a page on this site, side by side. The row for this page is highlighted.
| Variety | Best for | Maturity | Yield | States |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DHM 117 | Hybrid for the south with a field-tested yield | 100–105 days | 45–55 q/ha | Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana |
| Ganga Safed 2this page | White grain and cheap, easy-to-find seed | 100–110 days | 40–50 q/ha | Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal, Rajasthan |
| Vivek Hybrid 27 | Extra-early maize for a short season | 80–85 days (North East Plain Zone); 85–88 days (Peninsular Zone) | 50–55 q/ha | Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, West Bengal, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu |
Tools for this crop
The numbers you need next: how much seed to buy, whether the lot germinates, what the fertilizer bill looks like and what Maize is selling for.
- Seed Rate CalculatorHow much seed your Maize plot needs, corrected for the germination of the lot you bought.
- Germination CalculatorTest 100 seeds from the bag before sowing and see whether the lot is fit to sow.
- Seed Variety FinderFilter every Maize variety on this site by state, season, duration and soil.
- Fertilizer CalculatorTurn the NPK recommendation for Maize into bags of urea, DAP and MOP for your field size.
- Crop CalendarMonth-by-month sowing, weeding, irrigation and harvest dates for Maize in your state.
- Crop Profit CalculatorPut your seed, labour and input costs against the yield you expect from this variety.
- Mandi Price CheckerToday's Maize rate in your nearest mandi, before you fix a price with a trader.
Subsidy and government support
Schemes that help with the cost of Maize seed or planting material. Rules and the application route are on each scheme page.
Frequently asked questions
Ganga Safed 2 is listed as a hybrid here — so why do farmers save and resow its seed like an open-pollinated variety?
Its 1963 breeding record shows it was released as a three-way, top-cross hybrid — (CM 400 × CM 300) × CM 600, a combination of inbred lines, not a true open-pollinated composite. That is its correct breeding classification, which is why the type field above says hybrid. But it is old, publicly bred germplasm, not a modern proprietary single-cross, so decades of farmers re-sowing their own harvested seed with acceptable results have made it behave, and be marketed, like an open-pollinated variety today. If you want maximum vigour, use certified fresh seed rather than farm-saved seed.
How does Ganga Safed 2 compare with a modern hybrid like DHM 117?
It sits at a much lower yield ceiling, but its seed is far cheaper and can be resown from a farmer’s own harvest with acceptable performance, unlike a modern single-cross hybrid, which needs fresh certified seed every season to hold its yield advantage.
Which states is Ganga Safed 2 meant for?
The 1963 release was notified for Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal and Rajasthan, and these are the four states shown here. Ask your state seed corporation what it stocks before you buy.
Is Ganga Safed 2 a good choice if I want white maize grain?
Yes. It has white, semi-flint grain, which suits the food preferences of the belt it was released for. It is also one of the oldest public releases still sold, so the seed is cheap and easy to find.
What spacing should I keep for Ganga Safed 2?
60 x 20 cm, which is about 33,333 plants per acre, with the seed 3–5 cm deep. An older release is not planted thinner than a modern hybrid. Thin planting is one of the common reasons an old variety looks worse than it is.
When should I sow Ganga Safed 2, and when will it be ready?
PAU gives the last week of May to the end of June for the kharif crop. It takes 100–110 days, so a June sowing is ready through late September and October. Fix the harvest date before you sow, because the next rabi crop has to fit behind it.
Sourced from: Maize Profit Booster: Choose the Best High-Yield Varieties for Smart Farming — Krishi Jagran, Maize varieties released by Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana (Ganga Safed Hybrid Makka 2, 1963) — ICAR-IIMR, Package of Practices for Kharif Crops, Punjab Agricultural University: maize sowing window, seed rate, spacing and plant population, fertiliser doses by duration group and irrigation. editorial policy.