NRC 131
An ICAR-IISR Indore release approved by the Madhya Pradesh government, bred for soil-borne disease tolerance rather than peak yield.
Quick facts
- Crop
- Soybean
- Type
- Open-pollinated
- Season
- Kharif
- Maturity period
- ~93 days
- Seed rate
- 25–30 kg per acre (PAU)
- Expected yield
- ~15 q/ha
- Suitable soil
- Clay / black soil
- Disease resistance
- Moderately resistant to charcoal rot and target leaf spot
- Release
- ICAR-IISR Indore (breeder: Dr. Sanjay Gupta); approved by the Government of Madhya Pradesh in September 2022
Actual yield depends on sowing time, soil, irrigation, weather, seed quality and crop management.
About this variety
NRC 131 is a soybean variety bred by Dr. Sanjay Gupta, Principal Scientist at ICAR-Indian Institute of Soybean Research (IISR), Indore, and approved by the Government of Madhya Pradesh in September 2022. It matures in about 93 days with an average yield of 15 quintals per hectare. Its breeding emphasis was resistance to soil-borne diseases rather than maximising raw yield. Charcoal rot in particular is a major yield-limiter on the cracking clay soils typical of Madhya Pradesh's soybean belt during a dry spell.
Should you pick this variety?
Pick NRC 131 if your soybean sits on cracking clay in Madhya Pradesh and charcoal rot shows up whenever a dry spell hits mid-season. ICAR-IISR Indore bred it for exactly that: moderate resistance to charcoal rot and target leaf spot rather than peak yield, which is why the average is about 15 q/ha in about 93 days. The Madhya Pradesh government approved it in September 2022. If disease is not what costs you yield, JS 20-29 at 20–22 q/ha earns more. Among its siblings, choose NRC 157 for late sowing and NRC 136 for drought.
Sowing & cultivation
- Sowing timeFirst fortnight of June in north-west India (PAU)
- Seed rate25–30 kg per acre (PAU)
- Spacing45 cm rows with 4–5 cm between plants, sowing depth 2.5–5.0 cm
- Sowing methodSow into assured moisture with Bradyrhizobium-inoculated seed, dried in the shade and sown at once
- IrrigationUp to three or four irrigations if the monsoon is uneven, including one at pod filling (PAU)
- Fertilizer12.5 kg N and 32 kg P2O5 per acre at sowing. In soils short of both phosphorus and sulphur, a sulphated phosphatic fertiliser covers both (PAU)
Advantages & considerations
Things to consider
- No exact gazette date was found. The September 2022 date is when the Madhya Pradesh government approval was reported.
- No pedigree or parentage information was found for NRC 131; only its release facts are documented.
Suitable regions
States this variety is recommended for — check locally, since a state can have more than one recommended zone.
- Madhya Pradesh
Charcoal rot on cracking clay: what the field can do
NRC 131 was bred for soil-borne disease tolerance rather than for a peak yield figure, and it is moderately resistant to charcoal rot and target leaf spot. Charcoal rot is a dry-weather, warm-soil disease: it shows up when a mid-season dry spell hits a crop on cracking black clay, with the stem base turning grey-black and the plant drying from the bottom.
Tolerance buys you time; soil management decides the rest. Keep the soil covered and the moisture even — mulch where you can, and if you have any irrigation, use it during a hot dry spell rather than saving it for later. Avoid a very thin, late-sown, water-starved crop, because stressed plants are the ones that collapse. Rotate soybean with a non-host crop such as a cereal where the rot has appeared before, and do not keep seed from an affected block.
Can you keep your own planting material?
This is an open-pollinated variety, so seed from a healthy crop of your own can be sown again. Keep seed only from disease-free plants, dry it properly, store it cool and dry, and bring in fresh certified seed every three to four years so the variety does not drift.
How it compares with other varieties
Every Soybean variety with a page on this site, side by side. The row for this page is highlighted.
| Variety | Best for | Maturity | Yield | States |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| JS 20-29 | Central-zone soybean on land that holds water after heavy rain | 95–100 days | 20–22 q/ha | Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan |
| JS 335 | The familiar soybean for fields that may face a rain-delayed harvest | 95–100 days | 15–18 q/ha | Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan |
| JS 95-60 | Extra-early soybean that clears the field in time for rabi sowing | 85–90 days | 20–30 q/ha | Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra |
| NRC 131this page | Cracking clay land in Madhya Pradesh where charcoal rot hits in a dry spell | ~93 days | ~15 q/ha | Madhya Pradesh |
| NRC 136 | Rainfed soybean where a mid-season dry spell is the main risk | ~105 days | ~17 q/ha | Madhya Pradesh |
| NRC 157 | Soybean for a monsoon that arrives late, sown up to 20 July | ~94 days | ~16.5 q/ha | Madhya Pradesh |
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 Soybean is selling for.
- Seed Rate CalculatorHow much seed your Soybean 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 Soybean variety on this site by state, season, duration and soil.
- Fertilizer CalculatorTurn the NPK recommendation for Soybean into bags of urea, DAP and MOP for your field size.
- Crop CalendarMonth-by-month sowing, weeding, irrigation and harvest dates for Soybean in your state.
- Crop Profit CalculatorPut your seed, labour and input costs against the yield you expect from this variety.
- Mandi Price CheckerToday's Soybean rate in your nearest mandi, before you fix a price with a trader.
Subsidy and government support
Schemes that help with the cost of Soybean seed or planting material. Rules and the application route are on each scheme page.
Frequently asked questions
Who bred NRC 131 and where?
Dr. Sanjay Gupta, Principal Scientist at ICAR-Indian Institute of Soybean Research (IISR), Indore, bred NRC 131.
Why was NRC 131 bred with a focus on charcoal rot rather than raw yield?
Charcoal rot is a major yield-limiter on the cracking clay soils typical of central India's soybean belt whenever a dry spell hits during the season, so breeding for tolerance protects the crop against its worst-case scenario rather than only chasing peak yield under ideal conditions.
When was NRC 131 approved for Madhya Pradesh?
The Government of Madhya Pradesh approved it in September 2022, alongside two sibling ICAR-IISR releases, NRC 157 and NRC 136.
What diseases does NRC 131 resist?
It is moderately resistant to charcoal rot and target leaf spot, both soil/residue-borne fungal diseases that hit hardest under moisture stress.
How does NRC 131 compare to NRC 157 and NRC 136?
All three are ICAR-IISR Indore releases approved for Madhya Pradesh in the same September 2022 batch, but each targets a different problem: NRC 131 for charcoal rot tolerance, NRC 157 for delayed-sowing tolerance, and NRC 136 for drought tolerance.
Is it worth growing NRC 131 at only 15 q/ha?
It is, on land where charcoal rot regularly takes a chunk of the crop. A variety that holds about 15 q/ha through a dry spell beats one listed at 20–22 q/ha that collapses in patches. On clean, well-watered fields the higher-yielding varieties are the better choice.
What does charcoal rot look like in the field?
Plants wilt in patches during a dry, hot spell, and the lower stem and root, when scraped, show a greyish-black dusting under the skin. It builds up in soil and crop residue, so rotation and residue management matter as much as the variety's own tolerance.
Can I grow NRC 131 outside Madhya Pradesh?
Its approval is the Madhya Pradesh state recommendation of September 2022, so that is the only state it is cleared for. Neighbouring soybean tracts have similar clay soils, but no official figures exist for them — ask your KVK and try one plot before you commit the field.
What seed rate and spacing does NRC 131 need?
25–30 kg per acre (PAU), with rows 45 cm apart, plants 4–5 cm apart and a sowing depth of 2.5–5.0 cm. Charcoal rot hits a stressed crop hardest, and a thin, gappy stand on hot clay is exactly the stress it waits for.
Does a 93-day soybean leave the field free for rabi?
Yes. At about 93 days, a June sowing is off the field by about the middle of September, which leaves a clear run at chana or wheat. Among the three NRC releases here it sits between NRC 157 at about 94 days and NRC 136 at about 105 days.
Sourced from: ICAR-Indian Institute of Soybean Research, Indore's NRC 157, 131, and 136 got the State Government's Recommendation — ICAR, Package of Practices for Kharif Crops, Punjab Agricultural University: soybean sowing time, seed rate, spacing, seed inoculation, fertiliser including sulphated phosphatics, and irrigation. editorial policy.