NRC 136
India's first drought-tolerant soybean, from ICAR-IISR Indore — notified for the eastern region, newly released for Madhya Pradesh.
Quick facts
- Crop
- Soybean
- Type
- Open-pollinated
- Season
- Kharif
- Maturity period
- ~105 days
- Seed rate
- 25–30 kg per acre (PAU)
- Expected yield
- ~17 q/ha
- Suitable soil
- Clay / black soil
- Disease resistance
- Moderately resistant to yellow mosaic virus (MYMV)
- Release
- ICAR-IISR Indore (breeder: Dr. Gyanesh Kumar Satpute); notified for eastern India, 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 136 is a soybean variety bred by Dr. Gyanesh Kumar Satpute, Principal Scientist at ICAR-Indian Institute of Soybean Research (IISR), Indore. It is described by the institute as India's first drought-tolerant soybean variety, and had already been notified for cultivation in India's eastern region before the Government of Madhya Pradesh additionally approved it for the state in September 2022. It matures in about 105 days with an average yield of 17 quintals per hectare, the longest duration and highest yield among the three sibling NRC releases approved in the same batch.
Should you pick this variety?
Pick NRC 136 if your soybean depends on rain and a dry spell in the middle of the season is what usually costs you the crop. ICAR-IISR Indore describes it as India's first drought-tolerant soybean, bred to hold yield through dry spells rather than to top the yield charts. It takes about 105 days — the longest of the three NRC siblings — for about 17 q/ha, the highest of the three, and is moderately resistant to yellow mosaic virus. It was notified for eastern India and approved for Madhya Pradesh in September 2022. If your sowing slips late instead, choose NRC 157; if charcoal rot is the problem, NRC 131.
Sowing & cultivation
- Sowing timeFirst fortnight of June in north-west India (PAU)
- Seed rate25–30 kg per acre (PAU)
- SpacingRows 45 cm apart, plants 4–5 cm apart
- Sowing methodSeed 2.5–5.0 cm deep into good moisture. Watch for iron deficiency at the first to third trifoliate leaf — yellow leaves with green veins — and spray 0.5% ferrous sulphate at 30 days if it shows
- IrrigationThree or four irrigations if the rains are short, one of them at pod filling (PAU)
- Fertilizer12.5 kg N and 32 kg P2O5 per acre at sowing, with a 2% urea spray at 60 and 75 days for a higher yield (PAU)
Advantages & considerations
Things to consider
- No exact notification/gazette date was found for either the earlier eastern-region notification or the September 2022 Madhya Pradesh approval.
- No pedigree or parentage information was found for NRC 136; only its release facts and drought-tolerance framing are documented.
Suitable regions
States this variety is recommended for — check locally, since a state can have more than one recommended zone.
- Madhya Pradesh
A dry spell in the middle of the season
ICAR-IISR Indore describes NRC 136 as bred to hold yield through dry spells instead of needing steady rain, which is what makes it a rainfed choice. It is also moderately resistant to yellow mosaic virus, a second common reason a rainfed crop fails.
Play to that. Sow on the first proper rain rather than on a light shower, so the crop is established before the first break. If you have one or two waterings available, keep them for flowering and pod-fill, the stages where a gap takes the most grain. Weed early, because weeds drink the moisture the crop is relying on, and keep the soil surface covered where you can. A tolerant variety still yields less in a dry year than in a good one — the gain is that it gives you something instead of nothing.
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 131 | Cracking clay land in Madhya Pradesh where charcoal rot hits in a dry spell | ~93 days | ~15 q/ha | Madhya Pradesh |
| NRC 136this page | 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 136 and where?
Dr. Gyanesh Kumar Satpute, Principal Scientist at ICAR-Indian Institute of Soybean Research (IISR), Indore, bred NRC 136.
Why is NRC 136 called India's first drought-tolerant soybean variety?
ICAR-IISR Indore, the institute that bred it, describes it that way in its own release material — it is bred to hold yield through dry spells instead of needing steady rain, a first among India's soybean releases per the institute's framing.
Where was NRC 136 grown before its Madhya Pradesh approval?
It was already notified for cultivation in India's eastern region before the Government of Madhya Pradesh added its own approval in September 2022.
What disease does NRC 136 resist?
It is moderately resistant to yellow mosaic virus (MYMV), a major viral disease of soybean transmitted by whitefly.
How does NRC 136's duration compare to its sibling NRC releases?
At about 105 days, NRC 136 matures notably later than both NRC 131 (93 days) and NRC 157 (94 days), trading a longer season for its drought-tolerance trait and a somewhat higher average yield.
What does drought tolerance mean for NRC 136 in my field?
It is bred to hold yield through dry spells instead of depending on steady rain, which is the institute's own framing of the variety. It is not a crop that grows without water — it loses less than an ordinary variety when the rain breaks for a couple of weeks mid-season.
Does the longer 105-day duration create a problem for rabi sowing?
It can. NRC 136 stands about 10 to 12 days longer than NRC 131 or NRC 157, and that may push your wheat or gram sowing late. If your rabi date is fixed, pick a shorter variety such as JS 95-60 at 85–90 days instead.
Is NRC 136 a good pick in a whitefly-prone area?
It helps, because it is moderately resistant to yellow mosaic virus, the disease whitefly spreads. Moderate resistance lowers the damage; it does not remove the need to control whitefly and remove infected plants early.
What seed rate and spacing does NRC 136 need?
25–30 kg per acre (PAU), rows 45 cm apart and plants 4–5 cm apart, sown in the first fortnight of June. Getting the stand right matters more in a rainfed field, because a gappy crop loses soil moisture to bare ground in exactly the dry spell this variety was bred for.
What yield should I budget for with NRC 136?
About 17 q/ha, the highest of the three NRC releases here, against about 16.5 q/ha for NRC 157 and about 15 q/ha for NRC 131. These are modest figures next to JS 95-60's 20–30 q/ha, and that is the trade: steadier yield in a dry year rather than a high one in a good year.
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, iron deficiency correction, fertiliser and irrigation. editorial policy.