Bangladesh Institute of Nuclear Agriculture (BINA) has developed a new high yielding variety of chilli, which is less spicy and has a good smell.

Senior Scientific Officer, also head of BINA's Horticulture Department, Dr Rafiqul Islam is the man behind development of the variety, called BINAmorich-1. This variety can be used as spice or vegetable, the scientist said.

Scientific Officers of BINA Sadia Tasmin, Farid Ahmed and Nurunnabi Majumder assisted Dr Rafiqul.

A farmer can get 20 to 30 pieces of the spice from each plant, and it can be harvested eight io nine times a year. The plant is short and erect, and the leaves are dark green and broad. The spice can be up to 16 centimetres long, he said.

Flowers appear 30 to 35 days after transplantation and green chilli can be harvested within 28 days. The yield is 30 to 35 tonnes per hectare, which is almost twice as much as the focal varieties. The best

time for sowing the seeds is October and November,

Sandy loam soil containing organic matter and slightly acidic soil are suitable for getting better yield, he said, adding that the variety is resistant to insects and pests.

Dr Rafiqul said he collected the chilli seed from a focal variety of China in 2012 and later applied gamma radiation in Vienna to change its characteristics. The scientist was successful after four years of research, and the seed was taken to the field for demonstration in 2017.

Demonstration plots involving some 700 farmers were set up in M y m e n s i n g h , I s w a r d i, Khaghrachhari, Magura, Bogura, Rangpur and Kumilla, and achieved success, Dr Rafiqul said.

There was no pest attack or disease in the chilli fields.

As the production was satisfactory, the seed was certified by Bangladesh Seed Board in 2017 as a high-yielding variety.

Jalil Mia, a farmer of Sutiakhali in Sadar upazila, said he is happy to get this kind of high yielding

variety of chilli.

Shamim Mia of the same area said he will cultivate the chilli extensively from next year.

"We will arrange training programmes for the listed farmers to promote cultivation of this variety." Dr Rafiqul said.

A field day was observed marking the development at Sutiakhali village on March 13.

BINA’s Director General Dr Biresh Kumar Goswami was the chief guest, while Director (Research) Dr Hosne Ara Begum, ex-Director General Dr Amjad Hossain, Deputy Director of Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE) Abdul Mazed, and head of Applied Extension Research Division of BINA Dr AFM Firoz Hasan were special guests.

This development can open a new horizon in cultivation of chilli, which has great demand worldwide, the scientists said.

If this variety is cultivated extensively throughout the country the demand for chilli will be fulfilled, and it can also be exported, they said.