• Nagaland University has developed a new high-yield ginger variety named SAS-KEVU, marking a major scientific breakthrough for farmers, processors, and the spice industry. 
• The development comes after nine years of multi-location trials and coordinated research under the All India Coordinated Research Project (AICRP) on Spices.
• The Ministry of Agriculture has formally notified SAS-KEVU after it consistently outperformed national checks in yield, dry matter recovery, and culinary quality.

Key Features of SAS-KEVU

• High Yield: The variety has a yield potential of 17.21 tonnes per hectare, exceeding the national check variety by more than nine per cent.
• Superior Dry Recovery: A dry matter recovery rate of 21.95% makes it particularly valuable for processing industries, which rely on high conversion efficiency.
• Quality Traits: The rhizomes are bold, soft-textured, lemon-yellow, and have lower fibre content.
• Ideal for: Pickles, Beverages, Culinary preparations and Value-added spice products.
• Research Contribution: The work was led by Prof C. S. Maiti and Dr Graceli I Yepthomi (School of Agricultural Sciences, Nagaland University) and tested across seven AICRP centres in India.
  

Exam Hook 

SAS-KEVU, recently notified in the Gazette of India, is a new high-yield ginger variety developed by Nagaland University under AICRP on Spices.

Statement-Based MCQ

Consider the following statements regarding the newly developed ginger variety SAS-KEVU:

1. SAS-KEVU was developed under the All India Coordinated Research Project (AICRP) on Spices.
   
2. The variety has a dry matter recovery rate higher than 20 percent, beneficial for processing industries.
   
3. It was developed jointly by Nagaland University and the Central Plantation Crops Research Institute.
   

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

(a) 1 and 2 only
(b) 2 and 3 only
(c) 1 and 3 only
(d) 1, 2 and 3

Answer: (a)

SOURCE