WORKING VISIT TO IS21 BASIC SEED PRODUCTION PLANT (NMR152) IN SEKINCHAN SELANGOR

02 April 2022 (SATURDAY), 30 SYAABAN 1443H. 

Working visit of Dato' Muar District Officer, YB Dato' Hj Mustaffa Kamal bin Dato' Kiyai Haji Shamsudin with the Head of RECESS/ UTHM@Muar Living Lab, Ts. Dr. Nor Azizi bin Yusoff, District Agriculture Officer, Penghulu Mukim Sg Balang and fellow farmers to the Basic Seed Production Plant IS21 (NMR 152) in Sekincan, Selangor. It is an initial effort as a result of the Muar District Officer's discussion with YB Datuk Seri Adham Baba, Minister of Energy, Science, Technology and Innovation on 28th March 2022 in Sg Balang Muar in order to popularize technology and science in the community. MOSTI was represented by Dr Abdul Rahim bin Harun, Deputy Director General (Research and Technology Development) and Senior Researcher, Dr Sobri bin Hussein. While HMN Sdn Bhd was represented by the company manager, YBhg Dato' Mansor bin Haji Md Noor. The rice variety as a result of the Malaysian Nuclear Agency's research was developed through induction mutation breeding on MR 219 seeds using gamma radiation technology and commercialized with HMN Sdn Bhd, a bumiputera company with almost 40 years of experience. The specialty of IS 21 besides giving an average yield of 9t/ha is that it can reduce the operating costs of paddy fields due to low fertilizer use and resistance to leaf blight, stem blight, sheath blight, leaf blight and bacteria. Based on research in 2016 - 2017 in several rice granaries in Peninsular Malaysia, this variety has the potential to increase rice yields by up to 67%. This season, 30% of the Sg Balang rice paddy area has been sown with the IS 21 variety in early March 2022 as an initial step to determine its suitability with the microclimate, soil properties and agronomic practices in the Sg Balang rice fields. Smart cooperation between Muar and the Malaysian Nuclear Agency will be expanded in various fields with Edu Hub Pagoh friends and various related agencies as an effort towards Muar Perkasa 2030.