The Bangladesh Rice Research Institute (BRRI) has introduced BRRI dhan118, a new short-duration, cold-tolerant Boro rice variety designed to significantly reduce crop losses in the flood-prone haor region. Developed by BRRI's Plant Breeding Division, this variety addresses the challenges faced by farmers in northeastern wetlands, where early planting to escape flash floods often exposes crops to damaging winter cold, while delayed planting leaves them vulnerable to floods before harvest.
BRRI dhan118 has been specifically developed for the haor ecosystem. It combines a short growth duration with tolerance to low temperatures during the reproductive stage, enabling farmers to harvest before flash floods while minimizing cold-induced spikelet sterility. According to BRRI, the variety can tolerate average temperatures below 20 degrees Celsius for seven to ten consecutive days during the critical reproductive stage, a period when conventional rice varieties often suffer from spikelet sterility, resulting in empty grains and substantial yield losses.
Researchers indicate that BRRI dhan118 matures within 145 to 150 days under normal cultivation and can be harvested by early April when sown during the first week of November, allowing farmers to avoid the annual flash floods that frequently inundate haor areas. The variety has demonstrated an average yield of approximately 6.8 tonnes per hectare, around 1.1 tonnes higher than BRRI dhan28, one of Bangladesh's most widely cultivated Boro varieties. Under favorable management practices, yields may reach 8.5 tonnes per hectare.
BRRI plans to establish around 5,000 demonstration plots across 50 upazilas in the haor region during the upcoming Boro season to accelerate adoption. Approximately 100 demonstration plots will be set up in each participating upazila. The launch of BRRI dhan118 comes as Bangladesh continues to recover from severe flooding in the haor region. The haor basin, covering districts like Sylhet, Sunamganj, Habiganj, Moulvibazar, Netrokona, Kishoreganj, and Brahmanbaria, is one of Bangladesh's most important rice-producing regions, contributing an estimated 16 to 20 percent of the country's annual rice output.
BRRI scientists believe widespread adoption of BRRI dhan118, together with other climate-resilient rice technologies, could increase rice production in the haor region by around 10 percent, thereby strengthening national food security and improving the livelihoods of thousands of vulnerable farming households.
