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Saturday | October 10, 2026 | Dhaka

HSTU research finds potentials of developing blast disease-resistant rice

 BSS
 Published: 12:01 AM, 10 October 2026

A team of researchers from Haji Mohammad Danesh Science and Technology University (HSTU) in Dinajpur is continuing research to develop rice varieties resistant to the deadly blast disease and high-yielding rice suitable for char areas.

They hoped that if the ongoing trials of the research are successful, it could play an important role in the country’s food security and agricultural economy.

A press release of the university said the research work is being conducted at the Jute Research Institute field in Dinajpur.

The research is being carried out under the joint supervision of Prof Mamunur Rashid of HSTU’s Department of Plant Pathology, Prof Mominur Rahman of the Department of Agronomy, and Prof Arifuzzaman of the Department of Genetics and Plant Breeding.

Three postgraduate students of the Department of Agronomy are working on three separate projects.
In the first project, student Mosammat Aziza Khatun is researching six nearly extinct indigenous rice varieties which have shown 100 percent resistance against blast disease.

In the second project, student Shamsul Alam Manik is working on the potential to increase Aman rice yield in the adverse environment of char areas using less irrigation and a limited amount of nitrogen fertilizer.

In the third project, student Masum Reza is researching on development of advanced lines of the sixth generation of rice through conventional breeding methods and high-nutritional ‘Fine Black Rice’ or slender black rice.

HSTU Treasurer Prof Masudul Hasan Khan, Dinajpur District Seed Certification Officer Agriculturist Jafar Iqbal, and Scientific Officer of the Bangladesh Rice Research Institute (BRRI) Dinajpur Regional Office Dr. Syed Zahid Hasan inspected the ongoing projects Thursday afternoon,

During the inspection, Agriculturist Jafar Iqbal said, this initiative taken with the aim of enriching genetic resources and increasing productivity is praiseworthy.