Field visit to breeder seed production plots of groundnut variety TCGS-1694 (Vishishta) at Choudarpally (V), on 12.02.2026 by RARS, Palem.

In order to supply quality seed to groundnut farmers, the AICRP on Groundnut scheme at RARS, Palem is undertaking breeder seed production of the variety TCGS-1694 (Vishishta) in an area of 50 acres during rabi, 2025-26 under groundnut seed hub programme of National Mission on Edible Oils – Oilseeds in farmers field in PPP mode. In this connection, a monitoring team comprising Sri. M. Shivakumar, Assistant Director of Seed Certification, TGSCOA, Hyderabad; Sri. Shabbeer, Field Officer, TGSDC, Wanaparthy; Sri. Gajanan Singh, Regional Manager, NSC, Secunderabad; Dr. K. Sadaiah, Scientist (Plant Breeding) and Dr. M. Sreedhar, Principal Scientist (Oilseeds) along with Dr. L. Krishna, Associate Director of Research, RARS, Palem and Dr. M.V. Nagesh Kumar, Director (Seeds), PJTAU visited the breeder seed production plots of Sri. Bhagawan Reddy at Choudarpally (V), Thalakondapally (M), Rangareddy district on 12.02.2026. During the visit, the crop was at pod maturity stage. The farmer expressed satisfaction with the performance of the variety particularly with respect to the number of pods per plant, kernel weight and tolerance to leaf spot diseases. Dr. M. Sreedhar, Principal Scientist (Oilseeds) explained the varietal characteristics, performance and acceptability of the variety among the farming community to the group. Further, Dr. M.V. Nagesh Kumar, Director (Seeds) emphasized the importance of groundnut cultivation in the Southern Telangana Zone and highlighted its significance in the global market as groundnut produced in this region is known to have low aflatoxin levels in kernels. He also stressed the need to increase the area under groundnut cultivation to meet the domestic demand for edible oil while simultaneously enhancing the export potential of the crop.