HI 8802 (Pusa Wheat 8802) a high yielding, drought tolerant and biofortifed durum wheat variety for peninsular India

Pusa Wheat 8802 (HI 8802), a durum wheat variety was released for timely sown, restricted irrigation conditions of peninsular India in 2020 by the Central Sub-Committee on Crop Standards, Notification and Release of Varieties for Agricultural Crops, Government of India. Its yield was significantly superior over the checks with an average yield of 29.1 q/ha and potential yield of 36.0 q/ha in national coordination trials. HI 8802 showed plasticity for different irrigation levels and yielded superior with significantly higher number of grain/spikes and thousand grain weights. It was found to be resistant to all the major wheat pests and diseases. HI 8802 is a biofortified durum wheat variety suitable for pasta production with high protein (12.8 %) and iron (40.4 ppm) content, which will boost the nutritional and economic security of peninsular zone wheat farmers.