Patna: The Farmers in Bihar would be soon using Seeds irradiated with Nuclear Technology in a bid to obtain higher output and healthy crop produce. A Team of Scientists from Bihar Agriculture University is currently working on this project in association with Mumbai based Bhabha Atomic Research Center  (BARC).
Agriculture is the Primary Occupation in Bihar
In Agriculture , Nuclear technology could change farming by bringing about beneficial changes in seed development, tissue culture and preservation techniques.  The Nuclearly Treated Seeds can tolerate changes in climate, and resist certain diseases.
According to V.B Patel, the chairman of the horticulture department of Bihar Agricultural University(BAU) at Sabour in Bhagalpur district, ” The nuclear energy could be used in plant breeding and for developing new varieties. Radiation could be used for mutation, he said, and nuclear energy could also be used to increase the shelf life of vegetables like potatoes and onions”.
According to  Mewa Lal Choudhary, vice chancellor of BAU, “ BARC scientists have engaged in agricultural research that shows that nuclear energy could help increase the shelf life of fruit like mango and litchi for 48 days. The technology could also aid in altering the nutrients in fruit like banana, thus making for a higher iron content that would be of great use to people with anaemia.  ”
Bihar CM Nitish Kumar has personally taken a deep interest ion the project and it was he who advised the University to take up the project.
“It was Nitish Kumar who took the initiative to hold a workshop here Tuesday, allowing scientists and experts of BAU to interact with officials from the New Delhi-based Department of Atomic Energy and the Mumbai-based BARC on the use of nuclear energy in agriculture,”, says a Bihar Government Official.
The official asserted that there was no cause for worry in the move to harness nuclear technology to boost agricultural production and expand the shelf life of vegetables and fruit: The agricultural products would pose no health hazard, he said, as Choudhary added that millions of farmers stood to benefit.
Agriculture is the backbone of Bihar’s economy, employing 81 per cent of the workforce and generating nearly 42 per cent of the state’s domestic product, according to the state government.