The Bangladesh Rice Research Institute (BRRI) has introduced BRRI dhan118, an innovative short-duration, cold-tolerant Boro rice variety designed to mitigate heavy crop damages in the flash-flood-vulnerable haor belt while strengthening national food reserves.

Engineered by BRRI's Plant Breeding Division, the novel cultivar directly addresses a longstanding agricultural dilemma in the northeastern wetlands, where early sowing to preempt devastating pre-monsoon flash floods subjects crops to severe cold, whereas delayed planting leaves yields exposed to incoming floodwaters prior to harvest.

"BRRI dhan118 has been developed specifically for the haor ecosystem. It combines 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," stated Dr. Khandakar Md. Iftekharuddaula, Chief Scientific Officer and Head of BRRI's Plant Breeding Division.

Scientific documentation indicates that the variety can withstand sustained average temperatures under 20 degrees Celsius for seven to ten consecutive days during the vital reproductive phase—a period when standard cultivars frequently suffer severe spikelet sterility, locally known as chitta, resulting in unfilled grains and sharp yield contractions.

Agricultural researchers noted that BRRI dhan118 completes its growth cycle within 145 to 150 days under standard farming conditions.

Sown in the first week of November, it matures for harvesting by early April, enabling agriculturalists to safely evade the annual flash floods that regularly submerge the wetland basin.

Field evaluations show that the strain yields an average of roughly 6.8 tonnes per hectare, outperforming BRRI dhan28—one of Bangladesh's primary Boro varieties—by approximately 1.1 tonnes. Under optimized agricultural management, potential yields can reach up to 8.5 tonnes per hectare.

Dr. Partha Sarathi Biswas, Chief Scientific Officer (Plant Breeding) and Head of the BRRI Regional Station in Habiganj, who spearheaded the development of BRRI dhan118, confirmed that the variety demonstrated exceptional stability over multiple years of rigorous testing across the haor belt.

"Because the variety was released only in February this year, it has not yet reached farmers on a large scale, making it too early to assess farmer response," he remarked.

To expedite grassroots adoption, BRRI plans to construct approximately 5,000 demonstration plots spanning 50 upazilas throughout the haor area in the upcoming Boro season, allocating roughly 100 plots per upazila.

"We are currently producing quality seed through off-season seed multiplication so that sufficient seed will be available for large-scale demonstrations and distribution during the next Boro season," Dr. Biswas said.

He elaborated that early planting during the first week of November typically yields around 6 tonnes per hectare, whereas standard cultivation between November 15 and 20 can boost output to nearly 8 tonnes per hectare.

Unlike conventional short-duration strains, the newly released crop maintains grain-filling processes even during cold snaps, drastically curbing sterility.

The technological breakthrough arrives at a critical junction as Bangladesh works to insulate its agricultural output following severe inundations in the wetland areas.

"The haor region contributes about 16 percent of Bangladesh's Boro rice production," noted Dr. Biswas, adding that state welfare mechanisms, including financial grants and direct food distribution, have already been extended to assist flood-affected farmers.

To ensure rapid technical dissemination, BRRI has inaugurated an 18-month expansion project spanning May 2026 through October 2027, backed by a BDT 428.63 lakh budget.

The comprehensive framework encompasses setting up 5,000 trial plots, multiplying and distributing 30 tonnes of high-grade seed across five regional BRRI stations, and training nearly 3,000 farmers alongside 420 Sub-Assistant Agriculture Officers on modern agronomic practices.

Encompassing the districts of Sylhet, Sunamganj, Habiganj, Moulvibazar, Netrokona, Kishoreganj, and Brahmanbaria, the haor ecosystem represents a crucial agricultural zone, generating roughly 16 to 20 percent of the nation's total annual rice crop.

BRRI scientists anticipate that widespread cultivation of BRRI dhan118, coupled with complementary climate-smart technologies, could elevate rice output across the haor basin by approximately 10 percent, reinforcing national food stability and bolstering the livelihoods of farming families.