BHU’s Heat‑Resilient Mungbean Variety HUM 27 Soon Available to Indian Farmers

Banaras Hindu University (BHU) has taken a big step toward getting a laboratory‑grown mungbean onto the farmer’s field. The university signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Olympus Crop Care Ltd., handing over the know‑how for the new variety called HUM 27 – also known as “Malaviya Jankranti.”

The variety was originally bred by the Department of Genetics and Plant Breeding at BHU’s Institute of Agricultural Sciences. Its claim to fame is a mix of farmer‑friendly traits: a short growing period, bold shiny seeds, high protein (almost 29 % in the seed), and, perhaps most importantly, the ability to shrug off scorching summer temperatures up to 45 °C.

During the MoU ceremony, Rajan Srivastava, the university’s registrar, and Lakshmi Narayan Das Gupta, representing Olympus Crop Care, put their signatures on the document in front of Vice‑Chancellor Prof. Ajit Kumar Chaturvedi. The Vice‑Chancellor praised the university’s push to turn research into real‑world solutions, noting that varieties like HUM 27 can help bridge the short gap between the rabi and kharif seasons.

According to Anil Kumar Singh, the chief breeder of HUM 27, the bean is meant for the summer window – roughly 10 to 25 March – when fields are often left fallow after wheat or mustard. Its compact stature (about 44 cm tall) reduces lodging, and the plant matures in just 62‑76 days, delivering an average of 9 quintals per hectare and, under optimal conditions, as much as 18 quintals.

Besides the heat tolerance, the bean shows strong resistance to the dreaded mungbean yellow mosaic virus (MYMV) and boasts a seed weight of about 5 g per 100 seeds – a size that’s attractive for both grain markets and processed‑food producers.

Olympus Crop Care will now handle the large‑scale multiplication of the seeds, a crucial step before the beans can be sold to the farming community. The hope is that, with reliable seed supply, growers can earn higher profits while also contributing to dietary protein security.

HUM 27’s development was a team effort, involving Anil Kumar Singh, M.N. Singh, Ramesh Chand, Prem Shankar Singh and Dinesh Kumar, among others. The IPRTT (Intellectual Property Rights and Technology Transfer) Cell at BHU, led by Prof. Geeta Rai, continues to act as the bridge between university innovations and industry partners.

In short, the technology transfer marks another milestone for BHU’s agricultural research – moving a promising, climate‑smart legume from the lab bench straight into the farmer’s seed bag.