Hyderabad's Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (ccmb) and the Directorate of Rice Research (drr) have developed samba masuri and triguna rice lines (varieties) that are resistant to the bacterial leaf blight (blb) disease. blb is one of the biggest snags for rice growers in India, as it reduces yields by more than 15-20 per cent. No pesticide is available at present to combat the disease.

Two centres in India