A modern and state-of-the-art wheat analytical laboratory would be established at the Ayub Agricultural Research Institute (AARI) for complete and detailed analysis of wheat, said Wheat Research Institute Director Dr Makhdoom Ahmad.
Presiding over a meeting, he said the project would be completed in three years at an estimated cost Rs 146.686 million. He said that space had been allocated for the laboratory near the institute. The process for its construction and purchase of equipment has also been initiated.
He said the lab would have high-tech equipment, which could assess the percentage of protein and gluten in wheat, in addition to the traces of pesticides or residue of fertiliser. He said the laboratory would also help in identifying the various varieties of wheat suitable for Chapati (bread) because of its specific components.
He said a glasshouse would also be a component of the project. It would help in determining the reaction of various seasonal and off-season diseases on wheat. He said that wheat varieties Sehar and Shafaq evolved by AARI were widely cultivated in Pakistan. However, there was no plan to develop any transgenic variety of wheat, he added.