&imwidth=800&imheight=600&format=webp&quality=medium "Popcorn, but make it desi! India launches 1st indigenous non-GMO maize hybrids. All about it")
India has launched its first indigenous non-GMO, high-expansion popcorn maize hybrid seed varieties, in a move aimed at reducing dependence on imported hybrid technology and strengthening domestic agricultural research.
Vice-President of India Jagdeep Dhankhar launched the seeds at the Gourmet Popcornica facility in Musunuru, Eluru district, Andhra Pradesh. The hybrids have been developed jointly by the ICAR-Indian Institute of Maize Research (ICAR-IIMR) and Indian enterprise Gourmet Popcornica.
The research has resulted in varieties including Krisna459 and Godari234, which have been developed to match the popping quality of leading international varieties. A key feature of the hybrids is their high expansion ratio, which determines how much a kernel expands when heated and is one of the most important quality parameters for commercial popcorn.
Unlike genetically modified crops, the new varieties have been developed using conventional cross-breeding methods and do not contain artificially inserted foreign genetic traits. Their non-GMO status could make them particularly suitable for food processing markets that require non-GMO ingredients.
The launch is also being viewed as a step towards the government’s Aatmanirbhar Bharat initiative in agriculture. Developing the technology domestically could reduce India’s reliance on imported popcorn maize hybrids and help conserve foreign exchange.
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What is popcorn maize?
Popcorn maize is a specialised type of flint corn belonging to the maize species Zea mays. Its kernels have a hard, moisture-resistant outer hull surrounding starch and a small amount of moisture.
When heated, the moisture turns into steam, increasing pressure inside the kernel. Once the pressure becomes high enough, the hull bursts and the starch expands, producing the familiar fluffy popcorn.
Maize is India’s third most important food crop after rice and wheat and is cultivated across different agro-climatic regions. It is used as food, animal feed, fodder and for industrial processing.
India recorded maize production of 55.09 million tonnes in 2025-26, supported by favourable monsoon conditions, record kharif sowing and the Minimum Support Price regime. While maize productivity in the country has risen above 3.19 tonnes per hectare, it remains below the global average of around 5.5 to 5.6 tonnes per hectare.
