The seed recommendation subcommittee of the National Seed Committee has released andrecommended cultivation of two rice varities, Manjushree-2 and Khumal-11, for the Kathmandu valley. The new rice varieties were developed in Nepal by a team of experts led by Kedar Prasad Shrestha after 13 years of experimentation in the valley and Agriculture Research Centre in Khumlatar, according to a press release issued by Nepal Agriculture Research Council (NARC). While the Manjushree-2 is said to be produced 8.3 ton per hectare of land, the production of Khumal-11 is estimated to be 7.7 tonnes. NARC has requested farmers to use a combination of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium in the land for a better yield of the two recommended new rice varieties. The council has recommended a total of 46 new varieties of rice for different topographies across the country after its establishment.