Research & Development
Recognised by the Government of India since 2001
Melbo's research centre in Hyderabad, Telangana runs the breeding programmes behind every variety in our catalogue. Our in-house R&D has been recognised by the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research (DSIR) from 2001 onwards.
Recognition
A research programme the Government of India signed off on
DSIR recognition is not a marketing badge — it is a review of whether an organisation genuinely runs its own research: the people, the facilities, the records and the output. The group's in-house R&D has held that recognition from 2001.
For a farmer, the practical consequence is this: the varieties in this catalogue were bred, not bought and relabelled. When we publish a duration or a tolerance, it came out of our own trial books, and we can be held to it.
Recognised since
2001
Department of Scientific and Industrial Research (DSIR), Ministry of Science and Technology, Government of India.
Seed quality is assured against the standards of the Indian Seeds Act, 1966, which governs germination, purity and labelling for every pack we sell.
How a variety is made
Five stages between a cross and a seed pack
Nothing in the catalogue skips a step. The slowest part is deliberately the trial — because that is the part that protects the farmer.
Germplasm & parent lines
Collection, maintenance and evaluation of parent material across 24 crops. Diversity here is what gives a breeding programme somewhere to go when a disease breaks through.
Hybridisation
Controlled crossing to combine yield with the traits that actually decide a farmer's season — duration, firmness, shelf life and tolerance to the local disease complex.
Multi-location trial
Candidate lines are grown across agro-climatic zones and scored in the field. A line has to perform in more than one place, in more than one season, before it gets a name.
Seed production
Released varieties are multiplied with selected Indian seed growers under supervision, then processed and graded under controlled conditions.
Quality assurance
Germination, physical purity and genetic purity are verified against the standards of the Seeds Act, 1966 before seed is packed and labelled.
From the trial book
Our own plots, our own photographs
Every image below was taken during Melbo's vegetable evaluation programme. These are the lines carrying MLB breeding codes — some already released under a commercial name, others still under assessment.
Okra · MLB-121
Riya
Okra · MLB-111
Shiva
Chilli · MLB-721
Neha
Chilli · MLB-711
Chanchal
Cucumber · MLB-811
Krishna
Cucumber · MLB-821
Zayka
Bitter Gourd · MLB-321
Saksham
Bitter Gourd · MLB-131
Jigar
Bottle Gourd · MLB-411
Kriti
Sponge Gourd · MLB-521
Jumbo
Radish · MLB-88
Dhawal
Radish · MLB-321
Shwet
Coriander · MLB-77
Haritama
Palak · MLB-71
Express Green
Cowpea · MLB-211
Lalsa
Cowpea · MLB-221
Kumud
Breeding pipeline
16 MLB-coded lines across 10 crops
The research codes below are how a line is tracked internally from first cross to commercial release.
| Code | Line | Crop | Stage |
|---|---|---|---|
| MLB-121 | Riya | Okra | Released |
| MLB-111 | Shiva | Okra | In trial |
| MLB-721 | Neha | Chilli | In trial |
| MLB-711 | Chanchal | Chilli | In trial |
| MLB-811 | Krishna | Cucumber | In trial |
| MLB-821 | Zayka | Cucumber | In trial |
| MLB-321 | Saksham | Bitter Gourd | In trial |
| MLB-131 | Jigar | Bitter Gourd | In trial |
| MLB-411 | Kriti | Bottle Gourd | In trial |
| MLB-521 | Jumbo | Sponge Gourd | In trial |
| MLB-88 | Dhawal | Radish | Released |
| MLB-321 | Shwet | Radish | Released |
| MLB-77 | Haritama | Coriander | Released |
| MLB-71 | Express Green | Palak | Released |
| MLB-211 | Lalsa | Cowpea | Released |
| MLB-221 | Kumud | Cowpea | In trial |
Partner with Melbo
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We are appointing distributors and dealers across India. Tell us the crops your territory plants and the duration your farmers need, and we will put the right varieties in front of you.