One of the major foodcrops of the world, wheat has been in cultivation in the Indian sub-continent since long. Carbonized grains of wheat obtained from the excavations of Harappa and Mohanjodaro testify to the antiquity of this cereal. Subsequent excavations carried out in Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh lend further  proof  that  wheat has been an important foodcrop of the inhabitants of India. Extensive references to this cereal have been  made in our ancient Vedic literature.

Three species of wheat are grown in India today. These are the common bread-wheat (Triticum aestirum), the macaroni  wheat (Triticum Durum), and the emmer wheat (Triticum Dicoccum). The bread wheat is most extensively grown by our farmers.

One of the first Indian wheat varieties isolated from a local farmer's  field and given the name 'New Pusa  4'  won a number of international prizes for quality in exhibitions held in Canada.

The Wheat Revolution in recent years in India started with breeding of high  yielding  varieties and has resulted in doubling of wheat production in a short span of  5  years.  From  12.5 million tonnes in 1965, wheat production rose to 26.4 million tonnes in 1972 and 28.3 million tonnes in 1976. This type of phenomenal increase in production has hardly been equaled by any other country in the world. India has developed the infrastructure, the  scientific base and the capacity to further augment wheat  production  in  the years  ahead.

As a tribute to the progress India made in wheat research and production, the International Organising Committee is holding the Fifth International Wheat  Genetics  Symposium in India.  The first four were held in Canada, Sweden,  Australia and the U.S.A. It is for the first time that this prestigious symposium is being held in an Asian Country.

The Indian Posts and Telegraphs Department is happy  to bring out a postage stamp  on Wheat Research  to commemorate  the holding  of this symposium.

Source : Information Folder issued by Indian Posts & Telegraph Department, Government of India