Meeting the challenges of wheat production through a skillful mix of new varieties, commercialization and technology adoption

Purpose The role of Technology Transfer Units, examined in this study, was found to be vital to expedite the process of disseminating new varieties and their production technology. Design/methodology/approach A total of 1,000 households were surveyed in the sampled states. A probit model was used to analyse. Findings Age, education, land holding, tractor use and number of working family members in agriculture were found to significantly affecting adoption of the new seed varieties. Technology transfer through licensing has impacted the adoption of new seed varieties positively by highlighting Punjab possessing the highest adoption and western Uttar Pradesh was majorly adopting the old variety. Research limitations/implications The authors believed in farmers’ memory to recall the varietal information of wheat. Practical implications The study recommended various incentives to attract the seed industry in UP to minimize the economic loss potentially suffered by them. Social implications Quality seeds are germane to increase the productivity of crops, and it is paramount to disburse the seed varieties to the end users in an efficient way to achieve the overall objective of productivity enhancement. Originality/value In this context, a study was conducted in three states of India, namely, Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh (UP) to find out the adoption rate of newly developed varieties of wheat, HD 3086 after three years (2014–2015) of its commercialization by IARI as well as HD 2967, which was released in 2011.