Crystal Crop expands fodder seed portfolio for India’s kharif 2026 season
Crystal Crop Protection is expanding its fodder seed range for kharif 2026 as India’s dairy and livestock sectors seek higher-quality green feed.
Crystal Crop Protection is expanding its fodder seed portfolio for India’s kharif 2026 season, underlining how strategically important forage production has become for the country’s dairy and livestock sectors. The Hindu BusinessLine reported that the integrated agri-input company will market four fodder seed products: SX17, SX17 Super, SX21 and Star. Each is aimed at different field conditions and harvest needs.
According to the company statement cited by BusinessLine, SX17 is a high-yielding sorghum-Sudan hybrid with a robust stem, medium maturity and good re-growth. SX17 Super is positioned as an upgraded version of SX17 with better drought tolerance and higher biomass per cut. SX21 is described as a late-maturing, high-biomass variety suited to single-cut large-volume harvests, while Star is an early-maturing dual-purpose sorghum that can be used both as green fodder and as grain fodder.
Crystal Crop said its 2026 Fodder Initiative is anchored in Haryana, Punjab, western Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan. Those are important target regions because they are dominated by the cultivation of crops such as sorghum, maize, bajra, berseem and lucerne, and they are closely linked to intensive dairy activity. The regional focus suggests the company is targeting areas where forage quality has a direct effect on milk output and feeding economics.
The company is also highlighting a single-cut green fodder hybrid called Dairy Green, which it says was purpose-engineered for the nutritional requirements of high-yielding dairy cattle. BusinessLine reported that Crystal Crop presented Dairy Green as a product developed through advanced plant breeding to deliver consistently high biomass yield, stronger crude protein content and good palatability. That pitch is clearly aimed at dairy farmers trying to improve feed efficiency rather than only expand acreage.
Satyender Singh, chief executive officer for seeds at Crystal Crop Protection, said India’s livestock sector is at an inflection point and that the challenge begins with the quality and availability of green fodder at the farm gate. He said the company had invested for more than a decade in seed solutions intended to address that gap. Crystal Crop expects its kharif 2026 fodder seed programme to lift productivity in farmer fields, while rising awareness of the link between fodder quality, milk yields and feed costs is helping drive demand for scientifically developed seed products.