Year after year, tropical storms bring economic disaster to rice farmers across Asia whose fields are submerged in pools of brown stagnant water.
A season’s rice harvest can rot, and along with it, the family’s prospective income.
However, a solution may be at hand.
At the Philippines-based International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), scientists are developing a rice variety with high tolerance to submersion under water for extended periods.
IRRI has produce three widely grown varieties of rice that are flood tolerant – the Swarma and Mahsuri from India and the IR64 produced at IRRI’s facility in the Philippines (in Los Banos, Laguna Province) – David McKill, the head of IRRI’s plant-breeding division, told IRIN.
Three more varieties from Laos, Bangladesh and India are being developed at Los Banos, he said.
KAN LØSE STORT OG DYRT PROBLEM
Work on the genetics of submergence tolerance began in the 1990s when researchers first mapped rice DNA to isolate a gene responsible for the phenomenon – Sub1 gene.
Rice is considered a semi-aquatic plant, and it thrives in the wettest agricultural environments.
However, most rice varieties will be heavily damaged and die if they remain underwater for more than four days.
The new varieties being developed are designed to withstand up to three weeks of submergence and recover after flood waters subside, according to Mackill.
This is important for the vast rain-fed lowland areas of Asia where intermittent flooding causes frequent submergence.
Estimated crop losses due to flooding are around US$1 billion annually. (ca. 5,8 milliarder kr.)
