TECHNOLOGIES FROM THE FAR WEST REGIONAL FACILITIES

NEW RICE SURVIVES EXTENDED FLOODING

Too much of a good thing is sometimes not so good.

Take rice. It needs water to grow in, but too much can kill it. Especially hard hit by flooding are some lesser developed areas of the world, where millions of people rely on rice as their major source of food.

Over the centuries, many Asian countries have developed intricate water delivery systems and rice paddies. But heavy rains can inundate fields before plants are fully grown and drown this labor-intensive crop.

Now Agriculture Research Service (ARS) scientist David Mackill has succeeded in breeding short rice plants that have both of these valuable traits - high yields and tolerance to complete submergence for up to two weeks. This is margin enough for most floodprone areas.

After many years of research in the ARS Crops Pathology and Genetics Research Unit at Davis, California, MacKill has shown that the flood-resistance trait is mostly controlled by a single gene.

Though the new rices are not yet commercially available to growers, initial testing indicates that they will yield upwards to five tons per acre. This is about 20 to 50 percent more than traditional tall varieties and about the same as other high-yielding short types.

Another benefit to the trait might be in controlling many of the most competitive, yield-robbing weeds. With rices that have more tolerance to flooding, growers could raise the water level in fields until the weeds die. And MacKill is now searching for other useful genes that give rice seedlings vigor and resistance to stem rot disease.

For more information, contact David MacKill, (916) 752-5966, fax (916) 752-4361.

Return to News index