IRRI developing rice variety resistant to drought, heat

The International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) hopes to introduce a new variety of rice capable of surviving drought or resisting high temperatures by 2026.

The international agricultural research and training organization based in Laguna province is currently testing four breeding pipelines that are either drought-resistant or rainfed.

These are direct seeded, early, long, soft, rainfed (DELS-R); direct seeded, early, long, soft, irrigated (DELS-I); transplanted, early, long, soft, rainfed (TELS-R) and transplanted, early, long, soft, irrigated (TELS-I).“It will take two more years for the new variety to come out,” said Mary Jean Du, IRRI’s regional breeding lead for Southeast Asia.

Once made available to farmers, the new rice variety may help reduce the cost of cultivating the commodity, particularly on labor and water usage. Du said that rice farmers spend P60,000 to P70,000 per hectare to produce rice under conventional farming, which involves transplanting or moving the crop from one location to another.

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Consultation with farmers“In our consultations, many farmers complain about transplanting because they need to hire more people. But if they opt for the direct-seeded variety, they can use the machines for that and I think PHilMech (Philippine Center for Postharvest Development and Mechanization) is already distributing the seeders,” she added.

According to IRRI assistant scientist Maria Cristina Heredia, the drought-resistant breeding pipeline can survive for two to three weeks without being watered.

“The advantage of those with drought tolerance is that when the area is always subjected to water stress, it will still survive and yield compared to [traditional rice varieties],” Heredia said.

Du explained that the IRRI was conducting this type of research to address the needs of consumers and the different growing ecosystems of rice given the country’s topography or the natural and artificial physical features in different areas. Among the four breeding pipelines, the IRRI is determining which one to nominate for field testing.

“We started it in 2022. We already have selections for stage two and we will select the ones that we will nominate once we harvest the varieties that are in stage two for nomination to the [National Cooperative Test],” Du said.

According to her, 300 entries are currently being tested in various locations of Irri’s phenotyping sites. The research organization will pick only the ones that pass its standards.

“We will screen them again for another two seasons, and then we [will] select the very promising ones for nomination,” she said.