Apr. 22 – Scientists at the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) near Manila are currently in the process of perfecting a strain of salt-tolerant rice for wider field testing. The scientists have successfully bred a variety of rice that is salt-tolerant, which could enable farmers to reclaim coastal areas rendered useless by sea water and global warming issues. The new variety was bred by crossing an exotic wild rice species found in brackish water with one cultivated at the institute.
“They hope to have the new variety available to farmers to grow within the next 4-5 years,” the IRRI said in a statement.
IRRI lead scientist Kshirod Jena said that this strain of salt-tolerant rice is a “new [type of rice] that can expel salt it takes from the soil into the air through salt glands it has on its leaves, which will make saline stricken rice farms in coastal areas usable to farmers.”
This development has also highlighted the increasing amount of important R&D projects that are now being developed in Asia. The Philippines has become an important hub for global R&D as English is widely spoken and the protection of intellectual property rights is deemed more satisfactory than in China. Increasingly, China’s governmental model and market is seen as a better platform for pure consumption rather than innovation and technology transfer and development.
