Indonesia – Indonesia’s rice consumption
Reports that merchants in a traditional market outside Jakarta had sold synthetic rice caused a panic among Indonesian consumers this week in a country where rice is a staple.
China – Chinese scientists find gene that improves rice yields by 20 per cent
By reducing the rice plant’s height, the gene reduced the incidence of stem collapse prior to harvest and increased the number of tillers per plant, enabling a significant increase in grain yield.
India – Cancer-fighter rice, grown in Bengal
Black rice, a heritage variety of Bengal rice, is known for its high amount of antioxidants that prevent cancer.
Cambodia – A bovine warning for Cambodia’s rice crop
An ancient tradition sends a worrying signal to the nation’s farmers.
U.S.A – Sacramento Valley rice farmers say they will grow less due to drought
They stressed that the impact of water cutbacks in the case of rice will be more than economic.
California – Rice planting proceeds as water availability varies
Rice planting is nearing its halfway point in California’s middle Sacramento Valley. Crop advisers are expecting more fields to be fallowed this year because of a lack of water, although how much more acreage is idled remains to be seen.
USA – $5.5M NSF grant aims to improve rice crops with genome editing
Scientists are also in a race against time to double the production of cereal crops on limited arable land by 2050, when the global population could reach 9.5 billion.
Pakistán – PARC introduces 11 new high-yielding rice varieties
The Pakistan Agriculture Research Council (PARC) approved 11 new high-yielding rice varieties including seven hybrid and four open-pollinated seed for cultivation in various ecologies.
Philippines – Agriculturist proves hybrid rice farming doubles harvest
For the 2015 dry season, he harvested 280 cavans per hectare, which is lower than last year but still higher than his former inbred rice harvest.
Rice can ‘borrow’ stronger immunity from other plant species, study shows
The study findings, which may help increase health and productivity of rice, the staple food for half of the world’s population, are reported online in the journal PLOS Pathogens.