Source: Cryptogon
22/08/2011 – A research agency in Fukushima Prefecture recently began examining some 110 varieties of rice from in and outside Japan in search for strains that absorb less radioactive cesium from soil.
The project, which the Fukushima Agricultural Technology Center initiated in the wake of the nuclear disaster at the Fukushima Daiichi power plant, is unprecedented in that no research has ever been done on rice grown on ground tainted with a relatively high amount of radioactive matter, the center’s research team said.
The research is of particular importance considering that the radiation from the Tokyo Electric Power Co. plant will likely continue to affect rice farming in neighboring areas into next year and beyond, it said.
“We might be able to develop new (cesium-resistant) rice strains if we find rice varieties that absorb less cesium through this project and cross them with Japanese rice,” said Keisuke Nemoto, professor at the University of Tokyo’s graduate school and a member of the team.