Science City of Muñoz, The Philippines
March 1, 2010
The 23rd National Rice R&D Conference slated on March 3-5 in Los Baños, Laguna echoes the partnership of PhilRice and the International Rice Research Institutes (IRRI) in doing rice research and technology development in response to climate change.
With the theme, Addressing climate change thru rice science, this year’s conference aims to identify appropriate and efficient strategies in developing and promoting rice and rice-based technologies that will mitigate impacts of and adapt to climate change.
Recognizing that the changing climate condition presents a major challenge for the national rice research, development, and extension sector, IRRI and PhilRice conducted collaborative studies.
Since 2007, five of the 157 varieties from Philippines, Pakistan, Iran, Africa, and Nepal were screened for heat tolerance. These were field tested in the 2008 dry season where flowering coincided with the hottest periods of the season - January 13, January 24, February 2, February 14, and February 26.
As the varieties were found to be heat-tolerant of varying degrees, PhilRice and IRRI hope to identify varieties that could evade or tolerate heat stress.
Moreover, PhilRice, IRRI, and other collaborators are working on a water-saving technique called Controlled Irrigation (CI) where water is controlled to help the plant grow healthier and to save water. Through the technology, farmers near the irrigation sources can use water efficiently so that farmers near the tail-end of irrigation system could access more amount of water.
According to Mr. Jovino De Dios of PhilRice’s Agronomy, Soils, and Plant Physiology Division, CI is a water-saving practice from land preparation until crop maturity.
“Water saving techniques can be started before planting such as properly fixing farm dikes and ditches, using of appropriate planting method, plowing the field immediately after the first irrigation, applying enough water during land preparation, shortening the land preparation time, and leveling the rice paddy very well,” De Dios said.
For flood-prone areas, PhilRice conducts breeding works and collaborates with IRRI in the adaptation and dissemination of submergence-tolerant (Sub1) rice such as Submarino 1 or NSIC Rc194.
Dr. Nenita Desamero, PhilRice’s plant breeder, said Submarino 1 – an IRRI-bred variety, can survive, grow, and develop even after 10 days of complete submergence at vegetative stage.
“Under submerged conditions, it yields 2.5 t/ha and matures in 125 days. While in normal conditions, it yields 3.5 t/ha and matures in 112 days,” Desamero said. NSIC Rc194 was approved by the National Seed Industry Council for planting in flood-prone areas.
PhilRice is a government-owned and –controlled corporation that aims at developing high-yielding and cost-reducing technologies so farmers can produce enough rice for all Filipinos.
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