Scientists at the Bangladesh Rice Research Institute (BRRI) have released a new rice variety for the salty soils of the coast. BRRI dhan119, bred for the transplanted aman season, grows in both saline and non-saline land and yields 4.8 to 7.6 tonnes a hectare depending on how salty the field is.
The National Seed Board gave the variety final approval for the aman season at its 116th meeting on 28 October. The National Technical Committee has also recommended trials of its suitability for the boro season, AgriNewsBD reports.
The problem it targets is an old one: coastal soil is naturally saline, and in the dry season salinity rises far enough to make farming almost impossible. The variety was developed in seven and a half years, about four years faster than conventional breeding, using modern techniques including targeted crossing design, a modified field rapid generation advance (RGA) and hotspot-based strategic forward breeding.
Compared with BRRI dhan73, the earlier variety popular with farmers, the new one yields about a tonne more per hectare. Plants stand 113 centimetres tall with sturdy stems that resist lodging in storms. Each panicle carries an average of 215 filled grains, 70 to 80 more than BRRI dhan73, which the report attributes partly to the Gn1a gene.
The grain is slender and cooks fluffy; a thousand grains weigh 16.8 grams. The crop matures in just 115 days, leaving time for a following crop after the aman harvest. A member of the research team said seeing farmers smile after years of patient work was the team's reward.
With its short duration, higher yield and tolerance of harsh conditions, BRRI dhan119 could cut production risk on the coast, the report says, provided farmers get good water management, care for soil fertility and quality seed.
Photo: panicles of a BRRI rice variety (illustrative, BRRI dhan31), ROCKY / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Source: AgriNewsBD
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