Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
November 20, 2008
University of Alberta research has yielded a way to double
the output of rice crops in some of the world's poorest, most
distressed areas.
Jerome Bernier, a PhD student in the U of A Department of
Agricultural, Food and Nutritional Science, has found a group of
genes in rice that enables a yield of up to 100 per cent more in
severe drought conditions.
The discovery marks the first time this group of genes in rice
has been identified, and could potentially bring relief to
farmers in countries like India and Thailand, where rice crops
are regularly faced with drought. Rice is the number one crop
consumed by humans annually.
The results of the study were published recently in the plant
sciences journal Euphytica. Bernier's research began four years
ago and focused on upland rice, which, unlike the majority of
rice crops, grows in non-flooded, dry fields. "If drought hits,
the yield can drop to almost nothing," Bernier said. He
conducted his research at the International Rice Research
Institute in the Philippines, in conjunction with scientists
there and in India.
He started with 126 genetic markers and narrowed his search to a
group of genes that had the desired impact. In very severe
drought conditions, rice strains with the new genes were shown
to produce twice as those strains that did not have the genes.
The new genes stimulate the rice plants to develop deeper roots,
enabling it to access more of the water stored in the soil.
"For subsistence farmers who rely on the crop to feed their
families, this extra yield can make a world of difference," said
Bernier.
Less loss to drought may also mean an increased supply of rice
globally, said Dean Spaner, Bernier's project supervisor and a
professor of agricultural, food and nutritional science at the U
of A.
The research was funded in part by the Canadian International
Development Agency and the Consultative Group on International
Agricultural Research. |
|
