Context: Japan is currently grappling with a rice shortage caused by extreme weather conditions, resulting in private rice stocks reaching their lowest levels since 1999 and a projected 20% decline in rice production by 2100. To combat this, Japan is focusing on developing heat-resistant rice varieties.
Heat-Resistant Rice
- High temperatures and dry conditions last summer led to reduced rice yields and poor grain quality, resulting in the lowest rice inventories in 25 years.
- High heat disrupts starch accumulation in rice grains, causing them to become opaque and mottled, with white flecks and less desirable for human consumption, which reduces their market value.
- The Saitama Agricultural Technology Centre in Japan is working on new varieties like 'Emihokoro' that can withstand higher temperatures while maintaining quality.
- Emihokoro has been planted in 31 fields as a trial this year.
- This research involves cultivating and cross-pollinating seeds to produce more resilient strains.
Cross-pollination
- Cross-pollination occurs when pollen from the anther of one plant is transferred to the stigma of another plant of the same species.
- Outbreeding produces seeds that incorporate both parents’ inherited features, and the resulting progeny are more diverse than those produced through self-pollination.
- This genetic recombination results in offspring that often exhibit enhanced vigour, better disease resistance, and other advantageous traits.
- Cross-pollinated varieties like the ‘Ambrosia’ corn have been bred for improved resistance to common fungal diseases such as corn smut, ensuring healthier crops.
- The 'Golden Rice' project, which cross-pollinated different strains of rice, aimed to enhance yield while also increasing nutritional content, particularly Vitamin A.