Philippine Rice brings out drought-resistant rice varieties

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice) is providing farmers access to drought tolerant and early maturing rice varieties and dry season rice cultivation technologies to help cope with the prevailing dry spell that is expected to peak in the last quarter of the year.

According to the weather bureau, the El Niño phenomenon is expected to last until the second quarter of 2016.

PhilRice said farmers culti-vating rice in irrigated lowlands could consider planting early maturing varieties such as PSB Rc10 (Pagsanjan), NSIC Rc130 (Tubigan 3) and NSIC Rc152 (Tubigan 10).

The Pagsanjan variety matures in 106 days with a maximum yield of 7.5 metric tons per hectare (MT/ha). Tubigan 3 matures in 108 days with a maximum yield of 7.6 MT/ha while Tubigan 10 matures in 109 days with a maximum yield of 8.7 MT/ha.

Farmers may also plant NSIC Rc134 (Tubigan 4), an early-maturing variety (107 days) with a maximum yield of 9.8 MT/ha and NSIC Rc160 (Tubigan 14) also an early-maturing variety (107 days) with a maximum yield of 8.2 MT/ha.

Farmers cultivating rice in rain-fed lowlands could choose from NSIC Rc192 (Sahod Ulan 1), PSB Rc14 (Rio Grande), and PSB Rc68 (Sacobia).

Sahod Ulan 1 matures in 106 days with a maximum yield of 5.5 MT/ha while Rio Grande matures in 110 days with a maximum yield of 6.1 MT/ha. Sacobia matures in 116 days with a maximum yield of 4.4 MT/ha.

“These varieties are also known for their drought-tolerant properties preferable in areas where El Niño is expected to hit worst,” PhilRice.

Drought-tolerant varieties for upland cultivation areas, meanwhile, include PSB Rc80 (Pasig), PSB Rc9 (Apo), and NSIC Rc23 (Katihan 1). Pasig can yield up to 8.7 MT/ha and matures in 112 days. Apo matures in 119 days with a maximum yield of 5.6 MT/ha while Katihan 1 matures in 108 days with a maximum yield of 7.6 MT/ha.

PhilRice can also give farmers access to water saving technologies such as controlled irrigation or alternate wetting and drying, aerobic rice, drip irrigation, and reduced tillage technology.

The prevailing dry spell is already putting a strain on Metro Manila water supply as water elevation levels in the Angat Dam falls below 212 meters, a water level that can service both municipal water needs and irrigation needs for farmlands on central Luzon.

As such, the National Water Resources Board (NWRB) has further reduced the water allocation from the Angat Dam in Bulacan to Metro Manila to 38 cubic meters per second for this month, lower than the allocation of 41 cubic meters per second implemented in July and August.

The NWRB also continues to impose zero allocation for irrigation until a secure water level in the Angat Dam is reached.

Thelma Padolina, lead researcher of the study, entitled  “Screening of rice-induced mutants for heat and drought tolerance,” said rice normally grows at temperatures between 20 and 35°C and it is at its most sensitive during the booting and flowering stages. Thus, even dry spells for a short duration will result in substantial yield loss.

Padolina said her team started the series of screening in 2012 where 817 mutant lines were initially screened for drought stress and leaf blast, and later with emphasis to heat stress.

In biology, a mutant is an organism or a new genetic character arising or resulting from an instance of mutation, which is a base-pair sequence change within the DNA of a gene or chromosome of an organism. – With Manny Galvez