RP, China to commercially produce hybrid rice seeds

LOS BAÑOS, Laguna – The Philippines and the People’s Republic of China will collaborate in the commercial production of hybrid rice seeds.

A memorandum of agreement along this line has been signed by the Department of Agriculture-Philippine Rice Research Institute (DA-PhilRice) and the Jiangxi Academy of Agricultural Sciences (JAAS).

Signatories to the agreement were PhilRice executive director Dr. Leocadio S. Sebastian and JAAS vice president Prof. Xie Jinshui.

Specifically, PhilRice and JAAS agreed to produce in commercial quantities seeds of the parental line (A line) of locally bred PSB Rc72H or "mestizo" hybrid in Cagayan Valley.

They will also showcase improved hybrid rice seed production technologies they have jointly developed to Filipino farmers and seed growers; and will encourage the private sector to venture into hybrid rice production.

JAAS has been among the pioneers in hybrid rice research and technology development in China, having started this research in 1969 leading to the development in 1973 of Zhen Shan 97A. This hybrid line has been introduced in other countries.

Jiangxi is the first province to declare success in developing three-line hybrid rice in China, with Zhen Shan 97A-derived hybrids now accounting for more than half of China’s total hybrid rice area.

In the Philippines, PhilRice started research on hybrid rice in 1989. In 1994, the first hybrid variety bred in the country, PSB Rc28H (locally named Magat), was released on a regional basis to Cagayan Valley farmers.

In 1997, another hybrid variety, "mestizo," was recommended to the National Seed Industry Council (NSIC, formerly Philippine Seed Board or PSB) for commercial release. This led to the initiation by PhilRice of hybrid seed production, training, and technology promotion activities preparatory to the launching of the technology in the country.

JAAS and PhilRice had earlier (in 1995) signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to develop hybrid rice varieties with high yield potential, wide compatibility, and adaptation to subtropical China and tropical Philippine conditions. The MOU has since been modified, expanded, and enhanced to address important aspects of the collaboration.

Results from hybrid rice seed production activities conducted at PhilRice by JAAS experts have set record seed yields of three tons per hectare during the 1999 and 2000 dry seasons.

Another agreement subsequently was signed to cover hybrid rice seed production on a commercial scale. This touched off the implementation of a hybrid rice and production project Laoag City (Ilocos Norte) during the 2000 wet season and in Santiago City (Isabela) during the 2001 dry season.

The latest agreement stipulates the expansion of hybrid rice cultivation in Cagayan Valley.

Why hybrid rice?

Dr. Edilberto Redoña, PhilRice deputy executive director and a hybrid rice specialist, stressed that hybrid seeds have 1,272 kilogram advantage and good aromatic quality over the popular varieties currently being grown.

Dr. Redoña reported that large-scale on-farm hybrid rice technology demonstration trials conducted nationwide showed that, on the average, a farmer can get an additional 1,272 kg palay per hectare using hybrid "mestizo" as compared to planting the best and popular conventional varieties. This represents a yield increase of 25 percent.

Aside from farmers, private seed growers and research institutions can benefit from using hybrids. – Rudy Fernandez