Double rice production in drought areas

Research at the University of Alberta has succeeded in doubling rice production in some of the poorest and most degraded areas in the world.

Jerome Bernier, a doctoral researcher in agriculture, food and nutritional science, has discovered a group of genes in rice that allows doubling harvest yields in particularly dry conditions.

This finding marks the first time a group of rice genes has been identified, giving hope to farmers in countries such as India and Thailand, where rice often faces drought. Rice is the number one food people consume every year.

The results of the study are published recently in the journal Euphytica plant science. Bernier's research began four years ago and focused on upland rice, unlike most other types of rice, growing on dry fields. Bernier said: 'In drought conditions, output may drop to zero'. He has conducted his research at the International Rice Research Institute in the Philippines, in collaboration with native scientists and from India.

Scientists have discovered a method of doubling rice production in some of the world's poorest and most degraded regions.(Photo: iStockphoto)

He started with 126 markers and narrowed down to a group of genes that had the desired effect. In extremely dry conditions, rice with new genes yields double output compared to conventional rice.These new genes stimulate rice to develop deeper roots, allowing it to find more water in the ground.

Bernier said: 'For farmers who depend on crops to feed their families, this new discovery changes everything.'

Reducing loss due to drought also means that global rice production increases, Dean Spaner said, as a project supervisor for Bernier, a professor of agriculture, food and nutrition science at U of A.

The study was funded by the Canadian International Development Agency and the International Agricultural Research Consultant Group.