2/8/2018 Green Super Rice varieties undergo adaptability trials | BusinessMirror

Green Super Rice varieties undergo adaptability

trials
By Mary Grace Padin - July 23, 2015

The Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice) said new rice varieties that can withstand the
toughest conditions are currently undergoing adaptability trials in the country.

PhilRice said the varieties are under the Green Super Rice (GSR) Project and are multitrait varieties
that produce higher and stable yield and are resistant to abiotic stresses, such as drought, salinity,
alkalinity and iron toxicity.

Farmers were introduced to the GSRs through adaptability trials conducted by the Department of
Agriculture (DA) nationwide under its High Yielding Technology Adoption program. PhilRice is an
attached agency of the DA.

“In the course of program implementation, favorable outcome was generated highlighting the
specific performance of the GSRs under varied conditions,” the PhilRice said in a statement.

Thelma Padolina, an implementer of the Food Staples Sufficiency Program’s “Accelerating the
Development and Adoption of Next-Generation Rice Varieties for Major Ecosystem in the
Philippines,” or NextGen project, said that three GSR varieties were approved for
commercialization, specifically in saline-prone and upland areas.

These varieties are the NSIC 2014 Rc 390, or Salinas 19 (IR83140-B-28-B); NSIC 2014 Rc 392, or
Salinas 20 (IR84675-58-4-1-B-B); and NSIC 2014 Rc 29, or Katihan 4 (IR83140-B-36-B).

“These new varieties will be brought to the target areas through the Participatory Variety selection
trials for better adoption,” Padolina said in a statement.

She also added that the project is the third component of the NextGen project, which means the
accessibility of the GSR’s germplasm will be sustained. The GSR varieties’ accreditation as
commercial varieties with assured seed availability is also formalized, she said.

The GSR Project, or the “Green Super Rice for resource poor farmers of Africa and Asia,” is a
collaborative research project of the International Rice Research Institute and the Chinese Academy
of Agricultural Sciences, Institute of Crop Sciences.

It is supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation that aims to increase the income of
resources-limited rice producers through the development and wide-adoption of GSR varieties and
corresponding crop management technology.

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Mary Grace Padin

FO LLO W U S O N I N STAG R AM
@B M SOCIA LM ED IA

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