The Ministry of Agriculture (MoA) says that during the first crop, 17,522 bags of seed paddy were produced at the Burma Rice Research Station.
The release said that the varieties planted included GRDB 10, GRDB 15, and G98-196 among others.
The GRDB 15 is a medium grain variety which was released in 2018 and continues to receive good reviews from farmers, being described as “excellent” in field conditions. It was stated to have comprised approximately 20 per cent of paddy cultivation during the first crop.
Approximately 3,000 breeding lines are currently being studied seasonally at the Research Station as the Board works to ensure that farmers have access to quality seed lines which can withstand the changing climatic conditions while at the same time improving yields.
Deputy General Manager of the GRDB, Allison Peters, said that the Research Station currently has 16 promising new breeding lines being observed in field conditions in all rice-growing regions. This is being done in replicated yield trials to ascertain its superiority over the existing varieties. In addition to these trials the researchers are also working on another 99 promising breeding lines, the release said.
According to the MoA, 14 aromatic breeding lines are currently in the advanced stage of testing and the Board hopes to be able to release a new aromatic variety from these trials to farmers. For 2019, the GRDB plans to produce approximately 100 tonnes of Basic seed which will be multiplied within the industry by seed growers along with the other certified seeds produced at the station.
Peters hinted at the Board’s plan to have a Candidate variety identified by the end of the 2nd crop this year. Once identified, the Candidate variety will be tested in farmers’ fields countrywide for a period of at least two crops so as to determine its ability to be released as a new variety. Once successful the new variety will be ready to be officially released by the end of 2021 or the first crop of 2022.
The GRDB is also working with international institutes such as the Latin American Fund for Irrigated Rice (FLAR) and the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) and has sourced some 300 new rice germplasm lines which will be used in its multiplication programme. This year it will also be looking at over 100 crosses of breeding lines which possess the ability for high grain yields, aroma, salt tolerance and other improved quality traits.
During the period 1997 and 2018, the GRDB released some 15 varieties of paddy. These varieties have resulted in significant increase in productivity over the last decade, moving production from 3.8 tonnes per hectare (equivalent to 24 bags per acre) in 2000 to 5.8 tonnes (which amounts to 37 bags per acre) in 2018. With the introduction of the new lines it is expected that farmers will be able to receive higher yields.
