Monday, March 26, 2018

26th March,2018 daily global regional local rice e-newsletter

Breakthrough in battle against rice blast

March 26, 2018, University of Exeter

Credit: Earth100/Wikipeidia

Scientists have found a way to stop the spread of rice blast, a fungus that destroys up to 30% of the world's rice crop each year.

An international team led by the University of Exeter showed that chemical genetic inhibition of a single protein in the fungus stops it spreading inside a rice leaf - leaving it trapped within a single plant cell.

The finding is a breakthrough in terms of understanding rice blast, a disease that is hugely important in terms of global food security.

However, the scientists caution that this is a "fundamental" discovery - not a cure that can yet be applied outside the laboratory.

The research revealed how the fungus can manipulate and then squeeze through natural channels (called plasmodesmata) that exist between plant cells.

"This is an exciting breakthrough because we have discovered how the fungus is able to move stealthily between rice cells, evading recognition by the plant immune system," said senior author Professor Nick Talbot FRS, of the University of Exeter.

"It is clearly able to suppress immune responses at pit fields (groups of plasmodesmata), and also regulate its own severe constriction to squeeze itself through such a narrow space.

"And all this is achieved by a single regulatory protein. It's a remarkable feat."

Rice blast threatens global food security, destroying enough rice each year to feed 60 million people.

It spreads within rice plants by invasive hyphae (branching filaments) which break through from cell to cell.

In their bid to understand this process, the researchers used chemical genetics to mutate a signalling protein to make it susceptible to a specific drug.

The protein, PMK1, is responsible for suppressing the rice's immunity and allowing the fungus to squeeze through pit fields - so, by inhibiting it, the researchers were able to trap the fungus within a cell.

This level of precision led the team to discover that just one enzyme, called a MAP kinase, was responsible for regulating the invasive growth of rice blast.

The research team hope this discovery will enable them to identify targets of this enzyme and thereby determine the molecular basis of this devastating disease.

The research was led by Dr Wasin Sakulkoo, who recently received his PhD from Exeter.

Dr Sakulkoo is a Halpin Scholar, a programme initiated by the generosity of Exeter alumni Les and Claire Halpin, which funds students from rice-growing regions of the world to study with Professor Talbot's research group.

Dr Sakulkoo is from Thailand, and has returned home to a new position in industry following graduation.

Explore further: Study uncovers rice blast infection mechanism

More information: Wasin Sakulkoo et al, A single fungal MAP kinase controls plant cell-to-cell invasion by the rice blast fungus, Science (2018). DOI: 10.1126/science.aaq0892

Rice Prices

as on : 26-03-2018 11:22:19 AM

Arrivals in tonnes;prices in Rs/quintal in domestic market.

	Arrivals			Price
	Current	% change	Season cumulative	Modal	Prev. Modal	Prev.Yr %change
Rice
Bindki(UP)	600.00	20	18708.00	2240	2240	-
Manjeri(Ker)	290.00	NC	1740.00	3700	3700	NC
Bahraich(UP)	182.80	-13.98	2916.90	2200	2200	-1.12
Muzzafarnagar(UP)	28.00	55.56	733.00	2690	2700	-
Cachar(ASM)	20.00	-50	1420.00	2400	2400	9.09
Alipurduar(WB)	20.00	NC	320.00	2750	3050	17.02
Jayas(UP)	18.00	-14.29	834.50	2070	2050	3.50
Khurja(UP)	9.00	-10	402.00	2600	2600	-
Dibrugarh(ASM)	6.50	8.33	311.10	2400	2400	6.67
Mirzapur(UP)	5.00	-28.57	267.50	2145	2140	-
Paliakala(UP)	4.00	-33.33	792.60	2165	2185	-
Chhibramau(Kannuj)(UP)	4.00	-33.33	184.50	2240	2250	NC
Khairagarh(UP)	1.20	50	50.30	2500	2500	-2.72
Jagnair(UP)	0.80	NC	44.10	2500	2530	-2.72
Kasipur(WB)	0.51	-1.92	3.44	2610	2610	11.06

https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/economy/agri-business/rice-prices/article23353320.ece

Group warns PH vs ‘golden rice’: It’s not the solution to malnutrition

By: Pathricia Ann V. Roxas- Reporter / @PathRoxasINQ

INQUIRER.net / 04:00 PM March 26, 2018

A regional coalition of farmers, consumers, and environment activists has called on the government to reject “foreign safety stamps” on the genetically-engineered “golden rice,” which might pose risk to public health.

The Stop Golden Rice Network asserted that such stamp of approval from other countries might be a ploy to exploit the nation’s weak regulations and policy loopholes on genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in order to have the golden rice released in the Philippines.

In a statement, the coalition said the recent approval in foreign countries of the genetically-modified crop might soon lead to “start feeding trials among children and pregnant women in Philippines and Bangladesh.”

Health Canada posted its approval decision of GM Vitamin A enhanced “Golden Rice” last March 16, 2018 amid public concerns, according to the group.

The Network said the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) had also filed application for safety approval and trade clearance of golden rice last 2017 to the United States, Canada, and Australia.

But these decisions, according to the group, are questionable.

“We also question why the International Rice Research Institute is seeking safety approval from Canada, Australia, and the US while farmers and consumers in Asia who plant and eat rice as a staple are left in the dark,” said Cris Panerio of Magsasaka at Siyentipiko para sa Pag-unlad ng Agrikultura (Masipag), a farmers network in the Philippines and a member of the Network.

“Promoting readily available, diverse, and safe Vitamin A food sources from sustainable and ecological farming is the long term solution to combat malnutrition, ensure food security and health, not genetically modified crops like Golden Rice,” he added.

Launched in 2000, golden rice is genetically-engineered to produce beta-carotene, the precursor of Vitamin A, and touted to address malnutrition and Vitamin A Deficiency (VAD).

Syngenta, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and Rockefeller Foundation have poured millions of dollars to IRRI to develop Golden Rice in Bangladesh and the Philippines in 2011, according to the Network.

But the group said controversies and conflict have impeded its release in the past two decades.

Ana Bibal, campaign coordinator of the Network, said the approval of Health Canada and Food Standards Australia New Zealand of the golden rice was a “product of corporate lobbying.”

“Scientific findings that questions its viability, safety, and intention were left out; and social concerns were not addressed. Golden Rice will not cure blindness nor address the complex social problem of malnutrition. Instead, Golden Rice commercialization in Asia will translate to unbridled profit, massive trade of unregulated GMO rice and promotion of biofortified GM crops,” she noted.

The Stop Golden Rice! Network consists of organizations from more than 30 countries in Asia. /kga

First efficacy result delivers insecticide-driven boost for Bio-Gene

By Filip Karinja

March 26, 2018

Description: Bio-Gene Technology ASX BGT Flavocide insecticide trial brown planthopper

Bio-Gene's Flavocide technology proven to be effective against rice pest, the brown planthopper.

Agriculture technology developer Bio-Gene Technology (ASX: BGT) has published a positive field trial for its Flavocide insecticide, when tested against the brown planthopper, a significant pest to rice farmers globally.

Bio-Gene’s CEO Richard Jagger spoke to Small Caps earlier this monthregarding the company’s current business model and future market intentions. One of its major goals is to prove the efficacy of both its synthetic and natural insecticides, with today’s field trial results substantiating Bio-Gene’s market strategy.

The Flavocide field trial was performed by Eurofins, an international contract research organisation. It was undertaken in Thailand where rice crops are prone to high levels of planthopper infestations and have developed historically-high levels of insecticide resistance.

The field trial showed that Flavocide is effective against young and mature planthoppers, and importantly, was found to be “superior to the existing chemistry used” given that control samples were treated with existing products already being used across the farming industry.

Bio-Gene also reports its product “exhibited repellence effects that would potentially assist in preventing re-infestation and virus transmission” and said that it had “no observable impact on beneficial species such as predatory mirids and spiders).

According to Bio-Gene, the field trial provides partial indication that its Flavocide product can be integrated into existing pest management programs which often involve multiple products as standard.

“These are positive and encouraging results that demonstrate the potential of Flavocide for control of a major rice pest, particularly in Asia, and provides justification for further evaluation to fine-tune dose rates and further demonstrate efficacy in a range of field conditions,” said Richard Jagger, CEO of Bio-Gene.

“The results also highlight that, like other insecticides, Flavocide may have differing effects against different pests which justifies our strategy of evaluating Flavocide as widely as possible across pest species both alone and in combination with other insecticides,” Mr Jagger said.

Hopping for insecticides

Planthoppers penetrate the tissues of their rice host plants and ingest the plant’s nutrients, but obstructing the plant’s inner vessels which causes yellowing of leaves, wilting, drying and eventual plant death.

An increasing population density of planthoppers eventually leads to the so-called “hopperburn” effect whereby clusters of brown dead plants give the impression that a particular area has been burned.

Furthermore, planthoppers cause major damage to Asian rice crops resulting in yield losses of up to 60% or more, sometimes completely destroying the crop.

In addition to direct plant damage, this pest is also an important vector of viral diseases of rice. Its presence also promotes the growth of sooty mould which negatively impacts plant growth and further reduces grain yields.

According to market research conducted by Kynetec Research in 2016, an estimated A$3.7 billion is spent on rice insecticides globally, with a large proportion specifically aimed towards control of Planthopper populations.

The global agribusiness industry is a colossus with a huge influence on several sectors and industries.

According to research conducted by McKinsey & Company, a US-based market research company, agribusiness has become a US$5 trillion industry accounting for 10% of global consumer spending, 40% of all employment, and 30% of all greenhouse-gas emissions.

“Rice is the staple food of half of the world’s population and more than 90% of the global rice crop is grown in Asia. The Planthopper is a major pest that has been increasingly difficult to control, largely due to its resistance to most insecticides available for use .The unique mode of action of Flavocide offers the opportunity to control these resistant strains, where other chemistry is failing. This, along with having no impact on beneficial species, is a real positive towards inclusion in integrated pest management programs, which is of great value to the industry,” said Mr Jagger.

https://smallcaps.com.au/first-efficacy-result-insecticide-boost-bio-gene-technology/

Rice Flour Market Research, Growth Opportunities, Key Players, Outlook and Forecasts Report 2017-2022

March 25, 2018 - by amit.p

Global Rice Flour Market Report provides important information related to the overall market and price forecast over a five-year period, from 2017 to 2022. In this bit, the experts have offered essential figures which relates to the production and consumption forecast for the major regions that the market is categorized into, production forecast by type, and consumption forecast by application.

Rice Flour Market report presents the detail analysis of the parent market based on elite players, present, past and futuristic data which will serve as a profitable guide for all the Rice Flour industry competitors.

Major companies are as follows:Burapa Prosper ,Thai Flour Industry ,Rose brand ,CHO HENG ,Koda Farms ,Hok Seng Rice Flour ,Lhian Thai Rice Vermicelli ,BIF ,Lieng tong ,Bob’s Red Mill Natural Foods .

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Major classifications are as follows:
Brown Rice Flour
Glutinous rice flour.

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Rice noodle and Rice pasta
Sweets and Desserts
Snacks
& more.

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https://businessservices24.com/159580/rice-flour-market-research-growth-opportunities-key-players-outlook-and-forecasts-report-2017-2022/

BTr: NG disbursed subsidies reached P922M in January

Rea Cu

March 25, 2018

THE national government (NG) reported disbursed subsidies amounting to P922 million for January this year, with the National Irrigation Administration (NIA) receiving bulk of the disbursement totalling P426 million.

Based on the latest data from the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr), the government allotted subsidies amounting to P922 million during the first month of this year, which contracted by 27.17 percent from the P1.266 billion in subsidies disbursed for January 2017.

Broken down, the biggest recipient for the month was the NIA, which was given P426 million, a contraction of 42.81 percent from the P745 million provided in the same month for 2017.

The other major nonfinancial government corporation that received a subsidy from the government for the month was the Light Rail Transit Authority (LRTA) with P6 million.

Among the government-owned and -controlled corporations, the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) received the biggest amount of P119 million. It did not receive subsidies from the government in January 2017.

The Philippine Children’s Medical Center also received subsidies amounting to P78 million, the Philippine Heart Center was allocated P72 million, the Philippine Rice Research Institute (Philrice) received P60 million, the National Kidney and Transplant Institute was given P49 million, the Center for International Trade Expositions and Missions got P32 million, the Cultural Center of the Philippines was provided P21 million, the Lung Center of the Philippines received P20 million, and the Philippine Institute for Development Studies was allocated P11 million for the month.

Other agencies that received subsidies included the Philippine Television Network Inc. with P6 million; the Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA) with P5 million; the Philippine Institute of Traditional and Alternative Health Care with P5 million; and the Aurora Pacific Economic Zone and Freeport Authority, Southern Philippines Development Authority, and the Zamboanga City Special Economic Zone Authority each received P4 million.

One of the campaign promises under the Duterte administration was the provision of free irrigation in rural areas and improved healthcare or universal health care to all Filipinos, among others.

https://businessmirror.com.ph/btr-ng-disbursed-subsidies-reached-p922m-in-january/

State subsidies drop by 27% in January

Published March 25, 2018, 10:01 PM

By Chino S. Leyco

State subsidies to government-owned and -controlled corporations (GOCCs) declined by more than a quarter in the first month of the year, data from the Bureau of the Treasury revealed.

Government financial assistance given to 16 state-owned companies amounted to P922 million in January this year, down 27 percent compared with P1.26 billion in the same month last year.

According to the Treasury report, the largest recipient of government subsidy was the National Irrigation Administration (NIA) with P426 million, representing 46.2 percent of the total disbursements.

NIA was followed by the Philippine Health Insurance Corp., commonly known as PhilHealth, with P119 million, along with Philippine Children Medical Center (P78 million), Philippine Heart Center (P72 million), and Philippine Rice Research Institute (P60 million).

Other recipient of state subsidies were National Kidney and Transplant Institute (P49 million), Center for International Trade Expositions and Missions (P32 million), Cultural Center of the Philippines (P21 million), and Lung Center of the Philippines (P20 million).

The Philippine Institute for Development Studies (P11 million), Light Rail Transit Authority (P6 million), People’s Television Network (P6 million), Philippine Coconut Authority (P5 million), and Philippine Institute of Traditional and Alternative Health Care (P5 million) also received subsidies.

Lastly, the Southern Philippines Development Authority and Zamboanga City Special Economic Zone got P4 million each from the national government in January this year.

For 2018, the national government earmarked a record P162.55 billion in financial aid for GOCCs and government financial institutions (GFIs), up by 24 percent compared with the projected P131.09-billion disbursements last year.

The increase in attributed to the government’s non-recurring expenses on the conditional cash-transfer (CCT) program being facilitated by the Land Bank of the Philippines, which aims to support Filipino households that will be affected by the proposed tax reform package.

Aside from the CCT, the government has also tapped the Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) to help in funding the planned public utility vehicle (PUV) modernization.

The Land Bank and DBP are traditionally non-recipient of monetary aid from the national government as these two state-owned lenders are members of the so-called “Billionaires’ Club,” an elite class of GOCCs that declare P1 billion or more in dividends annually.

The budget department is allocating P25.62 billion in subsidies for Land Bank this year and another P1.13 billion for the DBP.

Tags: Bureau of the Treasury, Center for International Trade Expositions and Missions, Government financial assistance, Light Rail Transit Authority, Lung Center of the Philippines, National Irrigation Administration, National Kidney and Transplant Institute, Philippine Coconut Authority, Philippine Health Insurance Corp., Philippine Heart Center, Philippine Rice Research Institute, Southern Philippines Development Authority, State subsidies drop by 27% in January

State subsidies drop by 27% in January

Published March 25, 2018, 10:01 PM

By Chino S. Leyco

State subsidies to government-owned and -controlled corporations (GOCCs) declined by more than a quarter in the first month of the year, data from the Bureau of the Treasury revealed.

Government financial assistance given to 16 state-owned companies amounted to P922 million in January this year, down 27 percent compared with P1.26 billion in the same month last year.

According to the Treasury report, the largest recipient of government subsidy was the National Irrigation Administration (NIA) with P426 million, representing 46.2 percent of the total disbursements.

Lastly, the Southern Philippines Development Authority and Zamboanga City Special Economic Zone got P4 million each from the national government in January this year.

Aside from the CCT, the government has also tapped the Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) to help in funding the planned public utility vehicle (PUV) modernization.

The budget department is allocating P25.62 billion in subsidies for Land Bank this year and another P1.13 billion for the DBP.

https://business.mb.com.ph/2018/03/25/state-subsidies-drop-by-27-in-january/

Researchers find way to stop spread of devastating rice fungus

IANS | London Last Updated at March 26, 2018 11:30 IST

have discovered a way to stop the spread of rice blast, a fungus that destroys up to 30 per cent of the world's rice crop each year.

The researchers found that chemical genetic inhibition of a single protein in the fungus stops it from spreading inside a rice leaf -- leaving it trapped within a single plant cell.

The finding, published in the journal Science, could mark a major advance in understanding rice blast, a disease that is hugely important in terms of global food security.

The research revealed how the fungus can manipulate and then squeeze through natural channels (called plasmodesmata) that exist between plant cells.

"It is clearly able to suppress immune responses at pit fields (groups of plasmodesmata), and also regulate its own severe constriction to squeeze itself through such a narrow space," Talbot said.

"And all this is achieved by a single regulatory protein. It's a remarkable feat," he added.

However, the scientists caution that this is a "fundamental" discovery -- not a cure that can yet be applied outside the laboratory.

Rice blast threatens global food security, destroying enough rice each year to feed 60 million people.

It spreads within rice plants by invasive hyphae (branching filaments) which break through from cell to cell.

In their bid to understand this process, the researchers used chemical genetics to mutate a signalling protein to make it susceptible to a specific drug.

The protein, PMK1, is responsible for suppressing the rice's immunity and allowing the fungus to squeeze through pit fields. So, by inhibiting it, the researchers were able to trap the fungus within a cell.

This level of precision led the team to discover that just one enzyme, called a MAP kinase, was responsible for regulating the invasive growth of rice blast.

The research team hope this discovery will enable them to identify targets of this enzyme and thereby determine the molecular basis of this devastating disease.

he of http://www.business-standard.com/article/news-ians/researchers-find-way-to-stop-spread-of-devastating-rice-fungus-118032600222_1.html.

Focus on basmati a must to boost export earnings

Mohiuddin AazimUpdated March 26, 2018

Description: https://i.dawn.com/large/2018/03/5ab763fd83d92.jpg

RICE exporters are lobbying for geographical indication (GI) for basmati grown in Pakistan to boost its exports and overall earnings.Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi has only recently promised to resolve this long- standing issue. Once exporters get all basmati varieties grown in the country covered under the GI law, they can protect themselves against Dubai-based Indian trading houses that buy different Pakistani rice varieties on the cheap and sell them to global markets under Indian brand names.

On prime minister’s instructions, the federal cabinet has already authorised the commerce division to initiate legislation on GI. How long it will take to do so and whether this government whose term will expire shortly will be able to make a GI law is anybody’s guess.

In addition to intensely lobbying for the passage of the much-needed law, the Rice Exporters Association of Pakistan (REAP) has also been aggressively pursuing potential buyers of Pakistani basmati rice. Rafique Suleman, vice chairman of the association, recently unveiled plans for taking a delegation to Saudi Arabia and organising a festival there to promote basmati rice.

Certain issues continue to impede growth of basmati rice, including the absence of a geographical indication law and a lack of penetration of enough brands of basmati in export markets

In February, REAP held International Buyers’ Recognition Award in the United Arab Emirates. The event has helped in boosting sales of basmati rice there, exporters say.

According to a recent Dawn report, our GI law has been pending for 17 years owing to differences between various lobby groups. Apart from basmati, the passage of such a law will also help increase exports of other products, including Sargodha’s kinno.

Why geographical indication

According to the World Trade Organisation’s Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS), a GI certificate establishes the territory of origin of a particular product.

“Once the basmati rice variety, for example, is certified under the GI law, it will officially become known as Pakistani basmati. And that will help us lodge complaints with the world trade body if that particular variety’s name is misused by another nation,” explains a leading Karachi-based rice exporter.

Recently, some Indian exporters reportedly moved to export a large quantity of Pakistani-origin rice to Indonesia under an Indian brand name. REAP officials brought this to the notice of the government, but nothing could be done to block the exports in the absence of proper GI laws.

Game-changer

Larger shipments of basmati varieties that are mostly exported under brand names, in retail and semi-wholesale packaging and their foreign buyers include superstores, fetch higher per-unit price than non-basmati varieties. Currently, the share of basmati varieties in our total volumes of rice shipments is low.

According to stats compiled by the Trade Development Authority of Pakistan, basmati shipments during the first half of this fiscal year amounted to 11.2pc of total rice shipments of all kinds.

For several years, this share has remained below 15pc, officials of TDAP confirm. Once export volumes of basmati go up, the country can expect a faster and bigger increase in export earnings of rice. So, boosting basmati exports can be a game-changer for Pakistani rice exports.

Forex earnings of rice are expected to touch $2bn mark this fiscal year. During the first eight months, $1.224bn already came in, according to REAP. Exports of basmati constitute roughly 22pc of total rice export earnings — double its share in rice export volumes.

Key issues

Certain issues continue to impede growth of basmati rice, including the absence of a GI law, lack of penetration of enough brands of basmati in export markets, an unscrupulous practice prevailing among traders who agree to sell basmati varieties to Indian traders on the condition that the packaging would not bear signs of origin and the continuation of basmati exports also in bulk that fetch lower per-unit price.

Officials of REAP seem to have rolled up their sleeves and trying to address all these and similar issues with the help of government agencies concerned and our foreign trade offices.

But growing domestic demand for basmati rice in our fast-expanding food industry and among upper middle-class and upper class households and slower than desired increase in local output also have a direct bearing on exports.

Production of basmati varieties, after falling below 2m tonnes in 2012-13, has shown a gradual rise to hit an estimated 2.5m tonnes in 2015-16, according to a senior official of the Ministry of National Food Security and Research.

“Even at this level the basmati output is slightly more than one-third of our total rice production (of 7m tonnes). Whereas, it’s important to push basmati production further, its share in exports even at the current level of output can be enhanced,” he insists.

But citing reasons of growing domestic demand, exporters say that unless the country is able to boost output of basmati at an annual rate close to 10pc for some years from now, export earnings growth will remain low.

Per-unit value

But what if the production of basmati does not grow fast enough to create enough exportable surplus after meeting increasing local demand? Exporters must then find room for enhancing per-unit price of basmati exports. During the first half of this fiscal year, the average export value of basmati varieties rose about 9pc to $1,012 per tonne from $930 per tonne a year ago.

However, this happened amid a general recovery in prices in the global rice market and average price of non-basmati rice also showed about 11pc increase, from $364 per tonne in the first half of 2016-17 to about $404 per tonne this year, according to TDAP officials.

One way of boosting the per-unit value of basmati could be to enhance high-end sales to famous chains of superstores. “That requires strong and well-established branding, strict compliance to all applicable rules of business, more attractive and custom-made, environment-friendly packaging,” says an official of Matco Foods, a well-known rice company that recently got listed on the Pakistan Stock Exchange.

Currently, Pakistan’s basmati rice market is too heavily concentrated in the Gulf Cooperation Council region. Exporters acknowledge the need for expanding the market base and many of them agree that with a little support of the government they can market large amounts of basmati rice to Afghanistan, Iran and some Central Asian and North African nations.

“We lost the Iranian market to Indians when Iran was under US sanctions. Indians made barter trade a reality while we just kept talking about it,” laments an official of HAS Rice, another leading rice exporting company.

Published in Dawn, The Business and Finance Weekly, March 26th, 2018

https://www.dawn.com/news/1397460/focus-on-basmati-a-must-to-boost-export-earnings

Siebenmorgen receives Distinguished Service Award

Mar 24, 2018

Fast Facts:

Rice Technical Working Group recognizes Dr. Terry Siebenmorgen’s career service

Siebenmorgen built and leads the Division of Agriculture’s Rice Processing Program

Program aims to improve post-harvest processing for rice

FAYETTEVILLE — Terry Siebenmorgen, director of the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture’s Rice Processing Program, received the Rice Technical Working Group Distinguished Service Award at the organization’s biennial meeting last month in Long Beach, Calif.

The award recognizes Siebenmorgen’s career-long research to improve post-harvest rice processing.

http://newtoncountytimes.com/news/siebenmorgen-receives-distinguished-service-award/article_140677c4-2eb4-11e8-adc8-ff39b31852fa.html

Gene boosts rice growth and yield in salty soil

Description: http://www.sciencecodex.com/files/styles/large/public/externals/8c408a34ff78e740a381a0e900cd7fe7.jpg?itok=CCHmaIlu

Members of the research team collecting samples in a rice paddy field in Changsha, China.

Image credit:

Jianzhong Lin

Around 20% of the world's irrigated land is considered to contain elevated concentrations of salt, and the soil continues to get saltier as the climate warms. Agricultural production is hard hit by soil salinity; salt stress reduces the growth and yield of most plants, resulting in billions of dollars in crop yield losses annually. Rice--the staple food of more than half the world's population--is particularly sensitive to salty soil, with even moderate levels of salt resulting in substantial yield losses. There is thus an urgent need to develop rice lines that can withstand salty conditions.

A team of scientists led by Jian-Zhong Lin and Xuan-Ming Liu of Hunan University in Changsha, China recently identified a gene that contributes to salt stress tolerance in rice. The gene, which they named STRK1 (salt tolerance receptor-like cytoplasmic kinase 1), was activated under salt stress conditions. The researchers generated two sets of transgenic plants, one in which STRK1 was expressed at high levels, and the other in which expression was greatly reduced. Under regular growth conditions, both sets of transgenic plants appeared normal. However, when challenged with salt, the transgenic plants with elevated STRK1 expression were greener and larger than the non-transgenic control plants, and those with reduced levels of STRK1 expression were smaller and browner than the controls.

Next, the team examined the effect of STRK1 on yield. "Notably, overexpression of STRK1 in rice not only improved growth but also markedly limited the grain yield loss under salt stress conditions," said Jian-Zhong Lin.

The team then turned their attention to deciphering the mechanism by which STRK1 enhances the plant's tolerance to salt. Salt stress triggers the production of potentially harmful reactive oxygen species, such as hydrogen peroxide, in plant cells. The group found that STRK1 (the protein encoded by STRK1) interacts with and activates a protein named CatC, which belongs to a family of proteins that decomposes hydrogen peroxide into water and oxygen. Thus, STRK1 increases the plant's tolerance to salt stress by keeping the levels of hydrogen peroxide in check, and thereby minimizing the damage caused by accumulating reactive oxygen species.

These exciting findings bring the research community closer to developing rice plants that thrive in salty soil. "Agricultural productivity is increasingly threatened by the salinization of irrigated farmland...Our work demonstrates that STRK1 is a promising candidate gene for protection of yield in crop plants exposed to salt stress," stated Xuan-Ming Liu.

http://www.sciencecodex.com/gene-boosts-rice-growth-and-yield-salty-soil-619842

Rice: Nigeria can’t meet 2018 self-sufficiency target

March 25, 2018

By Paul Ogbuokiri

…still major destination of Thailand, Indian rice

•Produced 5.8mmts, consumed 7.9mmts in 2017–RIFAN

•Import rose by 19% to 2.5mmts–USDA

Self-sufficiency in rice production is one of the cardinal objectives of the President Muhammadu Buhari administration with different officials calling for a ban on the importation of the cereal.

Two years ago, Buhari set 2018 as a target to end Nigeria’s status as the world’s second-largest importer of the grain after China and become self-sufficient. He’s since overseen investments of almost $1 billion in farming and milling, virtually banned rice importers from buying foreign exchange, raised tariffs to as high as 60 per cent and pushed the Central Bank of Nigeria to lend to farmers. Confident his administration is making progress, he told growers this month that “our policies are working.”

Earlier in August 2017, a director at the agriculture ministry, Muhammad Adamu, had made unsubstantiated claim that Nigeria’s rice production reached 15 million metric tonnes annually.

Bloomberg in a report on Wednesday quoted the U.S Department of Agriculture as saying that Nigeria grew just 3.7 million metric tonnes of rice in 2017, which is a paltry 4 per cent increase from a year earlier. At the same time, imports rose by 19 per cent to 2.5 million metric tonnes, the USDA said.

This came as the president of Rice Farmers Association of Nigeria (RIFAN), Aminu Goronyo said while Nigeria’s rice consumption rose to 7.9 million metric tonnes in 2017, the country was only able to produce 5.8million metric tonnes in the review year.

He said the country’s production increased from 5.5 million tonnes in 2015.

He said in 2015, Nigerians spent not less than N1billion on rice importation, adding that while spending had drastically reduced, consumption had increased because of increased local production of the commodity.

As the debate over what the country actually produces rages, some analysts say as the country consumed 6.4 million metric tonnes in the review year; it may have produced about 5.5 million metric tonnes.

Despite these conflicting figures, the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Chief Audu Ogbeh said Nigeria will become self-sufficient in rice production before the end of 2018.

According to him, importation of rice into the country had dropped by 95 per cent in the last two years.

He disclosed this in Abuja at the first Annual NACCIMA-NIRSAL Agribusiness and Policy Linkage Conference, which has “Implementing the Agriculture Component of the Economic Recovery Growth Plan’ as its theme.

The minister said the country has made a lot of success in terms of stopping rice importation adding that this has led to creation of more jobs for the people.

He said, “One example of our success is in rice. By September 2015, this country was importing 644,131 tons of rice. Exactly two years later that is September 2017, rice importation dropped to 20, 000 metric tonnes. “That is a drop of 95 per cent. However, smugglers have been busy trying to sabotage and compromise the country’s effort to stop importation.

“There are 12.2 million people growing rice in the country, producing paddy for the rice mills.

“In Kano alone, we have 1,421 rice mills. We have large fields in Anambra, Ebonyi, Nasarawa, Jigawa, kebbi and more are coming up.”

Ogbeh said this was achieved because of the Federal Government’s policy to stop importation But the numbers tell a different story: they suggest smuggling is rife because local producers are struggling to meet growing demand in the nation of 180 million people, where rice is favoured over traditional staples such as yams and cassava by an increasingly urbanized population.

Many imports are smuggled in from Benin, which despite a population of 11 million — barely 5 per cent of Nigeria’s population — is now the world’s biggest buyer of rice from Thailand, the number two exporter globally. Official shipments to Nigeria have plummeted by more than 95 per cent in the past four years, while those to Benin have surged, according to the Thai Rice Exporters Association.

To this end, the Managing Director of AgroNigeria, Richard Mbaram says that achieving self-sufficiency in the next couple of years is merely a “pipe dream”.

“Rice production isn’t willed into existence. It is cultivated and systematically sown.

“There is research; there is mechanization; warehousing and storage. There is market opening and market access.

“You cannot drive industrialisation or agro-industrialisation without connecting the farm gate where the production is happening. Do we have that? We’re very far back in terms of achieving that,” he said.

It will be recalled that the recent claim by Chief Audu Ogbeh on the fall of rice mills in Thailand was quickly refuted by Wattana Kunwongse, Thailand’s Ambassador to Nigeria.

The minister has allegedly said that the Thailand Ambassador accused Nigeria of being responsible for the collapse of its seven rice mills following the drastic fall in rice importation from the country.

The ambassador described the minister’s claim as “misleading and a distortion of the actual discussion that transpired between them”.

A News Agency of Nigeria report showed that Ogbeh made the claim, at a meeting of the Presidential Fertilizer Initiative (PFI) and the leadership of the Fertiliser Producers and Suppliers of Nigeria (FEPSAN) held at the Council Chamber of the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

According to the report, the minister said, “Just like two weeks ago, the Ambassador of Thailand came to my office and said to me that we have really ‘dealt’ with them.

“But I asked what did we do wrong and he said unemployment in Thailand was one of the lowest in the world, 1.2 per cent, it has gone up to 4 per cent because seven giant rice mills have shut down because Nigeria’s import has fallen by 95 per cent on rice alone”.
However, the diplomat said Ogbeh lied.

“The report is not only misleading but a distortion of the actual conversation between myself and the Honourable Minister of Agriculture at the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development on January 30, 2018, which was nothing short of positivity and optimism on both side”.

He added that the report could not have been farther from the truth as Thailand’s official figures demonstrate that its rice export to the world in 2017 reached 11.48 million tons worth $5.1 billion.

“Thailand’s rice export to the world in 2017 (January-December 2017) reached 11.48 million metric tonnes equal to $5.1 billion (USD), a 15.54 per cent increase compared to previous years, which is one of the highest figures on the history Thailand’s rice exportation. There is no proof of any shutdown of Thailand’s major rice mills,” he said.

Meanwhile, Rice consumption in Nigeria is almost entirely of parboiled rice. In West Africa only Nigeria consumes parboiled rice. Other West African countries including all the neighbouring countries to Nigeria (Niger, Benin, Cameroon and Chad) are not consumers of parboiled rice.

In Africa only South Africa is the other major country that consumes parboiled rice.

The shipments of parboiled rice from India and Thailand into Lome, Cotonou and Douala ports is a very fair estimate of smuggled rice into Nigeria as none of these countries have internal consumption of parboiled rice. All the imports of parboiled rice into these countries finally find their way into Nigeria.

It is against this backdrop that the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Chief Audu Ogbeh has warned that smuggling of parboiled rice from across the borders (mainly Benin Republic) is creating a major disaster for the rice industry in Nigeria.

Ogbeh, gave the warning recently while speaking to journalists on some of the Federal Government’s achievements in the agriculture sector in the last two years in Abuja.

He said the decision become necessary to encourage local rice farmers and to enable the country achieve self-sufficiency in rice by 2018.

“We believe they are determined to sabotage the efforts that we are making to guarantee self-sufficiency in rice and to save foreign exchange which we don’t have.

“They insist on bringing in rice through the land borders, avoiding the duties and the levies we put on them and they are definitely bent on sabotaging our efforts and we are getting increasingly unhappy with them.

“And I must say that very soon, if they persist, we will take very nasty measures against them.

“We will like to advise our neighbours, who believe that the ECOWAS treaty means that Nigeria is a volunteer nation for economic suicide.

“We have no such plans, destroying our own economy to make any neighbour happy.

“The ECOWAS treaty number two does not suggest that any country can be an avenue of smuggling foreign goods not produced in that country for dumping in his neighbours territory.

“If they insist, I do not think that government is far away from considering permanently closing certain borders very near us and when we do, nothing will make us change our minds on the issue, ECOWAS treaty or not,” Ogbeh warned.

The Chairman Senate Committee on Customs, Excise and Tariff, Sen. Hope Uzodinma penultimate week has called on relevant agencies of the government to check rice smuggling to enhance Nigerian economic development.

https://newtelegraphonline.com/2018/03/rice-nigeria-cant-meet-2018-self-sufficiency-target/

Silver linings in the economy: Increased agricultural and industrial production and export growth

Despite the recent gloom cast by the communal violence that threatened several key sectors of the economy, there are some bright spots emerging in the economy. Improved paddy harvests, prospects of increased tea production, increased industrial production and a further growth in exports are favourable developments that should result in higher economic growth this year.

Description: http://www.sundaytimes.lk/180325/uploads/nimal3.jpg

On the other hand, the setback to tourism, decreasing remittances, lower foreign investment and possible net capital outflows will affect the economy adversely. The sooner peaceful conditions are established and confidence generated in the country these drawbacks could be mitigated.

Economic populism
Economic growth in the next few years could be seriously affected owing to the government’s economic policies being geared to gain popularity. Economic populism could have an adverse impact on mid and long run economic growth, especially owing to an increase in the fiscal deficit. Fiscal slippage and lack of essential reforms may jeopardise midterm economic growth.

Agriculture
Agricultural production is likely to revive owing to better paddy and food crop production, as well as increased tea production on estates and small holdings. Coconut output may not increase by much owing to the lag effect of the drought.

Good harvests
After two years of floods and drought that brought down paddy and food crop production drastically and necessitated rice imports, indications are that the 2018 maha harvest that is being reaped these days would be a good, though not a bountiful one. The maha harvest is expected to be 2.32 million kilograms. It is 57 percent higher than the depressed output of last year, but 17 percent less than the maha harvest of 2015/16.

Description: http://www.sundaytimes.lk/180325/uploads/Econ-cartoon3.jpg

The likely good weather this year, the better distribution of fertiliser and subsidies are likely to boost the yala harvest. The yala crop is likely to be much higher than in recent years. This year’s paddy production is forecast to reach 601 metric tons compared to only 543 metric tons last year. In 2016 paddy production was a record 766 metric tons.

Respite
Increased food production is a relief to the economy as it implies reduced imports of rice and wheat this year and a decrease in rice prices that soared last year. Apart from the advantages to the economy, good harvests mean better incomes to the rural community and a relief to the livelihoods of a substantial proportion of the county’s population. The reduction in food prices would also be a boon to the lower income sections of the population. Inflation is expected to decelerate to about 5 percent later this year.

Tea
There is an expectation of higher tea production owing to better weather and the availability of fertiliser and weedicides. The increased tea production is likely to be mostly from smallholdings in the south. The consequent increase in the exportable tea surplus should improve export earnings provided international tea prices remain at current levels. The current predictions are that prices would be steady at around last year’s attractive levels.

Tea exports
In keeping with the increasing trend in exports later last year, tea exports grew by 11 percent to US$111 million in January this year. Hopefully this trend would gain momentum with the expected higher production of tea.

Industrial production
There was a significant industrial growth in the fourth quarter of last year. The growth in ceramics, garments, rubber and leather goods is likely to continue as this growth, stimulated by better export prospects is expected to grow during the course of the year.
The Central Bank’s Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) Survey disclosed that manufacturing and service sectors expanded at a higher rate in February 2018, compared to the previous month. Several sub-indices too disclosed a growth.

Services
A steeper gain was observed in the business activities of the financial services, IT programming and transportation of goods and warehousing sectors. Service providers’ optimism on the three-month business outlook also strengthened at a modest pace.

Export growth
Export growth that commenced in March last year has been gaining momentum. In 2017 exports increased by 11.4 percent and this trend is continuing with an export growth of 6.2 percent in January. Exports of rubber and finished rubber products increased by 19 percent to earn US$75 million.

The Export Development Board (EDB) expects exports to increase to US$15 billion. An export value of US$13 billion that is more realistic would be significant. The EDB expects growth in industrial exports, mostly garments and textiles, ceramics, rubber and leather goods, to result in total exports of US$15 billion. Much of this expectation of export growth is based on the improving trend in exports over the last months and the export growth in January this year of 6.23 percent to US$934 million. The government’s target is to achieve exports of one billion in each month.

Textiles and garments
Apparel and textile exports grew by a modest 1.8 per cent to reach US$433 million in January. However, a double digit growth is expected in apparel exports in the coming months as apparel exporters were fulfilling orders received prior to getting the GSP plus. Sri Lanka’s textile and garments exports exceeded US$5 billion during 2017, its highest-ever value for a single year, recording a 3 per cent growth compared to US$4.88 billion a year ago. The Sri Lanka Apparel Exporters Association targets US$8 billion in apparel exports by 2022.

Summing up
While there are some economic gains this year, these should not blind us to the loss due to the communal violence that could affect the economy adversely for some time. Every effort must be made to build confidence, peaceful conditions and law and order in the country to restore tourism. Any recurrence would be the death knell to this valuable source of foreign exchange earnings.

Investment both foreign and domestic have been adversely affected. Restoring confidence among foreign investors is an uphill task, and without larger amounts of FDI in manufactures, the country’s export capacity cannot be enhanced.

The setback to the economy cannot be reversed easily. While the gains in economic growth this year is a relief, the longer term growth remains below the needed momentum. Furthermore populist economic policies could destabilise the economy and retard economic growth.

http://www.sundaytimes.lk/180325/columns/silver-linings-in-the-economy-increased-agricultural-and-industrial-production-and-export-growth-287578.html

Breakthrough in battle against rice blast

UNIVERSITY OF EXETER

Scientists have found a way to stop the spread of rice blast, a fungus that destroys up to 30% of the world's rice crop each year.An international team led by the University of Exeter showed that chemical genetic inhibition of a single protein in the fungus stops it spreading inside a rice leaf - leaving it trapped within a single plant cell.The finding is a breakthrough in terms of understanding rice blast, a disease that is hugely important in terms of global food security.

However, the scientists caution that this is a "fundamental" discovery - not a cure that can yet be applied outside the laboratory. The research revealed how the fungus can manipulate and then squeeze through natural channels (called plasmodesmata) that exist between plant cells.

"It is clearly able to suppress immune responses at pit fields (groups of plasmodesmata), and also regulate its own severe constriction to squeeze itself through such a narrow space.

"And all this is achieved by a single regulatory protein. It's a remarkable feat."

Rice blast threatens global food security, destroying enough rice each year to feed 60 million people.

It spreads within rice plants by invasive hyphae (branching filaments) which break through from cell to cell.In their bid to understand this process, the researchers used chemical genetics to mutate a signalling protein to make it susceptible to a specific drug.

This level of precision led the team to discover that just one enzyme, called a MAP kinase, was responsible for regulating the invasive growth of rice blast.

The research team hope this discovery will enable them to identify targets of this enzyme and thereby determine the molecular basis of this devastating disease. The research was led by Dr Wasin Sakulkoo, who recently received his PhD from Exeter.

Dr Sakulkoo is from Thailand, and has returned home to a new position in industry following graduation.

###

The project involved state-of-the-art live cell imaging procedures pioneered at Exeter by postdoctoral fellow Dr George Littlejohn, who is now a lecturer at Plymouth University, and electron microscopy specialists Christian Hacker and Ana Correia.

The research was also an international effort involving collaborators from Kansas State University, Dr Barbara Valent and Dr Ely Oliviera Garcia, and former Marie Curie Fellow Dr Miriam Oses-Ruiz.

The work was funded by the European Research Council (ERC).

Professor Talbot said: "International collaboration is central to our research and vital to keep us operating at the frontiers of understanding.

"Support from the ERC was pivotal to this project, as was the generous support of Claire Halpin, who has continued to support my research work and believe in the power of fundamental research and retraining to solve one of the world's most devastating diseases."

The paper, published in the journal Science, is entitled: "A single fungal MAP kinase controls plant cell-to-cell invasion by the rice blast fungus."

Disclaimer: AAAS and EurekAlert! are not respons

Breakthrough in battle against rice blast

UNIVERSITY OF EXETER

However, the scientists caution that this is a "fundamental" discovery - not a cure that can yet be applied outside the laboratory.

The research revealed how the fungus can manipulate and then squeeze through natural channels (called plasmodesmata) that exist between plant cells."This is an exciting breakthrough because we have discovered how the fungus is able to move stealthily between rice cells, evading recognition by the plant immune system," said senior author Professor Nick Talbot FRS, of the University of Exeter.

"It is clearly able to suppress immune responses at pit fields (groups of plasmodesmata), and also regulate its own severe constriction to squeeze itself through such a narrow space. "And all this is achieved by a single regulatory protein. It's a remarkable feat."

Rice blast threatens global food security, destroying enough rice each year to feed 60 million people.It spreads within rice plants by invasive hyphae (branching filaments) which break through from cell to cell. In their bid to understand this process, the researchers used chemical genetics to mutate a signalling protein to make it susceptible to a specific drug.

This level of precision led the team to discover that just one enzyme, called a MAP kinase, was responsible for regulating the invasive growth of rice blast.The research team hope this discovery will enable them to identify targets of this enzyme and thereby determine the molecular basis of this devastating disease.

The research was led by Dr Wasin Sakulkoo, who recently received his PhD from Exeter. Dr Sakulkoo is a Halpin Scholar, a programme initiated by the generosity of Exeter alumni Les and Claire Halpin, which funds students from rice-growing regions of the world to study with Professor Talbot's research group.

Dr Sakulkoo is from Thailand, and has returned home to a new position in industry following graduation.

###

The research was also an international effort involving collaborators from Kansas State University, Dr Barbara Valent and Dr Ely Oliviera Garcia, and former Marie Curie Fellow Dr Miriam Oses-Ruiz.

The work was funded by the European Research Council (ERC).

Professor Talbot said: "International collaboration is central to our research and vital to keep us operating at the frontiers of understanding.

The paper, published in the journal Science, is entitled: "A single fungal MAP kinase controls plant cell-to-cell invasion by the rice blast fungus."

Researchers find way to stop spread of devastating rice fungus

IANS | London Last Updated at March 26, 2018 11:30 IST

Scientists have discovered a way to stop the spread of rice blast, a fungus that destroys up to 30 per cent of the world's rice crop each year.