Direct sowing tech can boost profits, cut pollution,
scientists tell farmers
Direct
sowing technologies could reduce the greenhouse gas emissions
By PTI August 10, 2019 10:51 IST
Tractor with
mounted seeder performing direct seeding of crops on plowed agricultural field
| Shutterstock
Alternative
farming practices such as direct sowing technologies could reduce the
greenhouse gas emissions from on-farm activities in Northern India by nearly 80
per cent and help lower air pollution in cities like New Delhi, according to a
study.
The
study, published in the journal Science, shows that the farmers could also
increase their profits if they stop burning their rice straw and adopt no-till
practices to grow wheat.
Researchers,
including those from International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT)
in Mexico, compared the costs and benefits of 10 distinct land preparation and
sowing practices for northern India's rice-wheat cropping rotations, which are
spread across over four million hectares.
The
direct seeding of wheat into unplowed soil and shredded rice residues was the
best option—it raises farmers' profits through higher yields and savings in
labour, fuel, and machinery costs.
To
quickly and cheaply clear their fields to sow wheat each year, farmers in
northern India burn an estimated 23 million tonnes of straw from their rice
harvests, according to researchers, including those from the Indian Council of
Agricultural Research (ICAR).
Regulations
are in place in India to reduce agricultural fires but burning continues
because of implementation challenges and lack of clarity about the
profitability of alternate, no-burn farming, they noted.
To
sow wheat directly without plowing or burning rice straw, farmers need to
purchase or rent a tractor-mounted implement known as the "Happy
Seeder," as well as attach straw shedders to their rice harvesters.
Leaving
straw on the soil as a mulch helps capture and retain moisture and also
improves soil quality, according to ML Jat, CIMMYT Principal Scientist, a
co-author of the study.
The
study demonstrates that it is possible to reduce air pollution and greenhouse
gas emissions in a way that is profitable to farmers and scalable.
It
shows that Happy Seeder-based systems are on average 10-20 per cent more
profitable than straw burning options.
"Our
study dovetails with 2018 policies put in place by the government of India to
stop farmers from burning, which includes a USD166 million subsidy to promote
mechanisation to manage crop residues within fields," said Priya
Shyamsundar from US-based charity The Nature Conservancy.
Shyamsundar,
first author of the study, noted that relatively few Indian farmers currently
sow their wheat using the Happy Seeder but manufacturing of the Seeder had
increased in recent years.
"Less
than a quarter of the total subsidy would pay for widespread adoption of the
Happy Seeder, if aided by government and NGO support to build farmer awareness
and impede burning," she said.
"With
a rising population of 1.6 billion people, South Asia hosts 40 per cent of the
world's poor and malnourished on just 2.4 per cent of its land," said Jat.
"Better
practices can help farmers adapt to warmer winters and extreme, erratic weather
events such as droughts and floods, which are having a terrible impact on
agriculture and livelihoods.
"In
addition, India's efforts to transition to more sustainable, less polluting
farming practices can provide lessons for other countries facing similar risks
and challenges," he said.
Researchers
noted that in November 2017, more than 4,000 schools closed in Delhi due to
seasonal smog.
This
smog increases during October and November when fields are burned.
It
causes major transportation disruptions and poses health risks across northern
India, including Delhi, a city of more than 18 million people.
Some
of these problems can be resolved by the use of direct sowing technologies in
northwestern India, researchers said.
TAGS
Valuable anti-diabetic compounds
found in Quang Tri organic white rice
PUBLISHED 10
AUGUST 2019
by News Desk
HANOI (Viet Nam News/ANN)
- Two chemical compounds, Momilactone A and Momilactone B (MA and MB),
that can prevent diabetes, obesity and gout through their ability to inhibit
enzymes relating to the diseases, have been found in white rice grown in the
central province of Quang Tri, scientists have announced.
Research by Associate Professor and
Dr Tran Dang Xuan, head of the Laboratory of Plant Physiology and
Biochemistry in Japan’s Hiroshima University, found the MA and MB compounds in
Ong Bien organic rice grown in Quang Tri Province under schemes and technology
provided by Dai Nam Ong Bien Group Joint Stock Company based in the
south-central province of Ba Ria-Vung Tau.
The content of the two compounds in
Ong Bien organic rice is 100 times higher than those found in other varieties
of rice.
Their study revealed that the
compounds played an active role in the diabetes inhibitory potential of rice
bran.
MA and MB compounds are very rare
and have not been fully studied for biological and pharmacological activities.
The compound was sold at US$125 per 0.1 mg on carbosynth.com, a company that
sells famous biochemical products.
Xuân said that the MA and MB
compounds were about as 30,000 times more precious than gold and that “the
discovery of the two compounds in white rice created a breakthrough in the
world’s plant physiology, especially rice.”
Some studies have previously found
rice to have compounds that inhibit diabetes, but only in brown or red rice,
which are often of poor quality and difficult to consume.
“Today, people tend to have less
rice in their diet because rice contains starch which causes obesity and
diabetes. However, with high content of MA and MB, Ong Bien organic rice can
help prevent the disease,” Xuân said.
Several recent reports indicate
that there are more than 3 million people in Vietnam suffering from or at risk
of diabetes, so the results of this study are particularly significant.
Vietnam's Health Ministry and
relevant agencies have not yet commented or verified the claims
– including the rice's nutrition values, its content of MA and
MB and its anti-diabetics ability.
Tran Ngoc Nam, Director General of
Đại Nam Trade and Production Ltd Company said that since 2016, the company
co-operated with Quang Tri Province’s Agriculture and Rural Development
Department to grow the variety.
Under their co-operation programme,
rice was watered and fertilised with only organic fertilisers made by the
company. No other plant protection product or chemical fertiliser was used for
the rice.
The rice is now grown on a total
area of about 200 ha in Quang Tri Province, generating stable income of
VND30-40 million per hectare for farmers, according to Nam.
The rice is available in
supermarkets across Vietnam branded Ong Bien Organic rice or Quang Tri organic
rice
To cut
smog and boost profits, stop burning fields, scientists tell Indian farmers
THOMSON REUTERS FOUNDATION
- AUG 9,
2019
ROME – Every year, a choking smog
descends on northwest India as the region’s farmers burn their fields following
the rice harvest — a phenomenon that has helped make New Delhi one of the
world’s most polluted cities.
Now
scientists have come up with a method that would allow farmers to sow their
winter crop — usually wheat — without burning off the stubble left behind after
the rice harvest.
Researchers
tested 10 alternatives to burning, finding that the biggest profits could be
achieved with a machine called the Happy Seeder.
The
new method would allow farmers to produce more food, boost profits by up to 20
percent and cut greenhouse gas emissions by as much as 78 percent, according to
a study published on Thursday.
“Our
analysis suggests that it is possible to reduce air pollution and GHG
(greenhouse gas) emissions in a way that is profitable to farmers and
scalable,” said the study, by a group of scientists from India and other
countries.
“Our
analysis strongly suggests that India has an opportunity, through coordinated
public and private actions, to reduce burning, increase incomes, and transition
to more sustainable agriculture while addressing the urgent problem of seasonal
air pollution.”
The
Happy Seeder is already being used on about 800,000 hectares of farmland used
to grow wheat in winter and rice in summer — but that represents a tiny
proportion of the 4 million hectares in northwest India known as the country’s
breadbasket.
“The
plan next year is to reach close to 2 million hectares. We’re hopeful,” said
co-author M.L. Jat, principal scientist with the International Maize and Wheat
Improvement Centre.
With
a Happy Seeder costing $2,000, cost remains a major barrier, but farmers can
hire a contractor to plant their crops with the machine, Jat said.
The
study’s authors are urging the government and private sector to promote the
machine’s use through subsidies.
Every
year, farmers in northwest India burn an estimated 23 million tons of rice
straw to clear the land quickly and cheaply in time to grow wheat, the study
said.
If
piled on top of each other, the amount would cover 1.1 times the distance to
the moon.
India
officially restricts the use of crop burning, but the practice persists and
bans are rarely enforced.
The
resulting seasonal smog disrupts transportation and threatens public health,
said the paper, published hours after a major U.N. report called for big
changes to farming to curtail global warming.
Scientists Find Out How Leaping Maggots Leap
LISTEN·3:
August
9, 20194:29 PM ET
Heard
on All Things Considered
A
tiny goldenrod midge maggot with a ruler and hands for scale.
The
Patek Lab at Duke University
Scientists
have discovered how a tiny worm-like creature with no arms, legs or wings
nonetheless manages to perform stupendous leaps through the air.
The acrobatic feats of these
larvae were first noticed by Mike Wise of Roanoke
College a few years ago, and now, in the Journal of Experimental Biology,
he and some colleagues explain this
critter's unusual trick.
Wise
studies how plants defend themselves from hungry insects, and one day he was
dissecting tumor-like swellings on goldenrod that form around the maggot-like
larvae of developing flies.
"The
larvae get as big, when they're full grown, as, say, a small grain of
rice," says Wise, who adds that the maggot-like creatures are bright
orange. "Generally I take the larvae out, and put them in a little dish
next to my microscope. And they barely move. They may wiggle around just a
little bit."
Source:
Journal of Experimental Biology, Farley et al.
One
day, after he'd spent about an hour removing a dozen or so, he looked down at
the dish and they were gone.
"I
was wondering what was going on," recalls Wise. "And then I caught
out of the corner of my eye a little bit of motion, a little orange larva
jumping across my table."
All
around him, the larvae were leaping. "I looked on the floor and there had
been some that had jumped all the way to the wall," says Wise.
To understand how they were doing
this, he brought bouquets of infested goldenrod to the lab of Sheila Patek, a biologist
at Duke University who studies small, extremely fast things — like the deadly
strike of the mantis shrimp or the snapping bite of trap-jaw ants.
"I
know that sounds super quirky," says Patek. "But it turns out that
this arena of biology is a very interesting one," because these creatures
do stuff that engineers can only dream of.
Her
lab filmed Wise's leaping larvae with some of the world's best high-speed
cameras.
Credit:
Journal of Experimental Biology, Farley et al
What they found is that these
wormy guys start by curling up into a loop. Lab member Grace Farley found
that the creatures have a special patch of hair on their heads that sticks to a
patch of hair on their rear ends.
"They're
using essentially dry adhesion with microscopic hairs that they touch together
between their head and their tail," says Patek.
Then
the critters squeeze fluid through their soft bodies to stiffen up the part
that's against the ground. They keep doing that until they've generated enough
force that it suddenly unsticks the hairs and launches them up into the air.
Sarah Bergbreiter,
a mechanical engineer at Carnegie Mellon University, was impressed.
"One
of the really cool things about it is that these are soft-bodied jumpers. That
means they're squishy and they can jump over 30 body lengths, which is pretty
incredible," says Bergbreiter, adding, "It's comparable to fleas
which we think of as great jumpers."
She
and other researchers are interested in developing robots that are soft instead
of rigid and clunky.
"Robots
can be far more robust if they have these softer materials as part of
them," says Bergbreiter. "They have incredible advantages in that you
can step on them and they can still move, but they typically have these very
awkward and inefficient gaits."
These
soft-bodied creatures, however, jump around by effectively creating a sort of
temporary leg."The idea that a soft robot could kind of develop this
appendage that's useful for the moment and then reconfigure it into something
else," she says, "is pretty cool."
Archaeology can help us learn from history to build a
sustainable future for food
What we eat can harm not only our health, but the planet itself.
About a quarter of all the greenhouse gas
emissions that humans generate each year come from how we feed
the world. Most of them are methane released by cattle, nitrogen oxides from
chemical fertilisers and carbon dioxide from the destruction of forests to grow
crops or raise livestock.
The new special report on
climate and land by the IPCC warns that without drastic changes
in global land use, agriculture and human diets, efforts to curb greenhouse gas emissions will fall significantly
short of targets to hold global temperature rise below 1.5°C.
A food system that
produces nutritious food without
harming the environment or other aspects of our well-being is sorely needed.
But can it produce
enough food to feed billions of people while reversing
biodiversity loss and pollution?
This is where I believe archaeologists and anthropologists can
help. Our recent paper in World Archaeology explores
past agricultural systems and how they could help make agriculture more
sustainable today.
Canals and corn in South America
There's a long history of societies around the world
experimenting with the way they produce food. Through these past successes and
failures comes perspective on how humans have transformed local environments through
agriculture and affected soil properties over thousands of years.
Ancient agricultural practices weren't always in balance with
nature—there's some evidence that early food growers damaged their
environment with overgrazing or mismanaging irrigation which
made the soil saltier. But there are also many instances where past systems of
growing food improved soil quality, increased crop yields and protected crops
against flooding and drought.
One example originated in Pre-Incan South America, and was
commonly used between 300 BC and 1400 AD. The system, known today as Waru Waru,
consisted of raised soil beds up to two metres high and up to six metres wide,
surrounded by water channels. First discovered by researchers in the 1960s
around Lake Titicaca, these raised field systems were introduced into wetland
and highland areas of Bolivia and Peru over
the following decades.
Although some projects failed, the majority have allowed local
farmers to improve crop productivity and soil fertility without using
chemicals. Compared to other local agricultural methods, the raised beds
capture water during droughts and drain water when there's too much rain. This
irrigates the crops all year round. The canal water retains heat and raises the
air temperature surrounding the soil beds by 1°C, protecting crops from frost.
The fish that colonise the channels also provide an additional food source.
Research is still ongoing, but today these Waru Waru systems are
regularly used by farmers throughout South America, including in the Llanos de Moxos,
Bolivia – one of the largest wetlands in the world. Waru Waru
farming could prove more resilient to the increased flooding and drought that's
expected under climate change. It could also grow food in degraded habitats
once considered unsuitable for crops, helping ease pressure to clear
rainforest.
Fish as pest control in Asia
Monocultures are a much more familiar method of agriculture to
people today. These are the vast fields that contain one type of crop, grown on
a huge scale to guarantee higher yields that are easier to manage. But this
method can also degrade soil fertility and damage natural habitats and decrease
biodiversity. Chemical fertilisers used on these farms leach into rivers and
oceans and their pesticides kill wildlife and create resistant pests.
Growing multiple
crops, rearing different species of livestock and reserving
different habitats for conservation could make food supplies more nutritious
and resilient to future shocks in the weather, while also creating more
livelihoods and regenerating biodiversity.
That may sound like a lot to consider, but many ancient
practices managed to achieve this balance with rather simple means. Some of
them are even used today. In southern China, farmers add fish to their rice
paddy fields in a method that dates back to the later Han Dynasty (25–220 AD).
The fish are an additional protein source, so the system
produces more food than rice farming alone. But another advantage over rice
monocultures is that farmers save on costly chemical fertilisers and
pesticides—the fish provide a natural pest control by eating weeds and
harmful pests such as the rice planthopper.
Research throughout Asia has shown that compared to fields that
only grow rice, rice-fish farming increases rice yields by
up to 20%, allowing families to feed themselves and sell their surplus food at
market. These rice-fish farms are vital to smallholder communities, but today
they're increasingly pushed out by larger commercial organisations wishing to expand
monoculture rice or fish farms.
Rice-fish farming could
feed more people than current monocultures while using less of the agricultural
chemicals which pollute water and generate greenhouse gas emissions.
The enduring success of these ancient methods remind us that we
could reimagine our entire food system to feed ten billion people while
rejuvenating wildlife and locking carbon away. Instead of reinventing the
wheel, we should look to what worked in the past and adapt it for the future.
Alternatives to
burning can increase Indian farmers' profits and cut pollution
A new economic study in the journal
Science shows that thousands of farmers in northern India could increase their
profits if they stop burning their rice straw and adopt no-till practices to
grow wheat. Alternative farming practices could also cut farmers' greenhouse
gas emissions from on-farm activities by as much as 78% and help lower air
pollution in cities like New Delhi.
The new study compares the costs and
benefits of 10 distinct land preparation and sowing practices for northern
India's rice-wheat cropping rotations, which are spread across more than 4
million hectares. The direct seeding of wheat into unplowed soil and shredded
rice residues was the best option -- it raises farmers' profits through higher
yields and savings in labor, fuel, and machinery costs.
The study, conducted by a global
team of eminent agriculture and environmental scientists, was led by
researchers from The Nature Conservancy, the International Maize and Wheat
Improvement Center (CIMMYT), the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR),
the Borlaug Institute for South Asia (BISA) and the University of Minnesota.
A burning issue
To quickly and cheaply clear their
fields to sow wheat each year, farmers in northern India burn an estimated 23
million tons of straw from their rice harvests. That enormous mass of straw, if
packed into 20-kilogram 38-centimeter-high bales and piled on top of each
other, would reach a height of over 430,000 kilometers -- about 1.1 times the
distance to the moon.
Regulations are in place in India to reduce
agricultural fires but burning continues because of implementation challenges
and lack of clarity about the profitability of alternate, no-burn farming.
Farmers have alternatives, the study shows. To
sow wheat directly without plowing or burning rice straw, farmers need to
purchase or rent a tractor-mounted implement known as the "Happy
Seeder," as well as attach straw shedders to their rice harvesters.
Leaving straw on the soil as a mulch helps capture and retain moisture and also
improves soil quality, according to M.L. Jat, CIMMYT Principal Scientist,
cropping systems specialist and a co-author of the study.
Win-win
The Science study demonstrates that
it is possible to reduce air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions in a way
that is profitable to farmers and scalable.
The paper shows that Happy
Seeder-based systems are on average 10%-20% more profitable than straw burning
options.
"Our study dovetails with 2018
policies put in place by the government of India to stop farmers from burning,
which includes a US$166 million subsidy to promote mechanization to manage crop
residues within fields," said Priya Shyamsundar, Lead Economist, Global
Science, of The Nature Conservancy and first author of the study.
Shyamsundar noted that relatively
few Indian farmers currently sow their wheat using the Happy Seeder but
manufacturing of the Seeder had increased in recent years. "Less than a
quarter of the total subsidy would pay for widespread adoption of the Happy
Seeder, if aided by government and NGO support to build farmer awareness and
impede burning."
"With a rising population of
1.6 billion people, South Asia hosts 40% of the world's poor and malnourished
on just 2.4% of its land," said Jat, who recently received India's
prestigious Rafi Ahmed Kidwai Award for outstanding and impact-oriented
research contributions in natural resource management and agricultural
engineering. "Better practices can help farmers adapt to warmer winters
and extreme, erratic weather events such as droughts and floods, which are having
a terrible impact on agriculture and livelihoods. In addition, India's efforts
to transition to more sustainable, less polluting farming practices can provide
lessons for other countries facing similar risks and challenges."
In November 2017, more than 4,000
schools closed in Delhi due to seasonal smog. This smog increases during
October and November when fields are burned. It causes major transportation
disruptions and poses health risks across northern India, including Delhi, a
city of more than 18 million people.
Some of these problems can be resolved by the
use of direct sowing technologies in northwestern India.
"Within one year of our
dedicated action using about US$75 million under the Central Sector Scheme on
'Promotion of agriculture mechanization for in-situ management of crop residue
in the states of Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and NCT of Delhi,' we could
reach 0.8 million hectares of adoption of Happy Seeder/zero tillage technology
in the northwestern states of India," said Trilochan Mohapatra, director
general of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR).
"Considering the findings of the Science article as well as reports from
thousands of participatory validation trials, our efforts have resulted in an
additional direct farmer benefit of US$131 million, compared to a burning
option," explained Mohapatra, who is also secretary of India's Department
of Agricultural Research and Education.
###
About CIMMYT
The International Maize and Wheat
Improvement Center (CIMMYT) is the global leader in publicly-funded maize and
wheat research and related farming systems. Headquartered near Mexico City,
CIMMYT works with hundreds of partners throughout the developing world to
sustainably increase the productivity of maize and wheat cropping systems, thus
improving global food security and reducing poverty. CIMMYT is a member of the
CGIAR System and leads the CGIAR Research Programs on Maize and Wheat, and the
Excellence in Breeding Platform. The Center receives support from national
governments, foundations, development banks and other public and private
agencies.
About The Nature Conservancy - India
We are a science-led global
conservation organisation that works to protect ecologically important lands
and water for nature and people. We have been working in India since 2015 to
support India's efforts to "develop without destruction". We work
closely with the Indian government, research institutions, NGOs, private sector
organisations and local communities to develop science-based, on-the-ground,
scalable solutions for some of the country's most pressing environmental
challenges. Our projects are aligned with India's national priorities of
conserving rivers and wetlands, address air pollution from crop residue
burning, sustainable advancing renewable energy and reforestation goals, and
building health, sustainable and smart cities. http://7thspace.com/headlines/929656/alternatives_to_burning_can_increase_indian_farmers_profits_and_cut_pollution.html
USA Rice COO Bob Cummings Retires
|
ARLINGTON,
VA -- Thursday evening, USA Rice staff celebrated Bob Cummings, who is
retiring from USA Rice after 20 years.
As the lead staff for all USA Rice trade policy Bob has helped the organization maneuver through a multitude of trade disputes and been the chief negotiator of several important trade agreements that have served the U.S. rice industry well. Among Bob's many stand out accomplishments was his leadership during the GMO crisis starting in 2006, his commitment to guide the industry through the cleanup of the rice crop, and to serve as an expert witness in the legal disputes that resulted from the incident. He was instrumental in the establishment of COL-RICE during the Colombia free trade negotiations, a structure that continues to return research dollars to our industry, helped open access for U.S. rice in Taiwan and Korea, and was the industry's proponent on several successful cases in the WTO about rice trade in Turkey, Mexico, and China. Bob began his career as a trade analyst at the U.S. Department of Agriculture and included a stint as senior economist and speech writer at the U.S. Trade Representative's Office. He joined USA Rice in 1999 at a time of transition as the industry had recently united under the USA Rice umbrella. "Since the time he's been with USA Rice, Bob has been instrumental in every multilateral and bilateral negotiation concerning rice," said Michael Rue, a California rice farmer and chair of the USA Rice Asia Trade Policy Subcommittee. "His value is more than just what he does every day; it's the history that he brings with him." At the 2019 July Business Meeting in Dallas last month, Bob was presented with a photographic collage of the many international cities he has traveled to over the years in service of the rice industry. "Bob's experience and dedication to the job will be sorely missed by all of us but we certainly wish him all the best in his much deserved retirement," said USA Rice President  & CEO Betsy
Ward. |
|
Certified seed now required for California rice growers
Timothy Blank of the California Crop Improvement
Association takes samples of weedy rice from a northern California rice field.
Growers are now required by law to use certified seed, or in the case of
varieties where seed ownership is unknown -- like Japanese varieties and some
colored rice -- stringent quality assurance protocols are employed to ensure
growers get clean seed.
California rice growers must now plant certified seed. No more
saving seed for the following year.
What started 20 years ago as an
industry conversation over potential pest and disease challenges culminated
with the implementation of a certified seed program now required of all rice
growers in California.
The forward-thinking action of
the California rice industry that now has a 12-member board that reports to the
Secretary of Food and Agriculture is an event, in hindsight, California Rice
Commission President Tim Johnson says allowed the industry to require and
police a new certified seed requirement under the marketing order governing
rice.
“Looking back 20 years this is
probably one of the more significant actions we’ve taken as an industry,”
Johnson said. “We could not have required that all seed in 2019 be a class of
quality assurance or certified seed had it not been for this act.”
Weedy rice
The rediscovery of weedy rice,
also known as red rice, in California in 2003 is today why the industry added
this layer of protection to preserve the quality and integrity of its
medium-grain and specialty rice production.
Since its discovery in a northern
California rice field in 2003 the University of California has surveyed 14,000
acres of rice checks that have some level of weedy rice infestation.
“It’s how we count the fields,”
said Whitney Brim-DeForest, Cooperative Extension rice advisor for the counties
of Sutter, Yuba, Placer, Butte and Sacramento.
For instance, a 40-acre check
identified with several weedy rice plants will be counted as 40 acres, even
though there may be a small patch of red rice in the field.
What is it?
Weedy rice is the same genus and
species as cultivate rice, according to Luis Espino, Cooperative Extension rice
advisor in the counties of Yolo, Glenn and Colusa. This creates several
challenges related to identification, rice quality at milling, and control.
Current herbicides used in rice cannot control it. Hand rogueing is the only
effective method to control its spread as seed can lay dormant in the soil for
years, Espino said.
There are six identified biotypes
of weedy rice in California with two more possible biotypes being studied by
experts for inclusion.
Historical records show weedy
rice in California was present in 1917. In 1980 a researcher wrote that weedy
rice could not be found in California.
In 2003 it was reported in Glenn
County. By 2006 six fields in Glenn and Colusa counties had a single biotype of
the weed.
“Some of these fields are still
dealing with it,” Espino said.
By 2016 five biotypes of the weed
had spread to several thousand acres of northern California rice fields.
What makes weedy rice troublesome
for growers isn’t just the reduced quality of milled rice; weedy rice shatters
easily, meaning it falls from the plant and then becomes seed that aids in its
spread. Common cultivation practices can spread this seed across fields.
The weed also competes for
fertilizer and space in the field. Studies from the southern U.S. documented
yield losses of cultivated rice ranging from 27-45 percent, Espino said.
Certified Rice
California now requires growers
to document and prove their use of certified rice seed, according to Charley
Mathews, a rice grower near Marysville, Calif. and current chairman of USA
Rice.
“We gave everybody a heads up on
this a few years ago,” Mathews said.
The 2019 crop year is the first
season where certified rice seed is required. Enforcement of this is handled by
the California Department of Food and Agriculture.
“Looking back, we were
well-positioned when weedy rice popped up to control this as an industry and
set these protocols in place,” Johnson added, noting that other rice-producing
states have been watching California and may be working to emulate similar
programs in those growing regions.
California rice seed is either
certified clean by means of documenting the seed source or is subjected to
quality assurance protocols in the case of Japanese rice varieties, where U.S.
officials cannot certify the original seed source because they don’t own it.
For most of the rice planted in California – medium grain varieties developed
by California researchers account for over 85 percent of the planted rice in
the state – this is not an issue as the origin is documented and traceability
is assured through foundation seed sources at the Rice Experiment Station.
Timothy Blank, certified seed
program representative with the California Crop Improvement Association (CCIA),
said the rice certification and quality assurance process is operated through
the non-profit CCIA. The organization is an approved third-party group called
for in the marketing order to assure cleanliness of the seed used.
“We’ve had a zero-tolerance for
red rice from the beginning,” Blank said.
Identification
While weedy rice plant types
vary, they are usually taller, lighter green, and more vigorous with more
tillers than cultivated rice, Espino said. Nevertheless, it requires
verification by university specialists or the CCIA as it can easily be confused
with watergrass or sprangletop.
The University of California no
longer encourages growers to pull suspected plants and transport them to the
Rice Experiment Station for identification. Growers are urged to contact their
local rice extension agent for instructions on how to handle identification. UC
now has a weedy rice reporter mobile app that can be used to report potential
finds. The mobile app can geotag the location, making it easier for researchers
to find suspected weedy rice finds.
Management
Aside from using certified seed,
growers can employ stale seedbed protocols in the spring and during the growing
season. Prior to that, Espino says disking should be avoided post-harvest to
prevent the spread of seeds. Burning and flooding during the fall and winter
may help, Brim-DeForest says, but she cautions that research does not yet back
up this theory.
Hand rogueing remains the most
effective means of weed control as herbicide treatments are either ineffective
or not labeled.
While the Rice Commission
successfully won another year of approval to use Intrepid on 
the Armyworm, efforts to gain
provisional approval for spot treatments of weedy rice were not approved by the
California Department of Pesticide Regulation. The California Rice Commission
continues to work with DPR and private industry on herbicide technologies that
could improve weed control options for California rice growers.
the Armyworm, efforts to gain
provisional approval for spot treatments of weedy rice were not approved by the
California Department of Pesticide Regulation. The California Rice Commission
continues to work with DPR and private industry on herbicide technologies that
could improve weed control options for California rice growers.
https://www.farmprogress.com/rice/certified-seed-now-required-california-rice-growers
The Rice
Paddy at Ground Zero
The
installation, across from the 9/11 Memorial, is a reminder that rice does not
come from a five pound bag.
No, this is not a box of grass.
It is a rice paddy, which was installed next to the Oculus in Downtown
Manhattan in June.CreditCreditJulia Gillard for The New York Times
By Devorah Lev-Tov
· Aug.
9, 2019
Hundreds of people walked through the space
between the Oculus and 3 World Trade Center, some pausing to glance up from
their phones or conversations long enough to notice a recent addition: Two
undulating wooden structures, one large and one small, containing what looked
like stalks of grass.
“I walk past this almost every day,” said
Gillian Pardi, 25, a dog walker. “I noticed it a few weeks ago and I keep
seeing the little sprouts getting taller and taller.”
But these are not mere sprouts or stalks of
grass. They are rice plants.
The temporary rice paddy installation is the
creation of Danielle Chang, the Taiwanese-American founder of LuckyRice, a lifestyle brand, and the nonprofit Lucky
Chow, both of which promote Asian culture through a culinary lens.
Signs around
the planters explain that rice provides more than one-fifth of the calories
consumed worldwide by humans; that there are more than 120,000 varieties of
rice grown globally; and that rice was used instead of mortar during part of
the building of the Great Wall of China.
“When I
thought about creating a public art installation in New York, which is
something I’ve always wanted to do, I thought it would just be really
disruptive to be able to plant a rice paddy right in the heart of New York
City,” said Ms. Chang, who has a background in art history and art curation.
And she said it isn’t a coincidence that the paddy is across from the 9/11
Memorial and Museum.
“We wanted to create something that amplified
renewal through remembrance,” Ms. Chang said. “And then you can talk about
urban farming and issues of sustainability and responsible growing, climate
change, and how we’re going to feed the world — because rice really is the
grain that feeds the world.”
Ms. Chang partnered with the Port Authority to
plant the rice, which will continue to grow through Sept. 26, when it will be
harvested for a feast atop 3 World Trade Center.
This isn’t the first downtown harvest. The rice
paddy is an echo of Agnes Denes’s “Wheatfield: A Confrontation,” an installation from
1982, in which the artist planted wheat atop the landfill that is now Battery
Park City.
“‘Wheatfield’ was such a great recognition of, like, yes, you
can produce this type of food that’s typically in the Midwest here in New York,
a block away from the World Trade Center, and this is what it looks like,” said
Jeremy Katich, Project Manager from ZH Architects, who built the wooden
structure for the paddy. The company used sustainable cross-laminated timber
strong enough to hold the several tons of soil and water necessary to grow
rice.
Nick Storrs, a farmer who has grown several
varieties of rice on Randalls Island for years, was hired to oversee the
project. Mr. Storrs enjoys working with rice in particular because while
Americans consume plenty of rice, many haven’t actually seen it growing. “It’s
just food that comes in a five-pound bag,” he explained.
In April, Mr. Storrs started working with City-As-School, a public high school in the West
Village, to plant Japanese, Uzbek, Italian, Madagascan and American rice
seedlings in the school’s greenhouse and hydroponic lab. Keyera
McLaurin, 17, served as the project manager. She had never seen rice growing
before.
“I actually learned that, you know, stuff that
we eat really takes nurturing,” Keyera said. Throughout the spring, she checked
on the seedlings daily. Then, in June, Keyera and her classmates helped
transplant the seedlings downtown, where residents, professionals and tourists
in the area started to take notice.
Nick Fabiano, 24, and Colleen Gates, 25,
colleagues who work inside 3 World Trade Center, have been watching the paddy
develop this summer. “I know rice is grown in paddies underwater; I’ve seen
pictures online,” said Mr. Fabiano, who, when he first walked by the
installation, didn’t know what he was looking at until he read the sign.
(Admittedly, the 65-foot urban paddy is quite
humble compared to the lush images of terraced rice paddies in Southeast Asia.)
“I eat rice five out of seven days; it’s one of
my staples,” Ms. Gates said. “It’s so cool to watch, it’s already grown so much
from when they put it up a month ago.”
Reactions like these are exactly what Ms. Chang
and Mr. Storrs were hoping for.
“I really like
the idea of breaking rice from this role as a commodity,” Mr. Storrs said,
“where it’s only a finished product and getting people to think about the
origins of that food and the origins of that meal.”
Of course, there are some people who know
exactly what they are looking at. Kong-Min Lee, 10, who was visiting New York
with his parents from South Korea, had no trouble identifying the plant.
Although he didn’t expect to see it on his trip to New York City.
“It’s rice,” he
said. “But why is it growing here?”
From Food Truck To 3 Restaurants: The Rise Of Hot Indian Foods
Thai
rice price surges compared to other Asian countries
Illustrative image (Source: www.thaivisa.com)
Hanoi (VNA) – Rice export prices in Thailand rose sharply this week on worries that the country’s worst drought in about a decade could reduce supply.
Thailand’s benchmark 5-percent broken rice prices rose to 406-435 USD per tonne this week from 395-405 USD quoted last week.
Meanwhile, Vietnam’s rates for this rice remained unchanged from last week at 340-350 USD per tonne.
India’s 5-percent broken parboiled variety prices fell to around 377-381 USD per tonne this week from 381-384 USD last week due to a depreciation in the rupee.
A strong bath contributed to Thai higher rice prices than other Asian hubs.
The dry conditions have also affected the quality of rice, which led to an increase in domestic rice prices, a Bangkok-based trader said.-VNA
Thai rice price rises, Vietnam
plans shipment to Malaysia
· Friday,
09 Aug 2019
6:39 AM MYT
A farmer harvests rice in a paddy
field outside Hanoi, Vietnam June 10, 2019. REUTERS
BENGALURU: Rice export prices in
Thailand rose this week on worries that the country's worst drought in about a
decade could further squeeze supply, while Vietnam explored potential deals in
the south American market.
Thailand's benchmark 5-percent
broken rice prices rose to US$406-$425 a tonne on Thursday from $395-$405
quoted last week.
"Harvesting has started in
some areas and the dry conditions have affected the quality of the rice...
which led to an increase in domestic rice prices, " a Bangkok-based trader
said.
Water levels in dams nationwide
are far short of the monthly average, Thailand's meteorological department
said.
"Many exporters are also
trying to buy rice to shore up their stocks amid concerns over a possible
shortage, and this drove the price up, " another rice trader said.
Thai prices were also higher than
other Asian hubs, with a strong baht also contributing to the high rates even
as demand remained flat.
Meanwhile, Vietnam's rates for 5%
broken rice remained unchanged from last week at $340-$350 a tonne.
Preliminary data showed 103, 000
tonnes of rice is to be loaded at Ho Chi Minh City ports during Aug. 2-10, with
42% bound for West Africa, 29% for Iraq and the remainder for the Philippines
and Malaysia.
A delegation from the Vietnam Food
Association was in Mexico earlier this week to seek opportunities to ship
Vietnamese rice to south America as the country was seeking new markets for the
grain, a source with the association said.
Data from the Ministry of
Agriculture and Rural Development released on Wednesday showed Vietnam exported
651, 000 tonnes of rice in July, beating a government forecast of 600, 000
tonnes.
Prices for top-exporter India's 5
percent broken parboiled variety fell to around $377-$381 per tonne this week
from $381-$384 last week due to a depreciation in the rupee.
"As the government has
procured a large amount of paddy rice, supplies are limited in the market.
Exporters have to pay higher prices for paddy, " said Ashwin Shah,
director at Shah Nanji Nagsi Exports Pvt. Ltd, an exporter based in Nagpur in
central India.
India's rice exports are likely
to fall to their lowest in seven years, industry officials said, on weak demand
from Africa and as shippers absorb the lack of government incentives that
supported previous sales.
In neighbouring Bangladesh,
floods washed away crops that would have yielded nearly 400, 000 tonnes of
rice, according to estimates from the agriculture ministry. - Reuters
