Oz native rice could help buffer world’s rice crop
October 16th, 2010 - 4:31 pm ICT by ANIMelbourne, Oct 16 (ANI): In August, a research warned that rice yields are expected to decline over the coming decades as global temperatures rise. It highlighted the need for heat tolerant strains of rice to offset this.
Now, an expert suggests that Australian native rice may offer a solution.
Australian native rice may contain valuable genes that could help buffer the world’s rice crop against the damage wrought by rising global temperatures.
Agricultural expert Dr Graeme Batten from the University of Sydney says Australia has several species of native rice growing in the north with the potential to enhance commercial rice.
“There is potential either to market the rice as Australian wild rice, or take some of the useful genes and incorporate them into commercial species of rice,” ABC Science quoted Batten as saying.
“Australian native rice has a large genetic variation, and may turn out to be tolerant to acid soils, heat, salt and possibly even drought.”
Rice is one of the most important food crops in the world, and is eaten daily by an estimated three billion people, according to the International Rice Research Institute. (ANI)
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Tags: abc science, acid soils, agricultural expert, batten, commercial species, decades, food crops, genes, genetic variation, global temperatures, international rice research, international rice research institute, melbourne, rice crop, rice research institute, rice yields, several species, strains, university of sydney, wild rice