Developments in International
Rice Research
Achim Dobermann
Deputy Director General (Research)
Rice and food security
Million Tons (Paddy rice)
800
Production
Billion People
8.0
Population
700
7.0
600
6.0
500
5.0
400
4.0
300
3.0
200
2.0
100
1.0
0
0.0
1960 1965 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2009
S. Mohanty, IRRI
FAO Rice Market Monitor, 06/2010
What needs to be done?
Rice demand:
 In each of the next 10 years produce at least 8
million tons rice more (rough rice) .
Rice supply:
 Little change in harvested area(155-160 million ha)
 Yield growth of >50-60 kg/ha per year
Change how we grow rice:
 New seeds
 Less tillage, less water, less labor, less pesticides,
balanced fertilizer
 Smarter people who implement these changes
CGIAR Thematic Area 3:
Sustainable crop productivity increase for global food security
A Global Rice Science Partnership
(GRiSP)
IRRI, AfricaRice & CIAT with CIRAD, IRD,
JIRCAS as key participating institutions and
over 450 other partners
The virtuous circle
Inbreds (+10%)
Hybrids (+20%)
C4 rice (+50%
Crop & resource mgt.
Breeding for stresses
(abiotic & biotic)
Maintenance
& value added
breeding
1-3 t/ha
Yield
pot.
Yield
pot.
Farm
Yield
Close gaps
Prevent yield
Reduce risk
erosion, better
Reduce PH loss nutrition & grain
Higher efficiency
quality
Raise
yield
potential
J. Passioura, Func. Pl. Biol. 2010, 37:585-591
GRiSP R&D Themes
 Theme 1: Harnessing genetic diversity to chart
new productivity, quality, and health horizons
 Theme 2: Accelerating the development,
delivery , and adoption of improved rice
germplasm
 Theme 3: Increasing the productivity,
sustainability, and resilience of rice-based
production systems
 Theme 4: Extracting more value from rice
harvests through improved processing and
market systems and new products
 Theme 5: Fostering improved policies and
technology targeting to enable improved rice
production and marketing
 Theme 6: Supporting the growth of the global
rice sector
GRiSP R&D
Themes
1 Genetic
Resources
2 New
Varieties
3 Future Production
Systems
4 New Products
& Value Chains
5 Policy &
Information
6 Regional
Delivery
Regional/National
Initiatives
- System solutions
- Public & private
partners
2.1. Informatics and MET
2.2. Improved traits
2.3. Stress-tol. rice Asia
2.4. Stress-tol. rice Africa
Milestones
2.5. HY irrigated rice
Global and Regional
R&D Product Lines
Activities
Products
Outcomes
( Regional)
2.6. HYV for LAC
2.7. Hybrid rice
2.8. Healthier rice
for target
regions
Partners
Impact
Outcome-driven innovation through product-oriented R&D
and partnerships
Rice germplasm from IRRI and other sources
Breeding targets and input traits :
• High yield potential and good grain quality
• Disease resistance
• Insect resistance
• Adapted to direct seeding/reduced tillage
• Tolerance to moderate water stress
• Tolerance to heat stress
• Tolerance to adverse soil conditions
Elite and widely adaptive
germplasm
Trait analysis and genetic support
• Physiology of yield potential and
adaptation to direct seeding
• Genetics of multiple stress tolerance
(drought, heat, diseases, adverse soil)
• Tagging of genes
• Development of pre -breeding lines with
component traits
Molecular-tagged, pre-breeding
lines with value -added traits
Trait packages in
advanced breeding lines
East & Southern Africa:
Irrigated & rainfed
South Asia
Irrigated & rainfed
On-site evaluation
PVS
NARES varietal release
On-site evaluation
PVS
NARES varietal release
Southeast Asia
Irrigated & rainfed
On-site evaluation
PVS
NARES varietal release
Establishing Gene-Trait Relationships
Indica
Aromatic
Japonica
Sample diverse rice
Salinity
tolerance
Phenotype subsets for
target traits with impact
Associate SNP
haplotypes with
phenotypes
Computer program to predict “performance peaks”
contributed by multiple SNP haplotypes
Testing
With
farmers
Variety
Management
options
Gene
Seeds &
Uptake
The problem of too much water
• 20 million ha affected in South and Southeast Asia.
• Growing problem with climate change.
• Rice is only crop suitable, but ‘drowns’.
1978
1978: FR13A
crossed to
high-yielding
IRRI lines
2008
Sub1 Timeline
1983: Semidwarf trait
combined with
submergence
tolerance
1981: Genetic
studies indicate
quantitative (complex) inheritance
1990: High-yielding
varieties with submergence tolerance
developed
2005: Locally
adapted lines
awaiting further
evaluation
2005: Identification
of Sub1A gene
conferring submergence tolerance
(IRRI & UC);
improved markers
1995: Genetic
mapping of Sub1
locus on rice
chromosome 9
2000: Fine mapping
and identification of
markers for breeding
2002: Swarna
crossed with
IR49830-7 (Sub1)
Recovery after 15 d
Submergence - 1978
2007: 6 Sub1 mega
varieties sent for
evaluation in 9
Asian countries
2005: SwarnaSub1developed
by markerassisted backcrossing
2008: Release
and large
scale seed
production
Scaling up Sub1 varieties
Jul 31
Swarna-Sub1 in India, 2009 (STRASA)
• Released, notified & entered seed chain
• 12.5 tons seed distributed by formal channels
• Farmer-to-farmer diffusion
• Expected multiplication: 1500 tons (BS: 100 tons;
FS/CS/TL: 600 t)
• Approx. 1000 tons will likely to be used as seed
IR64-Sub1 released in
Philippines in 2009 as
Submarino 1
Oct 31
In the pipeline:
BR11-Sub1, Samba MahsuriSub1, CR1009-Sub1, TDK-Sub1
Swarna-Sub1 Timeline in UP in India
NARES
(2)
Partners
+ NGOs, FOs,
Seed Co (P)
(22)
NARES
(8)
2006
2007
Activities Multiplication
2008
Evaluation
Evaluation,
Demonstration
+ NFSM, State
Govs., Seed Co
(P&Pv), NGOs, IPs
(54)
2009
>100
2010
Release (June),
Seed Mult. (BS
+TL), Demonstr.
?
Seed Mult (boro)
Seed
amount
No. of
Farmers
2 kg
100 kg
3,000 kg
15 tons
~ 700
BS: 170 tons
TL: 450 tons
FS : > 500 t
~5,000
BS/FS/CS/TL:1
0,000 t +FS
>100,000
SWARNA-SUB1 IS EXPECTED TO REACH 1 MILLION FARMERS
BY 2011 IN INDIA, > 1 M Ha by 2013
Phenotyping traits for impact
Focus on traits affected by global climate change
• Increased yield potential
• Improved resistance to
diseases and insects
• Tolerance to extremes of
weather
–
–
–
–
Drought
Flooding
Salinity
High temperatures
• Identify novel alleles at loci
involved in these traits for
incorporation into improved
varieties
Gene for virus resistance
TN1
Healthy
TW16
Healthy
TN1
RTV
Root properties relevant
drought tolerance
TW16
RTV
Combating vitamin A deficiency among
the poor: Golden Rice
GR1 – 2004
GR2 - 2005
PL 1.4: Supercharging photosynthesis
A C4 rice should increase rice yield, water
and nitrogen use efficiency by 30-50%.
No other evolutionary mechanism exists that
could be added to a C3 rice so as to deliver
that superior combination of benefits.
C3 +
Anatomy
Change
+
Biochem
Change
+
Fine
Tuning
= C4
Massive international research effort needed for 20 years
Hopper burn and virus diseases have damaged
rice in many countries
Philippines
Malaysia
Vietnam
China
Thailand
Bangladesh
New virus carried by WBPH
 Discovered in Guangdong in 2005.
 Transmitted by WBPH
 Southern Rice Black Streak Dwarf virus (SRBSDV)
because of its similarity with the RBSDV carried by
sBPH in temperate areas.
 Spreading in southern provinces of China, Northern
Vietnam areas.
Spread of WBPH virus
Found in maize in
Shandong province in
2009
middle-season rice
damaged
First discovered in 2001
Zhou 2010
Rice yield increase in
Southern Brazil
Million ha
Million t
t/ha
1. Plant early to maximize yield potential

Choose right variety; land preparation after harvest
2. Reduce seed rate to 70-80 kg/ha
3. Preventive pest management

Seed coating (insecticide, fungicide); fungicide (PI-F)
4. Preventive and early weed control:
 Pure seed; Clearfield varieties, crop rotation
 Herbicide at V3-V4
5. Balanced nutrition with high NUE
 Basal NPK placed with seed (2” x 2”)
 High N dose at V3-V4 on dry soil (pre-flood)
 Topdress N at PI (airplane)
6. Irrigate early
 Irrigate at V3-V4 and keep flooded
 Harvest and recycle water
Yield distribution among rice farms in RS,
Brazil in 2000 and 2008
Área cultivada com arroz - %
35
30
33,3
30,2
2000
2008
27,7
27
25
22,8
22,3
20
15
13,3
10
7,8
6,4
4,7
5
1,7
1,9
0
0
<5
0,8
5,1-6 6,1-7 7,1-8 8,1-9 9,1-10 >10
Faixas de produtividade
PL 2.5 & 3.4: Breeding and management for
conservation agriculture systems
Multi-location screening of NT-DSR
R. Mugaloda & CSISA collaborators
On-farm evaluation in CSISA Hubs
M. Mazid, NW Bangladesh Hub
Nutrient management decision tools for extension
workers and farmers
• 10-20% more yield
• 30-50% less N losses
• Less fossil fuel
• Less N2O emissions
• Less water pollution
• Less pests
www.irri.org/nmrice
Nutrient Manager released or under
development and field evaluation before release
NM Rice-wheat
NW India
NM Maize
Bangladesh
NM Rice
Bangladesh
NM Rice
Tanil Nadu
NM Rice
N Vietnam
NM Rice
Guangdong
Coming in July 2010
NM Rice
Sri Lanka
NM Rice
S Vietnam
NM + txt
Philippines
Released in 2009/10
NM Rice
West Africa
NM + txt
Indonesia
Coming in late 2010
Mobile phone version of Nutrient
Manager (NMRiceTXT)
Farmer
Mobile phone
SMS
compatible
1. Call tollfree number
IVR
implementation
box
3. Transmit
information to
NM Rice
program
5. Transmit
SMS message
to farmer
All in local
language of
choice
2. Capture
information with
voice recording
and phone key
pad
NM Rice
program
4. Process
information
and develop
SMS message
Long-term:
Improved varieties:
- yield potential: C4 rice
- biotech (drought, NUE, salinity)
Improved cropping systems
Rice yield growth
Medium-term:
Improved varieties:
-yield potential: inbreds and hybrids
-- Vit. A & Zn
- drought & heat tolerant
- resistant to key biotic stresses
- adapted to new systems
>1.5%/yr
Improved cropping systems
1.2-1.5%/yr
Short-term:
Yield potential:
- Hybrids
Reduce yield gap:
1%/yr
- STR varieties
- Agronomy
Reduce grain loss:
<1%/yr
- Postharvest
2010
2015
2020
Farmers’ Assoc., 10
CGIAR centers, CP, initiatives, 18
Intl./Reg. Org., 19
Foundations, 20
CSOs, 21
Donors (Gov.)
31
NARES
252
Private Sector
54
Adv. Res. Inst.
72
Current partnerships of IRRI, AfricaRice, and CIAT (rice). The
graph includes only partnerships that involve flow of funds for
joint research and development activities.
How could China contribute to GRiSP as well as
benefit from it?
 Leading role/strategic partner in basic science
areas with breakthrough potential, e.g.
 Massive gene discovery (PL 1.2)
 Global effort on new plant types for increased yield potential
(Pl 2.5)
 Leading role/strategic partner in innovative
applied research areas, e.g.
 Ecological intensification: eco-efficient, climate-resilient highyield systems (PL 3.1, 3.2)
 Pest/disease resistance and management (PL 2.2, 3.2)
 Small-scale mechanization solutions (Africa?; PL 3.5, 6.3)
 Capacity building
 Sandwich scholarships for Chinese and foreign student (between
Chinese universities/institutions and IRRI, AfricaRice, CIAT)
Thank You