Rice Today Vol. 11, No. 3

7/31/2019 Rice Today Vol. 11, No. 3

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Q&A with the Father of Hybrid Rice

Tiny Uruguay yields big

Africa's winged enemies

Rice fablesNEW

1Rice TodayJuly-September 2012

www.irri.org

International Rice Research Institute

ISSN 1655-5422

July-September 2012,July-September 2012, Vol. 11, No. 3

Q&A with the Father of Hybrid Rice

Tiny Uruguay yields big

Africa's winged enemies

Rice fables

IRRI researchers'agronomy challenge

NEW


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Rice TodayJuly-September 2012Farm and Trade Inc. is a member of the International Commodity Institute.

Your trusted broker and advisorfor international commodities trade.

Farm and Trade Inc. is an international buyer and seller of rice with a vestedinterest in uniting sustainable cultivation and research techniques with ethicaltrade decisions. By combining world class analysis from all corners of theindustry, Farm and Trade Inc. is the worlds premier broker of rice.

From field to fork, we have you covered.

www.farmandtrade.com +1 (530) 345-4140


3/39

contents Vol. 11, No. 3

EDITORIA L ................................................................ 4Expanding the world o rice

NEWS ......................................................................... 6

BOOKS AND TRAIN ING ............................................ 9

RICE TODAY AROUND THE WORLD ...................... 12

WEEDING OUT A RICE IMPOSTO R ........................ 10

Sri Lanka overcomes many challenges to riceproduction except weedy rice

LESSON P LAN: SAVE WATER ................................. 13Water-saving techniques are integrated into collegecurriculums in the Philippines

KNEE-DEEP IN MUD ............................................... 16IRRIs head o research takes the plunge into the hard,

dirty business o growing rice

WHATS COOKING? ................................................ 20 Thiebou dieune: Senegals rice and sh dish

URUGUAY: A SMALL COUNT RY, BIG IN RICE........ 21The world may take a piece o advice or two rom asmall country whose rice yield is big

GLOBAL WATCH: ASIA AND THE AMERICAS .......26The Rice Traders 6th Rice Americas conerence inMiami is in ocus

COUNTRY HIGHLI GHT: CAMBOD IA...................... 28

MAPS ....................................................................... 30Rice eels the heat

FROM TIGER S HRIMP TO RICE ............................... 32A prole story rom The Gambia eatures plantbreeder Dr. Baboucarr Manneh

TROUBL E FROM THE SKY ...................................... 34One o the Arican armers worst enemies attacksthe rice elds like eathered locusts

COSMIC RICE ........................................................... 36Long ago, armers turned to the stars to determine

when to plant and harvest rice

RICE FABLES............................................................ 38Maung Khin buries his treasure (a Myanmar able)

HYBRIDS HEAD FOR THE TROPICS ....................... 40Hybrid rice could be important in securing ood,especially in the tropics

Q&A WITH THE FATHER OF HYBRID RICE ............ 42 Rice Todayinterviews Pro. Longping Yuan

RICE FACTS .............................................................. 44Rice sel-sufciency: the renewed mantra o domestic

ood security

GRAIN OF TRUTH ................................................... 46Will Europe's perspective on GM crops shit?


cover Isagani Serrano

publisher Jeremy Zwingerassociate publisher Sophie Claytonmanaging editor V. Subramanianeditors Lanie Reyes, Aileen Macalintalcontributing writers Samarendu Mohanty, Andrew Nelson, Alaric Santiaguel,Lovely Merlicel Quipot, Ma. Lizbeth BaroaEdra, Paula Bianca Ferrer,Ma. Leah BaroaCruzAsia editor Gene Hettel (IRRI)Arica editor Savitri Mohapatra (AfricaRice)Latin America editor Nathan Russell (CIAT)copy editor Bill Hardyart director Juan Lazaro IVdesigner and production supervisor Grant Lecetaphoto editors Chris Quintana, Isagani Serranocirculation Lourdes ColumbresWeb masters Alaric Francis Santiaguel, Jerry Laviaprinter DHL Global Mail (Singapore) Pte. Ltd.

Rice Today is published by The Rice Trader Inc. (TRT) in association with the

International Rice Research Institute (IRRI).

TRT, or 22 years, has brought subscribers crucial, up-to-the-minute inormation

on rice trade through its weekly publication, The Rice Trader. Acknowledged as

the only source o condential inormation about the rice market, this weekly

summary o market data analysis has helped both the leading commercial rice

companies and regional government ocials make inormed decisions, which are

critical in todays market.

IRRI is the worlds leading international rice research and training center. Based

in the Philippines and with oces located in major rice-growing countries, IRRI

is an autonomous, nonprot institution ocused on improving the well-being o

present and uture generations o rice armers and consumers, particularly those

with low incomes, while preserving natural resources. It is one o the 15 nonprot

international research centers that are members o the CGIAR (www.cgiar.org).

Responsibility or this publication rests with TRT and IRRI. Designations used

in this publication should not be construed as expressing TRT or IRRI policy or

opinion on the legal status o any country, territory, city, or area, or its authorities,

or the delimitation o its rontiers or boundaries.Rice Today welcomes comments and suggestions rom readers. Rice Today

assumes no responsibility or loss o or damage to unsolicited submissions, which

should be accompanied by sucient return postage.

The opinions expressed by columnists in Rice Todaydo not necessarily refect

the views o TRT or IRRI.

International Rice Research Institute 2012

This magazine is copyrighted by the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) and is licensed or use under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 License(Unported). Unless otherwise noted, users are ree to copy, duplicate, or reproduce, and distribute, display, or transmit any o the articles or portions o the ar ticles, and to make translations,adaptations, or other derivative works under specic conditions. To view the ull text o this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/.

About the cover. IRRI's head o research tried his hand atplanting rice using the recommended practices and toolso the Institute.

International Rice Research InstituteDAPO Box 7777, Metro Manila, PhilippinesWeb (IRRI): www.irri.org; www.irri.org/ricetodayWeb (Library): http://ricelib.irri.cgiar.orgWeb (Rice Knowledge Bank): www.knowledgebank.irri.org

Rice Todayeditorialtelephone: (+63-2) 580-5600 or (+63-2) 844-3351 to 53, ext 2725; ax: (+63-2) 580-5699or (+63-2) 845-0606; email: [email protected], [email protected]

The Rice Trader Inc.9287 Midway, Suite 2B, Durham, CA 95938-9778Web: www.thericetrader.com


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4 Rice TodayJuly-September 2012

We are pleased to announce that theRice Todayeditorial board held its rstmeeting in May this year via conerence call

and this was hosted by The Rice Trader at its

Americas conerence in Miami. The board

shared some great ideas about making Rice

Todayeven better. We are truly grateul or

everyones contributions and or their ongoing

contributions in the uture. The entire team is

looking orward to implementing these ideasover the coming issuesso, stay tuned or even

more great content!

In this issue, we head to Sri Lanka and

discover the extent o its weedy rice problem

and eforts to combat it. Then, in our country

highlight, we visit Cambodia to hear about

rice production and research there, including

a heart-warming reminder o how the

International Rice Genebank repatriated

lost rice seeds rom traditional rice varieties

ollowing the countrys internal strie.

One interesting eature story we have is

how Arican armers have become desperate

in warding of queleasbirds that eed on rice

and cause signicant yield lossesand how

some seemingly simple techniques can ght

this major problem in Senegal.

From Arica to South America, we have

an incredible story o how the tiny country oUruguay can produce so much rice, perhaps

something that countries working on increasing

their rice production can take notes rom.

We are also privileged to have Dr. Yuan

Longping, the Father o Hybrid Rice, answer

some questions about success in lie, hybrid

rices potential to boost rice yields, and Chinas

position as the top user o hybrid rice. In

response to the ongoing popularity o our

articles about rice art and culturethanks

to our readers who enjoy learning about all

aspects o ricewe have our rst rice able. Folk

legends and ables shed light on the history

o rice in diferent cultures, and, by publishing

such stories, we help preserve them in this

modern age.

For those who want to see scientists getall muddy and to learn the practical art o

growing rice, youll love the IRRI Agronomy

Challenge eature. Earlier this year, IRRIs Deputy

Director General or Research (and Rice Today

editorial board member) Achim Dobermann

and Experiment Station Head Leigh Vial tried

their hand at growing rice and we eature their

exploits in this issue.

Finally, dont overlook our news section

this issue! We have hot-of-the-press news

about how collective action to control rodents

in Vietnam has delivered armers a 20% pay

raise. Also, we now know the true nature o

the glycemic index o rice, which will help rice

consumers wisely choose the type o rice they

eat. We also have news rom the Philippines

about a micronance bank using a nutrient

management tool to help the bank provide

ertilizer microloans to rice armers.

Happy reading!

Sophie Clayton

Rice Todayassociate publisher


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6/39

News


Rice farmers from two districtsin Vietnam have successfullycarried out a communityaction plan to thwart rodent

damage to their cropsreducingdamage caused by the pests andgiving them a 20%boost in income.

Every year,Vietnam loses 10% ofits rice production torats, and, in years of ratoutbreaks, this rises to

2030%.Farmers in many

rice-growing countriessee rats as one of theirtop three pests, saysIRRI rodent expertGrant Singleton.

Rats cause hardship and foodinsecurity to farmers by eating grainsor parts of the rice crop; spoilinggrain through their droppings;bringing diseases to humans, poultry,

or livestock; destroying personalpossessions; or, sometimes in extremecases, biting humans in their sleep.

The key to outsmartingrodents is ecologically based rodentmanagement, but, to be eective, itshould be implemented strategically

Collective action boosts ricefarmers pay in Vietnam

Field rats g p b w w mmuy p b gy.

with community participation orcollective action, says Dr. Singleton.

In a three-year project, Dr.Singleton and his team worked withthe village cooperatives and peoplescommiees of Binh Luc and Kim

Bang (two districts ofHa Nam Province inVietnam).

Ecologicallybased rodentmanagement usesknowledge about

when and whererats breed, andother ecologicaland biologicalinformation, tocontrol rodentseectively without

relying on rodenticides.Farmer An Van Lai, who

was involved in practicing suchmanagement, notes that, before theproject, they felt hopeless about

controlling rats. He indicated that evenwhen they knew that the rodenticidewas not good, they believed they hadno choice but to use it.

The community adopted practicessuch as synchronized communityplanting, timely community rat

control campaigns, smart trappingsystems, hunting of female rats, andproper sanitation of elds.

With community action at theearly stage of the crop, the farmersfound that they could eectivelymanage the rodent population.

The rodent managementcommunity project resulted in 93%less rodent damage in rice areas, a1014% increase in rice yields, 20%higher economic returns, and 50%less rodenticide use.

Using electrocution as a wayto get rid of rats has also stopped,

says Dr. Nguyen Huu Huan, deputydirector general of Vietnams PlantProtection Department.

Work on ecologically basedrodent management is also underway in Bangladesh, Indonesia, Laos,and the Philippines.

Excited by the work of Africa

Rice Center (AfricaRice) and itspartners on the development of newstress-tolerant and climate-resilienttechnologies for major rice productionsystems in Africa, AfricaRice BoardChair Peter Matlon stated, We believethat rice research in Africa provides astrong case for investment.

The work includes marker-assisted selection for tolerance ofimportant yield-limiting and yield-reducing stresses, such as salinity,

Rice research in Africa: a strong case for investmentdrought, cold, iron toxicity, rice

yellow mole virus, and rice blast.Component technologies are alsoused to increase labor, nutrient, andwater productivities to close yieldgaps, and reduce risks in farmerselds. Several of these technologicaloptions are already being tested withfarmers participation.

AfricaRices product-oriented,10-year strategic plan presents aclear vision of success to help Africaachieve almost 90% self-suciency in

rice by 2020. The Board described this

plan as a compelling and convincingagenda for realizing Africastremendous rice potential.

AfricaRice can achieve itsmission only through strong nationalagricultural research systems andstrategic partnerships worldwidein order to bring the best eorts ofrice science to bear on the immensechallenge of food security faced byAfrica, said AfricaRice DirectorGeneral Papa Abdoulaye Seck.

Vietnamese armers

who worked together to

implement ecologically

sustainable rodentmanagement produced

1014% more rice and got

20% higher income.

irri


7/39

More than 3 b um u b p y, w-Gi .


through diet, as it means theycan select the right rice to helpmaintain a healthy, low-GI diet,he added.

Low-GI foods are thosemeasured 55 and less, medium-GI foods are those measuredbetween 56 and 69, while high-GIfoods measure 70 and above.

When food is measured tohave a high GI, it means it iseasily digested and absorbed bythe body, which often results inuctuations in blood sugar levelsthat can increase the chancesof geing diabetes, and makemanagement of type 2 diabetes

dicult.Conversely, foods with low

GI are those that have slowdigestion and absorption ratesin the body, causing a gradualand sustained release of sugarinto the blood, which has beenproven benecial to health,including reducing the chances o

developing diabetes.Eating rice with other foods can

help reduce the overall GI of a meal

and, when combined with regularexercise, can reduce the chancesof geing diabetes. In addition,people who exercise need morecarbohydrates in their diet and cantake advantage of low-GI foods forsustained activity.

Rice plays a strong role inglobal food security. Being thestaple for about 3.5 billion people,it is important to maximize thenutritional value of rice. Low-GI ricewill have a particularly important

role in the diets of people who derivethe bulk of their calories from riceand who cannot aord to eat ricewith other foods to help keep the GIof their diet low. Low-GI rice couldhelp to keep diabetes at bay in thesecommunities.

This is the rst of several studiesthe group plans to carry out basedon investigating the role of rice inmitigating chronic diseases such astype 2 diabetes.

irri

R

ice consumers concernedabout reports that riceis linked to diabetes canrest assured that rice

can be part of a healthy diet,with scientists nding that theglycemic index (GI) of rice variesa lot from one type of rice toanother, with most varietiesscoring a low to medium GI.

The ndings of the research,which analyzed 235 types of ricefrom around the world, is goodnews because it not only meansrice can be part of a healthy dietfor the average consumer, but italso means people with diabetes,

or at risk of diabetes, can selectthe right rice to help maintain ahealthy, low-GI diet.

The study found that the GIof rice ranges from a low of 48 toa high of 92, with an average of64.

The research team fromthe International Rice ResearchInstitute (IRRI) and AustraliasCommonwealth Scientic andIndustrial Research Organisation

(CSIRO) Food Futures Flagshipalso identied the key gene thatdetermines the GI of rice, an importantachievement that oers rice breedersthe opportunity to develop varietieswith dierent GI levels to meetconsumer needs. Future developmentof low-GI rice would also enable foodmanufacturers to develop new, low-GIfood products based on rice.

Dr. Melissa Figerald, wholed the IRRI team, said that GI isa measure of the relative ability of

carbohydrates in foods to raise bloodsugar levels after eating.

Understanding that dierenttypes of rice have dierent GI valuesallows rice consumers to makeinformed choices about the sortof rice they want to eat, she said.Rice varieties such as Indias mostwidely grown rice variety, Swarna,have a low GI and varieties suchas Doongara from Australia andBasmati have a medium GI.

Study serves up healthy choice of rice

Dr. Tony Bird, CSIRO FoodFutures Flagship researcher, said thatlow-GI diets oer a range of healthbenets: Low-GI diets can reducethe likelihood of developing type2 diabetes, and are also useful forhelping diabetics beer manage theircondition.

This is good news for diabeticsand people at risk of diabetes whoare trying to control their condition

Understanding thatdierent types o rice

have dierent GI values

allows rice consumers to

make inormed choices

about the sort o rice

they want to eat.


8/39


New GRiSP director

Dr. Bas Bouman, current head ofIRRIs Crop and EnvironmentalSciences Division, has been namedthe new director of the Global RiceScience Partnership (GRiSP) eectiveon 1 September 2012.

In his new role, Bas will providestrategic and operational leadershipfor GRiSPthe CGIAR ResearchProgram for Rice.

He will also provide strategicguidance, develop eectiveimplementation mechanisms, andbuild outstanding teams to implementthe GRiSP strategy and work plan.

dr. Bas a. Bum, w wy pp GrsP .

Chris

Quintana

In a study published in the journal

PLoS One, scientists showedthat rice grown in chambers withelevated carbon dioxide more

readily cross-pollinates.Most of the time, rice is self-

pollinating, said Lew Ziska, aplant physiologistat the United StatesDepartment ofAgriculture (USDA),and lead scientist inthe study.

Using growth

chambers, thescientists set theconcentration ofcarbon seings: 300parts per million(what it was at the end of the 19thcentury), 400 ppm (what it is now),and 600 ppm (what it is projected tobe by the end of this century).

They placed in chambers the sameratio of Cleareld rice (a cultivatedrice that is resistant to herbicides) to

wild rice (sometimes called red rice)as is usually found on farms in theAmerican South.

More carbon dioxide couldthreaten rice

Wild rice pu m fw g co2, w u -p.

Rice farmers to get fertilizermicroloans

In a pilot test, BPI Globe BanKOInc., a micronance bank inthe Philippines, will providemicroloans to a group of Filipino

farmers for fertilizers based onthe recommendations of NutrientManager for Ricea Web tool andphone application that accuratelydetermines rice crop fertilizer needs.

Linking technologies developedfrom research with micronanceservices that a farmer can easilyaccess is a promising approach forhelping farming households andboosting food production in thecountry, said IRRIs Dr. RolandBuresh, who led the development of

Nutrient Manager for Rice.

The results showed for the

rst time that carbon dioxideconcentration can aect gene owbetween plants. The study did notprove that this was happening innature as greenhouse gases increase,only that it is possible.

The number ofowers producedby the wild riceat the highestcarbon dioxideconcentrationswas double the

production at 300ppm, a far greaterincrease than indomestic rice.The wild rice also

produced owers 8 days earlier,which apparently increased cross-pollination.

The plant produced was lessnutritious, didnt look as good, andthe seeds were more fragile.

Steve Linscombe, senior rice

breeder and director of the RiceResearch Station at Louisiana StateUniversity, cautioned that the resultsof the experiment were limited.Carbon dioxide in the air could beimportant, he said, because anythingthat increases gene ow is important.But, it is just another variable amongmany.

The USDA scientists testedonly one variety of wild rice andone variety of cultivated rice underrestricted conditions. It was not

possible to tell from the study what ishappening in nature or what wouldhappen with dierent species of riceor dierent temperatures.

There is a huge baseline ofweedy rice in nature, Linscombesaid. He added that, historically, wildrice has continually crossed withcultivated rice with no proven threatto cultivated rice.

Source: www.insidescience.org

isaganiserrano

The results showed or

the rst time that carbon

dioxide concentration

can aect the gene fowbetween plants.


9/39

Books

Advances in Temperate Rice ResearchEdited by K.K. Jena and B. Hardy

This book is a compilation o research onimproving temperate rice in countries romall over the world. It is a publication o the

Temperate Rice Research Consortium, which

was established by the International RiceResearch Institute, in cooperation with the RuralDevelopment Administration o the Republic oKorea.

Methodologies for Root Drought Studies in RiceEdited by H.E. Shashidhar, Amelia Henry,and Bill Hardy

This manual ocuses on describing therelatively high-throughput, low-cost, andprecise root phenotyping techniques that havebeen developed or drought studies in rice and

adopted by researchers across the world. Thispublication looks into the huge potential o riceor root traits that can be efective or droughtresistance.


Course title Date Venue Target participants Course fee

(US$)

Advanced Indica Transformation

Course

3-8 September IRRI, Philippines Tissue culturists, breeders, physiologists, and agronomists

who work on varietal improvement using novel methods

such as genetic engineering

3,000

Personal Skills for Professional

Development

25-28 September New Dehli, India Postdoctoral fellows and early career scientists 2,000

Rice: Postproduction to Market

Training Course

22 October-2 November IRRI, Philippines Personnel involved in postproduction activities 2,550

Molecular Breeding Course 12-23 November IRRI, Philippines Scientists and researchers 1,700

Project Management 12-16 November New Delhi, India Postdoctoral fellows and early career scientists 1,250

SELECTED TR AINING COURSES AT IRRI

For inquiries, contact [email protected], [email protected], or [email protected]. Phone: (63-2) 580-5600 ext 2538 or +639178639317; fax: (63-2) 580-5699, 891-1292, or

845-0606; mailing address: The IRRI Training Center, DAPO Box 7777, Metro Manila, Philippines (Attention: TC Course Coordinator); Web site: www.training.irri.org.

Note: Fees and schedules are subject to change without prior notice.

http://books.irri.org

For more inormation,

please contact [email protected].


10/39


For many years, rice has beenan important part of SriLankan culture and it is alsothe countrys invaluable and

most accessible food source. Onaverage, each Sri Lankan consumes115 kilograms per year. Despite the

countrys ourishing rice industry, aeld enemy has been taking farmerspaddies by storm.

This enemy is weedy rice. Itresembles cultivated rice, except forsome characteristics.

Some weedy rice species bear ascrawny awn that starts to developafter only 23 seasons and these awnsappear in the stages just before thegrains start to appear; others havegrains that come o easily when

With 1520% of its rice produced annually above self-suciency levels, Sri Lanka seems toovercome many of its rice production challenges except for one erce eld enemyweedy rice

by Paula Bianca Ferrer

touched but most weedy rice speciesdont mature uniformly in the eld.

To date, we have identied morethan 1,500 types of weedy rice, saysAnurudhika S.K. Abeysekara, a weedexpert from the Rice Research andDevelopment Institute (RRDI) in Sri

Lanka.The rst time I saw weedy rice

was in 1992, but, back then, it was nota problem, shares Ms. Abeysekara.At that time, we had identied only78 types of weedy rice. Then, inthe early 2000s, we noticed that theproblem started to worsen.

A rice impostorIn 2005, a local TV station reportedthat farmer D. Rajapakse claimed to

have found a miracle rice varietythat could produce 120150 panicles.(Panicles are the owering part of therice plant where grains are formed.)Regular rice has only 310 paniclesdepending on the cultural methodused, making the newly found rice

appear to have much higher yieldpotential.

That media report surprisedme because Ive never heard of a ricevariety that could produce as manyas 150 panicles, so some RRDI staand I visited the farmer to see thecrop ourselves, says Ms. Abeysekara.

Indeed, it was no miraclerice varietyjust weedy rice, sheadds. So, we had the media reportcorrected. And then we advised the

Weeding out arice impostor

h.

chandanavaayasiri(3)


11/39

for the International Rice ResearchInstitute (IRRI) activities in Sri Lanka.

No lost causeWe can stop this weedy rice problem

but we have to educate the peoplerst, says P.V. Hemachandra, RRDIrice breeder. Many farmers dont

like to pull out weedy rice from theirelds because theyre thinking itsstill rice.

Moreover, farmers dont like togo into their elds during headingstage or grain-lling stage when theyhave a beer chance of telling apartcultivated rice and weedy rice, headds. It is their traditional belief thatgoing to the eld at that time willruin any developing grain.

Its very dicult to convincethem, narrates extension ocer

Dilhan Wickramasinghe. Only 25%of the farmers follow our instructions

but, with demonstrations, we canchange their ideas or perceptions

because they are able to see things forthemselves.

We carried out a total of 200awareness programs in the previousyears, cites Ms. Abeysekara.

Awareness programs on weedyrice are relatively good even if ourpresent extension system is limited,

notes Swarna Herath, an assistantof Ms. Abeysekera in the weedy rice

farmers to pull out any weedy rice intheir elds.

The grains of weedy rice havepoor eating quality and fall to theground easily. Also, weedy rice haslower yield after the rst and secondseasons.

Since its grains easily fall to

the ground, weedy rice has notrouble multiplying itself in the soil.Therefore, it may take 34 years ofweeding and good land preparationto clear the land thoroughly.

Field recoveryFarmer D. Rajapakse spent 5 longyears removing weedy rice from hiseld. He tried many approaches toclear his land of weedy rice.

Initially, he tried seedbroadcasting; then, he also used a

drum seeder, transplanting, andparachute sowing among othertechniques.

Transplanting, he says, wascostly because the labor wage ratewas 600700 Sri Lankan rupees(US$45). For Mr. Rajapakse,parachute sowing was the bestamong all the approaches he tried.

A clean source of seed is veryimportant to avoid re-planting weedyrice plants for the next season,

says Dr. Nimal Dissanayake, RRDIdirector and national coordinator

project. But, because of media suchas radio and TV, awareness is slowly

building up.This weedy rice is really a green

menace, but no miracle will easilyremove it from farmers eldsonlypractical community action andsmarter strategies will do, says IRRI

weed expert Dr. Bhagirath Chauhan.In 2011, he conducted trials

in dierent parts of Sri Lanka tostudy the eect of dierent cropestablishment methods on weedyrice. Visually, results showed thatweedy rice was less rampant whenwet seeding was done with a drumseeder compared with broadcastingseeds.

He also introduced mechanicalseeders in Sri Lanka so that farmerscan plant rice much faster and easier,

in rows. With this method, farmerscan beer spot weeds, especiallythose that closely resemble rice sothey can be pulled out.

Dr. Chauhan also conducteda seminar and demonstration onmechanization with farmers inone district. The chief engineerfrom Kandy said that although riceharvesting in Sri Lanka was alreadyquite mechanized, seeding, on theother hand, was not, and that it was

the rst time mechanical seeders werebrought to Sri Lanka, he shares.


Ms. swarna Hth (left) ith locl rrDI m ok ipctom ic plt i fld til.

IrrI weeD xpt Bhgith Chuh(left) d M. auu abyk (right)xmi fld itd ith dy ic.

paulabiancaferrer


12/39

12 Rice TodayJuly-September 2012Rice TodayJuly-September 201212

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13/39


Students troop to the middle

of a rice eld. With the sunat their backs, they listencarefully as someone tells them

about the rice crops planted in theeld. This is how they are introducedto a type of rice variety that couldwithstand an environment with lesswater. Eventually, these agriculturalstudents from a Philippine statecollege will learn more as they get tovisit the eld more often.

Such a scene is a picture of an

outdoor lecture about water-savingtechnologies such as the aerobic ricetechnology and the alternate weingand drying irrigation method thatare used in riceproduction.

The aerobicrice technologyinvolves growing arice variety usingless water than theregular amount.The aerobic rice

variety produceshigh yields andis best adopted inrainfed and uplandareasland that isgenerally productiveonly during the rainyseason and is left idlein the dry season.

Alternateweing and dryingis practiced by

by Rona Nia Mae Rojas

alternately ooding rice elds and

allowing them to dry for a few days.With this technology, no losses incrop harvest were shown whencompared to elds using continuousooding methods and, in general, itcan reduce water use by 1530%. Insome irrigated production systemsin the country, the use of alternateweing and drying helped reducetension among farmers because theyare assured that water is sucient forall of them. Moreover, their farming

costs decreased, which meant somesavings in money.The International Rice Research

Institute (IRRI), through the Irrigated

Rice Research Consortium (IRRC),

introduced these technologies tohelp farmers cope with limited waterresources for rice production. Bothtechnologies have favorable resultsin reducing water requirements anddecreasing input costs.

With these technologiesbeneting farmers, it is only ingthat the knowledge and practicesbe passed on to a new generation ofyoung agriculturists.

Rice goes to schoolDr. Junel Soriano, an agriculturalengineer and professor at the BulacanAgricultural State College (BASC) in

the Philippines whoonce worked in theNational IrrigationAdministration,proposed theintegration of water-saving technologiesin selected coursesin undergraduate

and graduateacademic programson agriculture. Theidea was deemedsound and wasapproved by theBASC council.

Thus, Dr.Soriano was able toinclude technologiessuch as aerobicrice and alternate

Lesson plan:

Save waterStudents in the Philippines learn how to save water in planting rice

Dr. Junel Si, pss h Bc agic S Cg,Phiippis, chs his sds b h picips d bfs w-svig chgis.

Bulacana

griculturalState

college


14/39

Rice TodayJuly-September 201214

weing and drying and they are nowintegrated in the curriculum.

In La Union Province, DonMariano Marcos Memorial State

University (DMMMSU) studentsconduct eld and laboratory activitiesin aerobic rice production systems tocomplete their course requirements.

Now, Dr. Soriano is workingclosely with Dr. Marina Sabado,a professor of agriculture inDMMMSU, to present a proposal tothe universitys academic council tofully and ocially integrate water-saving technologies into the schoolcurriculum.

More beneftsThe collaboration of stateuniversities and colleges withIRRI and government institutionsin conducting research anddissemination activities on water-saving technologies reapedunintended rewards.

BASC was allocated more fundsbecause its Aerobic Rice Research,Development, and ExtensionProgram caught the aention of

more institutions and agencies thatwanted to be involved in the research,development, and extension ofaerobic rice.

With more funds, we were ableto improve the facilities of the Collegeand hire more sta that the wholeCollege can benet from, says Dr.Soriano.

The availability of additionalresources also meant a re-energizedatmosphere for research.

would be included in the schoolsinstructional and extension materials.

In fact, BASC now has projectsin eight other provinces to continueits research on water-savingtechnologies and has demonstratedthe benets to students and farmersas well. Soon, says Dr. Soriano,

students will be able to learn moreon the use of mechanical tools for thedierent operations and practices inthe technologies, organic farmingpractices for aerobic rice technology,and weed management.

Another teaching tool beingdeveloped, in coordination withthe IRRC, is a video documentationof farmers practicing alternateweing and drying and aerobicrice technology. These videos willshowcase the success stories of

farmers from the dierent provinces.We will work with other state

colleges and universities in creatinga solid and unied proposal to fullyintegrate water-saving technologiesin academe, especially in instruction,says Dr. Soriano. The IRRC plays astrong role by providing technicaland nancial support.

Meanwhile, schools likeDMMMSU, BASC, and ISU willcontinue toward their goal of

educating their studentsthe futureagriculturistson the dierent waysto save water, a resource so valuablein todays food production.

A unifed approachDMMMSU and BASC haveinuenced other state colleges anduniversities such as Isabela State

University (ISU) in following theirpath in water-saving technologyresearch, development, and extension.ISU developed its own program onaerobic rice technology, formulateda road map for the Cagayan Valleyregion, and has now implementedprojects in Isabela Province and insome parts of the region.

Dr. Soriano and Dr. Sabadoaim to continuously develop thetechnologies and get students

more involved in research. Theyacknowledge the need to determinewhat aspects of the technologies needmore research. Any new development

Dr. Junel Si (second from left), gh wihs d chic s h Dp agic gi fc, visi si dsigh s w-svig chgis.

DePartment o agic chic s d c fcis l dn (i sh Phiippis), wh h Bc agic S Cghs pjc w-svig chgis, k p i fd dsi bic ic chgy.

Bulacana

griculturalState

college

(2)


15/39


CirclesForRice.com

Producing enough food to feed the growing population is a

challenge we face each and every day. Valley

Irrigation and the

Circles for Rice project have found a way to grow rice - protably

- even where, traditionally, no rice could ever grow before. Usingcenter pivots or linears to grow rice allows for expansion into

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Contact your Valley Irrigation dealer to nd out more about

producing rice with a Valley center pivot or linear.

Irrigation. Technology. Conservatio


16/39

Rice research has helped many

countries feed their people,but its successes account foronly a small part of the rich

ce production toolbox that theternational Rice Research Institutes helped put together.

Achim Dobermann, IRRIs headresearch, has always wonderede following about the methods andchnologies developed by scientists:hy dont rice farmers use theseore?

This question inuences the

direction rice research might takein the future, and Achim needed ananswer urgently.

So, instead of poring overjournals and talking with yet moreexperts, he decided to go on a questto satisfy his curiosity. He took thischallenge to the eld.

Achim enlisted the help of ayoung rice farmer from Australia,Leigh Vial. Leigh currently headsthe Experiment Station at the

level the land in the most precise waypossible, all in less than half an hour.

It did, or at least they thought itdid. After closer inspection, the twofound that the soil was still unevenand needed a tiny bit of rework, andso they had to use the laser-levelingequipment a second time. It becomesa suspicion, at this point, that thereare no shortcuts to an even eld.

It was important for the land tobe evenly at, so that water is equallydeep at all points. This helps therice plants root out well to get a rmgrip on the soil and mature at thesame pace. When rice plants matureuniformly, weeds have much lesschance to grow.

Which variety to plant?For their lile experiment, Achim andLeigh decided to use the IRRI-bredvariety IRRI 154, which was releasedin 2010 in the Philippines as NSIC Rc222 orTubigan 18.

IRRI 154 is recommendedprimarily for irrigated lowland areas,but has also performed very well inrainfed areas in the Philippines.

Achim and Leigh intended touse direct seeding (as opposed totransplanting) with a drum seeder,a device with holes through whichrice seeds fall when it rolls over thesurface of the soil.

When they started, however,they found after a few aemptsthat they could not use a drumseeder on the plot they made. Theyended up broadcast seeding, whichLeigh claims is an art that they

had previously admired onlya distance. Broadcast seedingmethod of planting in whichare released by hand with a qick of the wrist so that theyan even sprinkling over the sthe soil.

New isnt always bestA few days after seeding, Leidismayed to nd an uneven there were well-germinated on 5060% of the area, wheredrained well; poorly germinaseeds where water failed to dand bare spots, where seeds because it was too wet. This,laser-leveling technology!

The dead spots were seeagain almost a week later. Ra habit of catching up when to owering and harvesting,should be okay, assured Leiadmied that they were sedby technology when it campreparing the eld.

We looked to the laser-gequipment, when, in hindsigthink the smaller equipment

here in the Philippines woulgiven us more level elds, hHigh-tech isnt always bee

Nutrients and waterAs a soil scientist, Achim knethe soil on the paddy eld win organic maer (about 4%) had good potassium contentthe recommendations ofNut

Manager(a site-specic nutriemanagement tool on the Web

by Leah Baroa-Cruz

IRRIs head of research takes the

plunge into the hard, dirty business of

growing rice to see things beer fromthe farmers side

International Rice Research Institute

(IRRI). Together, they aemptedto produce a rice crop usi ng IRRIsrecommended best practices and toolsfor the prevailing eld conditions andclimate.

The two set aside a 25 100-meterelda quarter of a hectareon IRRIsExperiment Station and, in January2012, started preparing the landfor a dry-season crop in a 4-monthexperiment they called the IRRIAgronomy Challenge.

Land preparation

Before planting starts, the soil needsto be prepared. Dry soil tillage wasno longer possible because of earlyrains, so the eld had to be plowed asfarmers normally dowith standingwater in the eld.

To level the land, Achimand Leigh opted to use a tractorequipped with a laser leveler insteadof maneuvering a carabao (waterbualo) and a wooden plank around.Laser technology is supposed to help

Rice TodayJuly-September 2012Rice TodayJuly-September 2012

A trActor i a las lvl was s v la a ppa i plai. I i a qik j, a a al a w plak i av.

isaganiserrano

chris

quintana


17/39

obile phones, and on smartphones)d his own assessment of t he soil, hecided to apply NPK (14-14-14) about

weeks after sowing, and urea twice,about 4 and 6 weeks after sowing.

Achim applied NPK, despitecient potassium in the soil,

cause this fertilizer usually comesnly in a 14-14-14 package in thehilippines and doing so will beloser simulation of what mostlipino farmers do.

After fertilizer application, theld needed to have some water

n it to help the rice plants take uputrients beer.

Theres a sticky part to watere, though: although a good layer ofater will enhance nutrient uptaked prevent weeds from growing, it

so provides a highway for goldenple snails to move across the eld.

hese snails could cut o the youngedlings, and so a ne balance inater use was crucial.

An IRRI-recommended bestactice, alternate weing and dryingWD), was used. With AWD, theld is irrigated with less water (soat snails ca nt move around souch) but more frequently (so thateeds dont thrive). This strategyso cuts water use by 1530%. Butdoes increase the risk of weed

-infestation, said Leigh. No suching as free lunch.

sects and ratscause the crop was growing in

neven patches across the eld,chim and Leigh were anxiousout insect pests ta king advantage,pecially when they found some leafmage.

They sought the expertise ofnbarr Horgan, IRRI entomologist,

and Nancy Castilla, IRRI plantpathologist, and eventually decidednot to use any insecticide, as many ofthe bugs they found turned out to behelpful insects.

They also found that perennialgrasses had encroached on the eld

from the bunds. These were ta ken outby hand weeding quite quickly, whichremoved the need for herbicides.

By late tillering stage, the baldspots on the eld had lled up a bit,as Leigh had hoped. Nancy and herteam, however, found that 8.5% of thecrop had been damaged by rats and25% by whorl maggots. The maggotdamage was higher than normal,but Nancys team concluded that theextent of leaf damage at t hat stagewould not cause a signicant yieldloss.

The rat damage, however, was adierent story. Achim and Leigh hadearlier consulted IRRIs rodent expert,Grant Singleton, on the likelihood thatrats, or birds, could have caused thebare spots. At this point, there wasno question. They found that the ratswere very quickly eating the plantsinto frighteningly bare patches inthe crop. Thanks to swift action byIRRI farm sta, the rat problem wasstemmed.

Leaf colorThe greenness ofthe leaves of the riceplants, which tells uswhether the plantshave taken up enoughnitrogen for theirneeds, was a bit lighterthan desired. Achimdecided to applya small amount ofadditional nitrogen (20

kg per hectare) to help the plants catchup and enhance grain lling.

Its been 63 days, and by thistime, all major crop managementdecisions have been made, Achimsaid. Theres not much more we cando but wait.

HarvestEven the harvest was not somethingclean-cut in the whole croppingformula, as it turned out. Achimand Leigh were guided by MartinGummert, IRRI engineer andpostharvest specialist, on the maer.

Timing was important at thispoint, and, in Achim a nd Leighsexperiment, a sudden downpourshortly before the scheduled harvestcaused lodging of the rice plants,increasingly aecting a portion of therice crop. Lodging is a term used todescribe the way vegetation tips overor gets aened by heavy rains.

IRRIs Thai combine harvesterwas the equipment of choice, as theharvest had to be done quickly tosave the grains. With the crop heavilylodged, even the combine did notmake harvest any simpler.

The team eventually harvested1,310 kilograms of grain from the1/4-hectare eld, which translated intoa grain yield of 5.24 tons per hectare

about a ton more than the average rice

yield in the Philippines, but almost2 tons less than expected in thisexperiment.

About 600 kilograms of riceper hectare was lost in the harvestprocess, reports Leigh. But as thiswas a real-world exercise, we cannot

count this loss as yieldany morethan a farmer can!

The balance sheetThe good news is, we made a prot,Leigh said. Not a good one. But aprot.

Yield projections for theexperiment were made with thesimulation tool ORYZA2000. Using20 years (1992-2012) of yield data,theoretical yield was 10.6 tons perhectare. When weather data for dry-season 2012 were used, however, theprojected yield went down to 8.7 tonsper hectarethe dierence due togenerally poor weather this year.

Achim and Leigh estimated yieldat harvest to be 5.9 tons per hectare,but actual yieldeven using thecombine harvesterwas 5.24 tons perhectare.

The combine was not made forthis situation, Leigh said, referring tothe lodged rice crop. We can indulgeourselves in all sorts of statisticalassumptions, but we could have done

more with a beer-adjusted machine.

Achim and Leigh made a net protof US$84 on the 1/4-hectare farm,which translated to a prot of $336 perhectarenot far from what many ricefarmers make in similar productionsituations, according to Achim.

Among the costs incurred on the

farm, irrigation took the biggest share($525) since IRRI uses groundwater.On a real farm, where irrigation mightbe partly or fully subsidized by thegovernment, the prot would havebeen higher.

It is worth noting that noinsecticides or fungicides were usedduring the season, so Achim andLeigh saved some amount from that.

A necessary exerciseThe IRRI Agronomy Challenge mightbe considered an experimentof experiments, as it puts to thetest IRRIs prescriptions for riceproduction that are, in turn, the resultof decades of research.

Some advice, such as that foundin the Rice Knowledge Bank, providesa good assessment of a problem butdoes not oer a clear actionable solu-tion, Achim said. Hence, the manyhours that he and Leigh spent moni-toring, deliberating, and agonizingover decisions during the season.

Mostly agonizing, Achim said.

Not to mention arguing,reminded Leigh.

Many of theglitches theyencountered at thestart were broughtabout by rains thatcame too early inthe year, as this wassupposed to be adry-season crop. But,this draws aention

to just how much more intricclimate change must be weavrice breeding and research.

Theres an opportunityhaving spent so much time out what to do next, but it couhave been much worse on a r

than Leigh and I had it, AchIt was our rst cr op. Next tido beer.

That things did not turn as expected does not necessaIRRIs prescriptions were wrthat they need to be rened fThis also tells us t hat the assumade in rice research can useprecision checks as well.

TheAgronomy Challenge iIRRIs brave rst venture intocommunication experiment tinvolved publicly available vdocumentation of every phascropping season, supplemenblog (hp://snipurl.com/achimthat Achim and Leigh mainta

Already, Achim is layingdown the premises for the sseason of what seems like IRrst reality show that will takin the dry s eason of 2013. Ntime, it will involve more peowith more diverse disciplinesconcluded. We could all learor two from the experience.

The IRRI AgronomyChallenge continues to be a soof excitement and hope, becalaboratory and farm have fouanother way to rendezvous.

The IRRI Agronomy Challenge documented at every stage. Go t(hp://snipurl.com/agronomy_chto view 18 videos taken throughcropping season, including AchLeigh's wrap-up session.


LeIgh brought sil as a sli w, paial w,a al sps fl.

he Agronomy call xpis sval IrrI siiss, Fia ha, lis1), ga Sil, xp (2), aai g, psavs spialis (3).

AchIm And Li assss i fssas's p a wa wl il x i.

2 3


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Tiebou dieune: Senegals rice and fsh dish

Whats cooking?

Watch Mrs. Dieng demonstrate how to prepare this delicious dish in a 6:05-minute video on YouTube at http://youtu.be/Ra0X0CzYCqk.

by Mariama Dieng

Among the rice dishes prepared in Senegal, a countrysituated in West Africa, the most popular is Thieboudieune (pronounced chebu jen), which is a richlyavored combination of fresh sh, rice, and vegetables.

Thieb, in local Wolof language, means rice, while dieune means sh.This dish requires 3040 minutes of preparation and about an

hour and a half of cooking time.For this recipe, a wide variety of vegetables and sh can be

used, making Thiebou dieune a versatile and healthy dish. Brokenrice is preferred because it seems to beer absorb the sauce and ismore pleasing to the taste than long-grain rice.

Ingredients

1largesh(about2kg,preferablyagrouperoranyotherwhitesh),rinsedandcutinto4largechunks

250gramstomatoconcentrate1cuppeanutorvegetableoil1kgrice(Senegaleseprefertousebrokenriceforthisrecipe,butyoucan

usenormalrice) 100gramsdriedshsuchasstocksh,rinsed

200gramscarrots,peeled200gramscassava,peeled1smallcabbagecutinquarters4okra(optional)4sweetpotatoes,peeled2eggplantswiththeirstemsremovedandcutinhalf

4smallturnips,peeled1onion1clovegarlic3greenchilipeppers1bunchfreshparsley1smallgreenbellpepper1Jumbocube(ifnotavailable,substituteitwithash-orshrimp-avoredMaggicube)

Salttotaste1tablespoonblackpepper

Preparation

1. Deseedandcutthebellpepperinhalf.Slicetheonionandnelychoptheparsley.Peelthegarliccloveandcutitintotwopieces.

2. Makeapastebygrindingtogethertheparsley,halfofthechilipepper,ahalftablespoonoftheblackpepper,andhalfofthegarlicclovewithamortarandpestleorinagrinder.Addapinchofsalt.

3. Usingaknife,makeaslitineachchunkofsh,butbecarefulnottocutallthewaythrough.Stutheslitswiththispaste.

4. Heat23inchesofoilinalargepanandfrytheshfor34minutesonbothsides.Removetheshandsetaside.

5. Inthesamepan,fryhalfoftheslicedonionandhalfofthebellpepperandchilipepper.Addthetomatoconcentrate(diluteitwithalittlewater),letitsimmerfor23minutes,pour1literofwateronit,andaddsalt.Boilthemixturefor5minutes.

6. Addallthevegetablesandtherinseddriedshalongwiththeremainingchilipeppers,thencoverandsimmeronlowheatfor30minutes.

7. Grindtogethertheremainingblackpepper,garlic,andonion,andtheremaininghalfofthebellpepperwiththeJumbocube.

8. Pourthispasteintothepanandaddthefriedsh.Reducetheheatandthensimmerforanother15minutes.

9. Removetheshpiecesandallthevegetableswithalittlesauce.Leavetherestofthesauceinthepan.

10.Washthericeandhalf-cookit(preferablyusingasteamer).Removethehalf-cookedricefromthesteamerandstiritinthepanwiththeremainingsauce.Cookitfor15minutes(stirevery5minutes).

11.Spoonthecookedriceontoalargeservingplatter,arrangetheshandvegetablesovertherice,andgarnishwithlemonwedges.

Serves45.

Mrs. Dieng is a Senegalese national who lives with her husband and two

children in Cotonou, Benin. She holds a bachelors degree in managementassistance and works in Corporate Services at the Africa Rice Center (AfricaRice).When shes not busy at work, she loves cooking big meals for friends and family.

Bon apptit!


r.

raman,

afric

arice


19/39

Photos and story by Neil Palmer

If you were asked to name someof the outstanding rice producersof the world, you might sayChina, India, or the United

States.Youd be forgiven for not

thinking of Uruguay.But, this small, temperate country

on the east coast of South Americassouthern cone is now rmly on therice radar.From relative obscurityhalf a century ago,it now has thethird-highest rice productivity inthe worldan average of 8 tons perhectare of dry paddy rice in the last5 yearsthanks to a unique systemthat, in recent years, has triggered25% gains in productivity.

Given the need to produce anestimated 116 million additional tons

of rice by 2035 to meet the growingglobal demand, rice producerscan learn from Uruguays ricerevolution. With this in mind, GlobalRice Science Partnership (GRiSP)1

representatives from around 20countries spent a week in Uruguayto learn about its success in riceproduction.

The Uruguayan wayIn Uruguay, only 580 rice farmersare cultivating some 180,000 hectares

of irrigated rice. Around 95% isexported, with key markets in Iran,Iraq, Brazil, and Peru.

The key features of the ricesector are vertical integration andtransparency among farmers, millers,researchers, and the government.

1GRiSP is the CGIAR Research Program on Rice.

A small country, big in riceURUGUAY:

Branded UrUgUayan s th Saman Tt


Nelgarcia


20/39


21/39

the countrys abundant rainwater.Although the costs of production

are high in UruguayaroundUS$1,800 per hectareso arethe quality and quantity of riceproduced1.3 million tons per year.

Mercifully free of middlemen,Uruguays integrated approach to rice

production helps reduce uncertaintyfor all involved, providing a stabilitythat allows the system as a whole tothrive.

Rice is branded Uruguayan,fostering a sense of solidarity acrossthe sector in the face of erce regionalcompetition from neighboring Braziland Argentina, as well as the UnitedStates and Thailand, among others inthe international market.

Uruguay is a unique case ofa rice agribusiness sector based on

exports that can sustain itself in theinternational market without anysubsidy or government protection,explained Gonzalo Zorrilla, FLARexecutive ocer. This integrationof the rice chain has been thedriving force for the impressive

competitiveness achieved in the pastfour decades.

A lesson for the rest of the world?Can we pick a lesson or two fromUruguays rice production and applyit to the paddy elds in Asia where120 million rice farmers have an

average area of 0.52 hectares and avery limited access to inputs?For BasBouman, who is shortly to take upthe position of director of GRiSP, theanswer is a resounding yes.

I think elements of theUruguayan system really couldwork in parts of the Mekong Delta,he explained. In Vietnams AnGiang Province, for example, thegovernment has a vision to developa high-quality rice sector to supplyniche markets. Here, I could denitely

see one or more large mills joiningtogether with large groups of farmersto produce high-value rice in a system

based on trust and transparency.While most of the rice in Asia is

consumed by the very poor, there is arapidly growing middle class buying

high-quality branded rice fromsupermarkets. Introducing somethinglike the Uruguayan system at asmaller, local level could help themtake advantage of this.

For Dr. Bouman, there are alsolarger-scale opportunities.

Its possible that rice production

in Myanmar could benet from theexperience of Uruguay. I consider it avirgin territory because the existingsystem is relatively undevelopedand comes with no baggage. Upuntil World War II, Myanmar was amajor rice exporter in the regionthe environment is perfect for riceproduction in many parts of thecountry. If it continues to open up,it could be a great opportunity tointroduce a Uruguayan-style ricesystem from scratch.

Although Uruguays rice systemis indeed unique with its strongfocus on integration and agronomy,its success could make it somethingof a game-changer for rice research,thus helping to benet the rice world

beyond its borders.

Breeding ploTS t th ps lu rrsh Stt inia shw v tu vuts.

onzalo zorrilla, t th lt a u it r (right), us grSp ts u fs st Uuu.

incoming grSp t Bs Bu ts t J Th th itt ct T autu u f vst t au est, Tt Ts.

grSp delegaTeS, u ah db thitt r rsh isttut (left), v u tu u th xt fs iniaUuu t utu sh , b pB, inias s b.



22/39

Rice TodayJuly-September 2012Rice TodayJuly-September 2012odayJuly-September 2012, Vol. 11, No. 3 Ater heavy rains, drainage channels carry water away rom rice paddies near Vergara, close to Uruguays eastern border with Brazil. Agronomi

National Rice Millers Association (SAMAN in Spanish) regularly y over the rice felds to assess the progress o the seasons crop. (This photo wa

small aircrat, 150 meters above the ground.)


23/39


Ever since Thailand supportedits farmers through amortgage program and Indiastarted exporting its surplus

onbasmati rice again, much hasanged in the global rice trade. Anyarket development in the futureay rely strongly on this. Other keysues also came into focus during theh Rice Americas conference of Thece Trader (TRT) in Miami.

An important theme in theent was the falling rice outputkey export regions, such as the

nited States and MERCOSUR (theuthern Cone Common Market,hich pertains to Argentina, Brazil,raguay, and Uruguay in thisport).

When TRT CEO Jeremy Zwingercked o the proceedings, he looked

ot just at the underperforming U.S.d South American crop but also athat the global economy was facing:onomic crises, risks, and volatility.

confusing stormr. Zwinger tackled long-termarket drivers, which he compareda confusing storm. These are theowing population and the long-

rm trend of the U.S. dollar, whichcovered during the euro-zone debtisis. He said that, despite the weakobal economy, rising oil and energyices in the long term were alsotal ingredients in the cost of riceoduction.

Mr. Zwinger also describedobal rice stocks as recovering

ut with some risks, consideringat these current stocks were 22%wer than those 10 years ago.

Fellow panelists Jaime Clendenin,head of the Rice Desk, Bunge, andRamiro Velsquez, CEO of GlobalCommodities Inc., agreed with thisidea and added that more risk and

volatility can be expected.The panel also agreed that the

rice market looks susceptible tosharp movements largely due tothe tight supply in the Americas.Mr. Velsquez suggested that lowsupplies in North, South, and CentralAmerica could see more Asianrice coming their way, especially ifimporters from the Americas rejecthigher prices from the U.S. and ifSouth American exports are lower.

Weather watchThe Indian monsoon plays a keyrole in shaping Asian exports thatdominate current markets; hence, itis important to keep an eye on the

weather.This September, the current

La Nia cycle may switch to ElNio, according to Dr. S. ElwynnTaylor, agronomist and extensionclimatologist at Iowa StateUniversity.

This switch could aect largerice-producing regions acrossSoutheast Asia and even Australia.Consequently, El Nios highertemperatures and lower prec ipitation

Global watch:Asia and the Americasn the Americas,farmers are expected to continue to move away from rice because of beer

turns in soy, wheat, and maize, but the Indian monsoon and Thailands record stocks are set

shape the trends in global rice trade

by V. Subrama

could lead to a poor monsoon. Dr.Taylor mentioned a 70% chance ofa poor Indian monsoon. He stated,however, that this 70% chance waspossible only if La Nia directlybecame El Nio.

Health of the economyAnother interesting topic in the eventwas the current and future worldeconomy.

Mike Dwyer, director of globalpolicy analysis of the Foreign

Agricultural Service at the U.S.Department of Agriculture, presentedkey economic points (see 8 driving

forces in global agriculture, Rice Today,Vol. 11, No. 2). He said that, in 10years, agricultural commodity priceswill remain high and this will boostlong-term farm protability andinvite more investments in researchand production.

Notably, todays euro -zone debtcrisis has an important role in the

Delegates of 6 tRt Rc amrc brd b Mm Bc Mr r m u dwrk cv.

of the biggest players in globtrade while zooming in on Amarkets.

First, India. Indias long-role in exports is expected toan impact on price trends. WIndian rupee looking especiaweak, Indian rice may cost ledollarsmuch lower than it is, thereby taking away the mshare of other export origins

Then, Thailand. How wicountry dispose of its recordThis is a million-dollar questThailands decision on somemillion tons of rice stocks pochallenges to the global markAfrican buyers have alreadyturning to cheaper Indian oIndias return to nonbasmatiexports has, for now, helped concerns over how the Thai rpolicy will shape market pri2012.

All in all, Thailand and Ithe major inuences on globamarket sentiment and trends

tRt Ceo Jrm Zwr (right to left) j Mr Kd(Pr Rc M), Jr abr Vr, d Ju Pbgmz d fu (b rm Mr Prduc,Wrk, d turm Crr, ar).

way it has temperedthe fall of the dollarand global demand.Hence, agriculturalprices are lower.Indeed, the health ofthe global economysignicantly aectsprices and futuretrends in agriculture.

Asias rice giantsAs the conferenceclosed, the Brazilianreal was beginningto show some earlysigns of weakness.This red morediscussions onhow Uruguays,Argentinas, andParaguays exportsto Brazil might beaected by a weakercurrency.

As the last speaker in theconference, I talked about the role

RiCe teChnology dr (RcC) Jlpr rcv TRT market achievementawardrm Ceo Jrm Zwr.

the

rice

trader(

3)


24/39


mpiled by Ma. Lizbeth Baroa-Edra

ountry highlight:

Cambodias resurgencein the 1990s, following acouple of troubling decadesof war and internal strife,

as a transformation that saw itsonomy rise hand in hand withoductivity in its agricultural sector.

Cambodias economy is nowrgely driven by agr iculturea

ctor that is dominated by rice.ccording to a 2011 Internationalod Policy Research Institute (IFPRI)port, between 2000 and 2008, whene countrys agricultural sectornsistently grew at an average5.6% every year, the countrysonomy was also registering an

mpressive 9.8% growth.

ce in Cambodiace-based farming has existed inambodia for around 2,000 years.ghty percent of its farmers growce, which is planted on about 80%the total cultivated land in theuntry.

ack in the gamefter a 30-year hiatus, Cambodiasports were reinvigorated to antimated 800,000-ton increase frome early 2000s to 2010. This waster Cambodias rice productioncreased steadily by 9% annually

that decade. This change cameits government paid special

ention to rice after recognizing itsrong role in the agricultural sector,hich employs more than half ofambodias labor force.

The government is prioritizingeld improvement throughtensication, and the countrys opportunities to dedicate more

nd to rice production and improveigation.

Rice renaissance in CambodiaThe International Rice ResearchInstitute (IRRI) played a key role inCambodias rice renais sance. Afterthe Khmer Rouge regime of the late1970s, the country lost almost allits traditional rice varieties becausefarmers were unable to plant rice;thus, they resorted to eating their rice

seed instead of sowing it.IRRI, which has in its

International Rice Genebankduplicates of 766 traditionalCambodian rice varieties, replenishedthis lost rice by multiplying theconserved rice and repatriating itback to Cambodia between 1981 and1990.

IRRI and Cambodiasrelationship, however, can be tracedback a decade earlier. Six Cambodianscientists were trained at IRRIbetween 1960 and 1973, and IRRI had

collected traditional rice varieties forconservation in the country.

By 1985, the Cambodiangovernment, through the CambodianMinistry of Agriculture, Forestry,and Fisheries, asked IRRI to assistthe country in developing its riceresearch system. Progress in researchand institutional development soonoccurred, and eventually improvedrice-based farming systems inCambodia. An IRRI mission toCambodia in January 1986 identiedpotential areas of cooperation

and aid, and a memorandum ofunderstanding for collaboration wassigned between the two partners inJuly of the same year.

A signicant collaborationbetween IRRI and Cambodialasted 15 years (1987-2002). TheAustralian Agency for InternationalDevelopment nancially supportedthis collaborative eort, known as theCambodia-IRRI-Australia Project,and nine IRRI sta members wereposted in Cambodia to work on thisproject.

This relationship was furtherstrengthened in 2000 whenCambodian Prime Minister SamdechHun Sen visited IRRI headquartersin the Philippines, and in 2007 whenthe countrys agriculture minister

presented the Royal Government ofCambodias Sahametrei Medal toformer IRRI Directors General M.S.Swaminathan and Ronald Cantrell,to recognize IR RIs contributionsin reviving and developing thecountrys rice research system.

Current workToday, IRRI and Cambodia haveembarked on dierent rice researchprograms involving breeding, varietal

trials, integrated pest managagricultural engineering, poand mechanization, farmingtraining, and infrastructure

IRRIs postharvest experbeen working with Cambodpartners in capacity buildingfor researchers and farmerintermediaries to overcome hpostharvest losses and the lapostharvest experts in the coAlso, through the Irrigated RResearch Consortium, innovplatforms are developed to btogether stakeholders in reseand extension to make sure tmore people adopt sustainabtechnologies.

Another IRRI project inCambodia is the Green Supeproject, which aims to devel

green super rice varieties are adapted to dicult growconditions, such as drought low inputs, no pesticide, andfertilizer. Moreover, these vcan grow fast to out-competweeds, thus reducing the neherbicides.

The Consortium for UnfRice Environments also leadresearch activities together wlocal government units andnongovernment organizationto disseminate technologies help improve the productionlivelihood of Cambodian riceespecially those whose landssuited to rice production.

IRRI works closely with country in supporting its nexgeneration of rice experts. As2012, 257 scholars and traineCambodia had gone throughtraining courses and graduatresearch work.

Continually working togwith Cambodia through varirelated projects and programhopes to further contribute sily to the development of Camrice industry as the country abecome one of the largest riceing countries in the world.

View related video clips on IRRCambodia at hp://snipurl.com/cambodia.

Nelgarcia

Cambodia: fast facts

Population: 14.9 million

Total rice production: 8.4 million tons

Area planted to rice: 2.7 million ha

Source:U.S.Departmentof Agriculture,WorldRice Statistics,

andcia.gov

Rice-growing areas

1 dot = 6,000 haPhnomPenh

IRRI in Cambodia

Use of cmb rvr lprmr rv crp m,w l lbr, d l c. With an mprvd

grry, rmr'gr r prcdrm r, c,brd, d r.

triNaleahmeNdoza(2)


25/39


Maps

Rice thrives in hot and dry tohumid climates. However,extreme heat episodes canirreversibly damage rice

yield, grain quality, and plantprocesses such as germination andfertilization.

Rice is highly susceptible toheat stress, particularly during thereproductive and ripening stages.Extremely high temperatures, evenfor a few hours, during oweringcan cause complete sterility, whilehigh temperatures during ripeningcan lead to reduced grain llingand poor milling quality (i.e., more

broken grains). And, in combinationwith other constraints such as lackof water, canopy temperatures canincrease even further.

Unfortunately, hot days andwarmer nights have increasedrecently. Higher nighimetemperatures, in particular, havereduced rice yieldsby as muchas 10% for every 1 oC increase inminimum temperature.1 In 2003,heat stress aected about 3 millionhectares of rice, resulting in losses of

5.18 million tons in the Yange RiverValley in China.2 In 2010, extremenighime air temperatures adversely

by Alice Laborte, Andrew Nelson, Krishna Jagadish, Jorrel Aunario,

Adam Sparks, Changrong Ye, and Ed Redoa

Heat waves are expected to be more intense and frequent in the future,

which could jeopardize more rice areas.

aected the milling quality of ricegrown in Arkansas in the U.S.3

Changing cropping systemsand management are strategies to

meet the increasing demand for ricein areas prone to heat stress. Thismeans that farmers may need toadjust planting dates, change croprotations, and use varieties withshorter maturity to avoid high-temperature periods. Researchers

1Peng S, Huang J, Sheehy JE, Laza RC, Visperas RM, Zhong X, Centeno GS, Khush GS, Cassman KG. 2004. Rice yields decline with higher night temperature from global warming.

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 101:9971-9975.2

Tian X, Luo H, Zhou H, Wu C. 2009. Research on heat stress of rice in China: progress and prospect. Chin. Agric. Sci. Bull. 25:166-168.3

Lanning SB, Siebenmorgen TJ, Counce PA, Ambardekar AA, Mauromoustakos A. 2011. Extreme nighttime air temperatures in 2010 impact rice chalkiness and milling quality. Field

Crops Res. 124:132136.4

Daily temperature from NASA Prediction of Worldwide Energy Resource (POWER, http://power.larc.nasa.gov/ ) corrected using station data (Sparks A, unpublished data).

therefore seek to introduce newrice varieties with improved heattolerance.

To identify hotspots for daytime

and nighime heat stress, wecompared daily maximum andminimum temperatures duringcritical rice growth stages from1983 to 20114 against temperaturethresholds obtained from publishedliterature (Fig. 1).

Fig. 1. Temperature thresholds at critical growth stages of rice.

Daytime heat stress

Nighttime heat stress

Maximum temperature > 35 Cfor 10 days during the period

Minimum temperature > 25 Cfor 15 days during the period


26/39


Fig. 2. Hotspots of heat stress on rice and frequency of occurrence: daytime ( top) and nighttime (bottom).

Our preliminary analysis showsthat many rice areas in mainlandAsia and parts of western Africahave been experiencing frequentheat stress events over the past threedecades (Fig. 2).

Spatial assessments of rice areasthat are vulnerable to heat stressare important for planning andtargeting appropriate adaptation andmitigation strategies to ensure foodsecurity.

Dr. Laborte, Dr. Sparks, and Dr. Ye arepostdoctoral fellows; Dr. Jagadish is a plantpathologist; Mr. Aunario is a specialist ongeospatial programming; and Dr. Redoais a plant breeder, all working at IRRI.

-

-


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Reminiscing about his earlyyears, Baboucarr Mannehsaid that his rst experiencewith research was a few

months after high school in 1988.He served as a hatchery assistant inan aquaculture lab where he lookedafter the development of tiger shrimplarvae.

Dr. Manneh liked this experienceso much that he applied for an honorsprogram in marine biology. But,as fate would have it, I ended upgeing a scholarship to study generalagriculture and eventually studiedplant breeding and biotechnologywith a focus on rice, he said.

Since seafood and rice areespecially popular in The Gambiathe smallest country on mainlandAfricait is not surprising that

Dr. Mannehs research experienceencompassed both, albeit at dierentstages of his career.

A lover of nature and scienceBorn to a farming family in a smallvillage called Sukuta, Dr. Mannehhas always been fascinated withthe beauty and diversity of nature.

Quite aptly, his favorite subjects werebiology, chemistry, and agriculture.It was my desire to apply anunderstanding of biological processesto improve living systems that droveme to study biotechnology, he said.

His farming roots helped himunderstand that science is not onlya tool to uncover the mysteries ofnature but that it also provides apowerful means of helping peopleand improving their lives. His

profession as an agricultural scientistgave him an opportunity to helpfarmers through research.

For Dr. Manneh, workingwith farmers is both enjoyable andhumbling. He is most touched whenfarmers genuinely appreciate theeorts of scientists and extensionworkers to improve their livelihoods.

They are often willing to oer theirlast chicken to a visiting agriculturalocer, he remarked. Therefore, noamount of eort is too much when weare trying to assist such appreciativepeople.

A serious workerAfter nishing his bachelor ofscience degree, Dr. Manneh joinedthe National Agricultural ResearchInstitute (NARI)The Gambias main

From

tigershrimp

torice

R.

Raman,

afRicaRice(2)

by Savitri Mohapatra

A rice breeder from The Gambia looks back at his humble

roots and rst love with the beauty and diversity of nature


28/39


fellow in the Biotechnology Unit inCotonou, Benin, where he workedclosely with his team on usingmarker-assisted selection andconventional breeding approaches todevelop drought-tolerant rice.

Drought stress causes substantialcrop losses yearly in Africa, and

AfricaRice is involved in developingdrought-tolerant rice varieties thatproduce stable yields in rainfedsystems in Africa.

The threat of climate change isaggravating the drought problem.One of the most viable options toenable farmers to adapt to climatechange is the use of rice varietieswith good drought tolerance, Dr.Manneh said.

An advocate for partnershipDr. Manneh is a strong advocate forpartnership. No single research ordevelopment institution has the re-sources to tackle the challenges facedin converting Africa from a net foodimporter to a net food exporter, heobserved. Hence, his unit has estab-

lished strong collaboration with inter-national agricultural research centersand with local and regional universi-ties to foster research and contribute tobuilding the capacity of Africas nextgeneration of plant breeders.

In view of his work experience,Dr. Manneh was the natural choiceto lead the coordination of theAfricaRice component of the projectStress-Tolerant Rice for Africa and

South Asia (STRASA). Launchedin 2008, the project focuses on

tolerance of ve major abioticstressesdrought, submergence,salinity, iron toxicity, and lowtemperature.

With funding by the Bill &Melinda Gates Foundation tothe International Rice ResearchInstitute (IRRI), STRASA involvesAfricaRice and the nationalprograms of 18 countries in sub-Saharan Africa. The project isnow in its second phase.

Dr. Takashi Kumashiro,leader of the Genetic Diversityand Improvement Program atAfricaRice, spoke highly of Dr.Mannehs ecient managementof this project component, whichinvolves collaboration acrosscontinents and time zones. Hehas a very sound backgroundin all areas of plant breeding,

including molecular biology.Dr. Manneh is convinced that the

availability of improved rice-based

technologies, especially stress-tolerantvarieties, would make sub-SaharanAfricas important food and cash cropadaptable to climate change.

When farmers are certain thatthe varieties they are planting arecapable of tolerating stresses, theywill invest more resources, time,and energy into their elds, he said.This in turn can help increase riceproduction and ultimately improvefarmers livelihoods.

agricultural research instituterstas an assistant research ocer in theAgricultural Engineering Unit andthen in the Socioeconomics Unit.Part of his work was to help developand evaluate postharvest equipmentfor rice and coarse grains and toconduct socioeconomic surveys on

the adoption of improved agriculturaltechnologies.

Since Dr. Manneh was keen tocontinue his studies, he was granteda study leave by NARI to follow amasters program at WageningenUniversity in the Netherlands,specializing in crop breeding. On hisreturn, he was appointed head of theCereals Research Program at NARIand became a manager for the SapuAgricultural Stationthe biggestregional agricultural station in the

country.Dr. Manneh was very serious

and hard-working and we weresure that he was going to succeedin his career, said Dr. SamuelBruce-Oliver, who was headingNARI at that time. We werealso impressed with his skillsin managing the Sapu station,which hosts more than a hundredresearch and extension sta withtheir families as well as other

government ocials and R&Dpartners.Thanks to NARIs help, Dr.

Manneh was able to pursueadvanced studies on genetic,physiological, and modelingapproaches toward salinitytolerance and low-nitrogen supplyin rice when he was awardeda PhD sandwich fellowship byWageningen University in 1998.He conducted his PhD researchwith awards from the Netherlands

Organization for Scientic Researchand the International Foundation forScience.

Rising through the ranksDr. Manneh continued to beassociated with NARI, where he roseto become a director of research andadvisor to the Minister of Agricultureon seed and biotechnology issues.

In 2005, he joined the Africa RiceCenter (AfricaRice) as a postdoctoral

After joining the Center as apostdoc, Dr. Manneh has since risento the post of principal scientist

and he is now an irrigated lowlandbreeder based at the Sahel regionalstation in Saint Louis, Senegal. Sincearriving at the station in 2008, he hashelped broaden irrigated lowlandbreeding activities there to coverbreeding for high yield potential andadaptation to environmental stressessuch as temperature extremes,salinity, and ooding, using bothconventional and molecular breedingapproaches.

Dr. Manneh blivs tt impovdic-bsd tcologis would mksub-S afic's ic dptbl toclimt cg.


29/39

Mrs. Agunou from Beninmight not have seenAlfred Hitchcocksterrifying movie

e Birds, which shows masses ofdinary birds mysteriously aackingople, but she is ready to doything, including going to voodooiests, to get rid of the ock ofvenous red-billed quelea birds thatvade her rice elds every year.

Queleasoften referred to aseathered locustsare probablye most destructive birds in theorld. In Africa, they have been aanivorous pest for thousands ofars, as seen from the images in

yramids showing farmers usinghips to scare them o.

These birds can easily wipeut the whole rice crop and they arery dicult to manage because theyove quickly from one area to thext, Mrs. Agunou said.

Birds feeding on ripening graine known to be very damagingrice and, in Africa, they arensidered a major pest because

mall farmers have few options toanage them.

Traditionally, women, alongith their children, run up andown in the eld, shouting, waving,apping hands, throwing stones,d sometimes trying to scare therds o with rales and drums. Inme places, farmers use large netscatch birds or sound cannons andarecrows.

In Uganda, for example, the newschildren missing school to chaserds o their parents rice farms

oked so much negative reactionmong the public that the government

d to set up a commission to solvee problem with birds.

armers are rightrmers in Senegal and Mali aribute15% crop loss to birds. Annualrveys over several years in thenegal River Valley, a key rice beltWest Africa, show that farmersnsider weeds and birds as the two

most important pests in irrigated riceproduction.

The Global Rice SciencePartnership (GRiSP), the CGIARResearch Program on Rice, conrmed

this. GRiSP identies birds asthe second most important bioticconstraint in African rice productionafter weeds, based on farmer surveysin 20 African countries.

However, there are limitedrecent and accurate estimates of therice crop losses inicted by birdsand their temporal and spatialvariability, observed Afr ice RiceCenter (AfricaRice) economist MayDemont. Thus, information on the

extent of damage is urgently neededto guide future R&D priority seing.

Since bird-inicted losses are amajor obstacle to the developmentof intensive rice production in the

Senegal River Valley, Dr. Demontrecently studied the use of a damageabatement framework.

The damage abatementframework is based on the idea thatsome agricultural inputs, such asbird-scaring eorts, are not yield-enhancing, but they abate yieldlosses. According to Dr. Demont, thisis probably the rst study providingdetailed estimates of bird damage inirrigated rice production.

The study indicated that birdscause more than US$9 million inlosses in the Senegal River Valleyper yearwith an annual birddamage of 13.2% of potential rice

yield during the wet seasons from2003 to 2007.

This analysis was complementedby a survey to check the reliabilityof the estimates using the damageabatement approach. The estimateswere found consistent with farmersperceived bird-inicted crop losses,averaging 15%. However, the studyalso indicated that losses r each $18.6million when pressure from birds ishighest.

Savitri Mohapatra

Moreover, farmers indicatedthat, at high bird pressure, traditionalbird-scaring methods are noteective, said Dr. Demont. Thissuggests that monitoring, controlling

bird populations by applying avicideson a large scale, and insurancemeasures against massive invasionsare urgent.

The bird and weed nexusIn an AfricaRice survey near SaintLouis, Senegal, farmers said that, ifthey managed their weeds in theirrice elds, they would have fewerbird aacks. Its not the rice thataracts the birds at rst; its the

weeds that bring the birds toelds, they said.

AfricaRice weed scientisJonne Rodenburg found out farmers were right. His expershowed that weed-free eldsaged birds. Weedy elds arabirds because they fed on weseeds, found shelter in the weperched on the weeds to eat t

Combining methodsIn general, birds can be kept from rice elds by following agricultural practices. In addkeeping elds weed-free, plaearly-maturing rice varietiesexperimenting with dierenplanting times, and avoidingwater in the middle of rice recommended to farmers.

Also, the removal of nesperching, and roosting sites the eld can reduce the numbirds. Reective ribbons or uvideo/cassee tapes and netsbeen found to be eective, toHowever, birds quickly get usuch methods. Therefore, faradvised to combine the techn

Sometimes broad-spectrpoisons are used to kill destrbirds. However, aside from dthe environment and humanthese also kill birds that do ngrain.

Alternatives to these harpesticides, such as bio-repellbirds, are now increasingly bpromoted across many counin Africa. In addition, scienticontinuously working with fto help develop environmenttools to protect rice crops fro

However, Dr. Demont pothat, if one farmer scares bird

his eld, these birds only moadjacent elds. Unless all faregionally coordinate their bcontrol practices, damage wishifted among farmers.

His study recommends thcymakers treat regional bird cas a public good. This can ban important step towards indomestic rice production as wensuring that children go to sstead of chasing birds, he co


Trouble from the sky

Best agricultural practices may be the best

scarecrows for Africas nemesis in rice elds

R.

Raman(4)


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by V. Sankaran Nair and Alaric Francis Santiaguel

air VS. June 2011. Antler Worship in Bali and South Travancore. www.Boloji.com. Retrieved 1 September 2011.ler M. 2001. Sticks, stones, and shadows: Building the Egyptian pyramids. University of Oklahoma Press. 352 p.

enshawS,IharaS.October1999.YowatashiBoshi:StarsthatPassintheNight,JapansCulturalHeritageReectedintheStarLoreofOrion.www2.gol.com/users/ever/orion.htm.

4 Isler, op. cit., p. 65 Winslow M. 2004. Winslows A Comprehensive Tamil and English Dictionary, 11th Ed. New Delhi: Asian Educational Services. 974 p.

In southern Travancore,Kerala State in India,many ancestral homesare located close to large

retchesoferstwhilepaddyelds.milies living in these homes usedcultivate rice.

Today,thepaddyeldsaregone.assiveeldsinThiruvanantha-

uram, the capital of Kerala, haveen slowly but steadily turned intorawling estates, to meet the ever-creasing demand for living space.any traditional houses have beenmolished. Along with them, all

ce-based rituals have become art of the nostalgic memories of the

ders.

spiritual bridge to the starsne of the rituals can still be found ind around the capital: the traditionworshipping antlers or a sculpturea deers head. These antlers are

oused in shrines called thekkathu,hich stand on the southeasternrner of houses. Neither questioninge practice nor knowing its actualeaning, those who continue

is tradition have no immediateplanation for the worshiping doner generations.

Antler worship is also practicedn Bali island, in Java, Indonesia,ore than 4,500 km east of Kerala.

Long ago, farmers turned to the stars to determine when to plant and harvest rice

Onecanndthousandsofshrinescarrying antlers.

Antler worship is related toplowing by way of language. TheMalayalam (a major southernIndian

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Rice Today Vol. 11, No. 3

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