Abstract
Wild Oryza species are being targeted for commercial cultivation due to their high nutritional grain profile, and their association with Aboriginal people in many regions. Australian wild Oryza species have potential as high-value, low-volume, culturally identified, and nutritious food, especially in gourmet food, tourism, restaurants, and value-added products. However, the basic agronomic protocols for their cultivation as a field crop are unknown. In this review, we identify the major factors supporting the commercial production of wild Oryza, including their stress-tolerant capacity, excellent grain quality attributes, and Indigenous cultural identification of their grains. The key challenges to be faced during the development of a wild rice industry are also discussed which include management barriers, processing issues, undesirable wild traits, and environmental concern. This manuscript proposes the use of agronomic research, in combination with breeding programs, as an overarching framework for the conceptualization and implementation of a successful wild rice industry, using the North American wild rice industry as a case study. The framework also suggests an integrated system that connects producers, industry, and government stakeholders. The suggested procedures for developing a wild rice industry in Australia are also applicable for other wild Oryza species.
Highlights
Wild Oryza species have been considered as sources of novel alleles in conventional rice breeding programs [1]
Australian wild Oryza have several advantageous features to aid in their commercial Australian wild Oryza have several advantageous features to aid in their commercial production (Figure 3)
Many First Nations North Americans benefit from Zizania enterprises [30,95], and this is a key goal for many Australian native rice commercialization projects [2]
Summary
Wild Oryza species have been considered as sources of novel alleles in conventional rice breeding programs [1]. Most studies on Australian native Oryza species have focused on comparative genetics and genomics studies such as; (i) using novel alleles from Australian native rice for improving traits in cultigen rice [4]; (ii) assessing the phylogenetic relationship between Australian and Asian wild rices [18,25]; (iii) chloroplast and nuclear gene analysis [25,26]; (iv) heritability for grain yield under stress [27]; (v) ex-situ and in-situ conservation of the genetic resources [4];. (vi) stress tolerance capability of Australian wild Oryza [5,28]; and (vii) genome sequencing of wild Australian and Asian rices [19] These studies provide a useful genetic background of these valuable species, they have not enabled an understanding of the optimum agronomic protocols for their commercial production as a native food. In northern Australia, there is a strong interest in developing a wild rice industry based on Australian Oryza species.
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