Climate-resilient Rice Research Articles

Optimization of irrigation and nitrogen for sustainable rice cultivation: emissions and yield impact

Rice cultivation is integral to global food security and exports but contributes significantly to greenhouse gas emissions, mainly methane (CH?) and nitrous oxide (N?O), exacerbating climate change. This study evaluates the effects of three irrigation practices-conventional flooding (CF), alternate wetting and drying (AWD) and the modified system of rice intensification (MSRI) on CH? and N?O emissions and rice yields over two seasons (Kar 2022 and Samba 2023). A split-plot design with five nitrogen management strategies was employed, with weekly gas sampling and yield measurements at harvest. Among the treatments, the MSRI method, combined with 75% of the recommended nitrogen dose and a 0.4% foliar nano-urea spray (M3S5), recorded the lowest CH? emissions at 50-60 mg CH?/m²/day, compared to 120-130 mg CH?/m²/day under CF. In contrast, N?O emissions under MSRI peaked at 11-13 µg N?O/m²/day, higher than CF (5-7 µg N?O/m²/day). MSRI also achieved the highest rice yields, averaging 6029 kg/ha in Kar 2022 and 6018 kg/ha in Samba 2023, compared to 5500-5700 kg/ha under AWD. These findings highlight the potential of MSRI with optimized nitrogen management as a sustainable alternative, balancing high productivity with reduced CH? emissions and offering a pathway for climate-resilient rice farming.

Correction: Developing climate-resilient rice varieties (BRRI dhan97 and BRRI dhan99) suitable for salt-stress environments in Bangladesh

Correction: Developing climate-resilient rice varieties (BRRI dhan97 and BRRI dhan99) suitable for salt-stress environments in Bangladesh

Climate-Resilient Rice Cultivation in India: Overcoming Challenges for Sustainable Food Security

Climate change poses a significant threat to rice cultivation in India, impacting yield and production due to rising temperatures, erratic rainfall and increasing salinity. India, the world's second-largest rice producer, faces challenges in maintaining rice output amid these environmental stresses. Studies highlight temperature increases leading to significant yield reductions, with potential losses in major river basins. Climate-resilient agriculture (CRA) practices, such as direct-seeded rice, drought-tolerant varieties and integrated crop diversification, offer solutions to mitigate these impacts. CRA emphasizes water conservation, reduced labour costs and improved input efficiency. Climate-resilient rice varieties, particularly those tolerant to salinity and submergence, are crucial for sustaining food security and farmer livelihoods in vulnerable regions. Despite benefits, barriers to adoption include policy issues, lack of awareness, inadequate infrastructure and limited access to technology. Collaborative efforts between government, NGOs and local communities are essential for fostering the widespread implementation of these practices to ensure long-term agricultural sustainability.

Rice Seed System: Current Practices to Strengthen Early Generation Seed of Climate Resilient Rice Varieties in Ethiopia

The availability of quality rice seed is a critical factor in boosting rice productivity and production in Ethiopia. This study assessed the current practices of early generation and community-based rice seed multiplication and quality control to strengthen the rice seed system in Fogera district, Ethiopia. Community-based seed production and marketing groups played a significant role in rice seed multiplication and distribution, but faced challenges related to limited access to breeder and foundation seed, inadequate technical and financial support, and weak seed quality control mechanisms. Strengthening the capacity of seed producers, enhancing the availability of early generation seed, and improving seed quality assurance systems are recommended to enhance the effectiveness of the rice seed system in the study area. Intervention of large scale demonstration of the early generation rice seed is one of the practical and effective techniques in the rice seed system, which can enhance the better rice seed accessibility. Large scale demonstration of early generation rice seed is also useful for participatory learning on the rice seed production procedures, and rice seed quality management activities in the community. The findings provide insights for policymakers and development practitioners to design and implement interventions that can strengthen community-based rice seed systems in Ethiopia.

Marker-assisted pseudo-backcrossing for developing climate-resilient rice

The increased prevalence of abiotic stresses, such as salt, submergence, and drought, severely affects rice productivity. Developing a rice variety, with inbuilt resistance to these main abiotic stresses, will contribute to a long-term rise in rice yield in adverse environments. In the present study, the rice variety Improved White Ponni (IWP) a high-yielding but highly susceptible to drought, salinity, and submergence variety was introgressed with Sub1 + SalT + DTY2.2 + DTY3.1 + DTY6.1 QTLs for improved abiotic stress tolerance. Foreground markers were employed to select the positive genotypes harboring all five in heterozygote conditions. Among the segregating population obtained from a single plant harboring all the five QTLs phenotypic selection was done to narrow down the plant numbers to 300 based on grain quality. The best lines performing better in all three stresses were subjected to background genome recovery. Five identified superior F3 lines with more than 80 per cent genome recovery of IWP were discovered to have a medium-thin kernel and an intermediate gelatinisation temperature. Further, among the five, two lines viz., F3-IWP-747-301 and F3-IWP-747- 338 were found to possess all 5 QTLs showing resistance to all three abiotic stresses with enhanced yield. The study’s findings amply illustrated the target QTLs’ ability to mitigate the effects of salt, submergence, and drought-induced damage, and they also paved the way for creating an IWP variant with resistance to all three stresses.

Comprehensive insights into the risks of climatic factors on rice production and its value chain- A Review

Climate change is the most serious problem of the last two centuries. It is being observed as a silent threat to global food production, leading to food insecurity for the burgeoning population. Rice is an important food crop and has also been identified as sensitive and highly vulnerable to climate change. Global rice production is affected by climate change and will soon be seen as a food security threat. Climatic factors like temperature, rainfall, wind speed, relative humidity, and solar radiation significantly impact physiological, biochemical and morphological traits, eventually resulting in a decline in yield. The whole process is discussed in this review. Several previous studies focused more on the impact of climate change on the productivity and production of crops without paying any or less attention to the vulnerability of value chain actors to climate risks and climate-related losses in the value chain. The climate risk management by value chain approach establishes connections between input suppliers, farmers, processors, retailers and consumers, identifying risks and formulating adaptation and mitigation strategies at every stage across the value chain. The identified appropriate strategy from the review, including climate-resilient rice varieties, conservation agricultural practices, climate-smart cultivation and water management techniques, could reduce the impact of climate change and enhance food security.

Evaluation of Genotypes against Water Stress and Salinity in Rice (Oryza sativa L.)

Abiotic stresses pose significant challenges to growth, yield and productivity thus threatening food security. Hence, it is essential to develop climate resilient rice varieties that mitigate the impact of abiotic stress. A study on physiological characterization for water and salinity stress was conducted in twenty-eight rice genotypes during kharif 2023 at Regional Agricultural Research Station, Maruteru. Among all the treatments, root length, shoot length, root and shoot dry weight and chlorophyll content was maximum under control followed by 1% mannitol, 2% mannitol and salinity stress. Visual scoring for water stress at seedling stage revealed that under mild water stress (1% M) more than 90% of plants survived in genotypes viz., AC-35678, FL 478, Ravana, Rahaspunjar, AUS 63, AUS 73, Vandana, NICRA 16, NICRA 17, CR-3439-4-E-17-2-1-B-1-S-1, CR-4215-2-5-2-M-4-SUB-2-5-1. Under severe water stress (2% M) more than 70% of the seedlings survived in NICRA 16, CR-4215-2-5-2-M-4-SUB-2-5-1, CRAC-4423-3, IET -18727, IC-516 149, IET-18716, AC-35678, FL 478, AC 85, Rahaspunjar, AUS 100, NICRA 17, CR-3439-4-E-17-2-1-B-1-S-1. Under salinity stress the score 3 was recorded in FL 478, and 5 in Rahaspunjar, IET -18727, NICRA 16, Ravana, NICRA 17. For both combined stresses, FL 478, Rahaspunjar, NICRA 16 and NICRA 17 were identified as tolerant and can be identified as donors for development of rice varieties having climate resilience.

Performance evaluation of climate resilient rice varieties in Lakhimpur district of Assam

Performance evaluation of climate resilient rice varieties in Lakhimpur district of Assam

Scouting rice (Oryza sativa L.) landraces for moisture stress tolerance using morphometric diversity analysis

Climate-change is a major threat to sustainable agriculture. Rice is one of the staple food grains that sustain 2/3rd of global population. Therefore, developing climate-resilient rice genotypes to combat moisture stress and other climate change factors are most important to address the challenges posed by climate change. The vast availability of genetic variance among the rice genotypes for different traits favours the selection of desirable donor parents. A field investigation was carried out to characterize 21 traditional rice landraces under induced moisture stress in 2 environments including induced moisture stress (S) and non-stress (NS). The response to the varied level of environments was observed in terms of biometric and yield parameters followed by multivariate analysis and variability analysis. The study revealed higher phenotypic-coefficient of variation (PCV) and genotypic-coefficient of variation (GCV) for plant height and single plant yield in both environments. High heritability was also recorded in the moisture stressed environment for plant height (98.63 %), single plant yield (98.19 %) and productive tillers (95.12 %), whereas under NS, the heritability is more for single plant yield only (99.56 %). The genotypes formed nine clusters under the S environment, based on the Euclidean distance, of which the three CMS lines segregated in cluster III distinctly. The principal component analysis exhibited three principal components with a cumulative variance of 86.13 % and 86.40 % in the NS and S environments respectively. The traits such as days to 50 % flowering, panicle height, panicle length, grains per panicle, productive tillers, thousand-grain weight and single plant yield were the positive contributors. Spikelet fertility (%) and harvest index were positively correlated with seed yield per plant. Path-coefficient analysis was significant for grain yield, harvest index, spikelet fertility, pollen fertility and plant height and positively influenced by productive tillers plant-1. The study concluded the prospect of using Mattaikar, Rajalakshmi, Mallikar and Kuliyadichan as potential donors for developing upland rice with moisture stress resilience.

Interventions promoting resilience through climate smart agricultural practices for women farmers: A systematic review.

Climate change poses a significant threat to agricultural production worldwide, with developing countries being particularly vulnerable to its negative impacts. Agriculture, which is a crucial factor in ensuring food security and livelihoods, is particularly vulnerable to changes in climate patterns, such as increased temperatures, drought, and extreme weather events. One approach to addressing these challenges is by promoting the adoption of climate-smart agriculture (CSA) practices among farmers. CSA combines traditional agricultural practices with innovative techniques and technologies to adapt to and mitigate the impacts of climate change. infrastructure. By adopting CSA practices, farmers can enhance their resilience to climate variability and improve their productivity. This review examines the effectiveness of interventions promoting CSA to enhance farmers' knowledge of the benefits of CSA approaches, subsequent adoption of CSA, and disadoption of harmful agricultural practices in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). We searched 39 academic and online databases, websites, and repositories and screened over 19,000 experimental and quasi-experimental publications to identify studies promoting CSA practices to women farmers. We conducted a citation tracking process on included studies and contacted experts to ensure a thorough search. The review focused on studies that included interventions promoting climate-smart agricultural approaches. Using EPPI Reviewer 4, two review authors independently screened the impact evaluation using a standardized screening tool. Information about participant characteristics, intervention characteristics, control conditions, research design, sample size, bias risk, outcomes, and results were gathered. Data collection and quantitative analysis were conducted using standard Campbell Collaboration methods. Eight impact evaluations were found (two randomized controlled trials) evaluating the effects of CSA practices on farmer's knowledge gains of the benefits of CSA practices and subsequent adoption. Knowledge dissemination approaches such as Farmer Field Schools and weather and climate information services were found to positively impact farmers' knowledge and adoption of specific CSA practices. However, the evidence supporting this claim is uncertain as a high risk of bias was assessed for five of the eight included studies. However, we found no effects on the disadoption of harmful practices such as pesticide overuse. The evidence base for studies promoting climate-smart agricultural approaches (CSA) to farmers in LMICs is small, and there is a lack of studies reporting sex-disaggregated data and studies explicitly targeting women farmers. The review suggests that knowledge dissemination techniques are significantly effective in improving CSA knowledge and adoption, including integrated pest management techniques and their benefits, adoption of climate-resilient rice seed varieties (STRVs), and use of botanical pesticides by farmers. More and better confidence studies are needed to inform policy and programming, including those that look at a wider range of interventions, including changing norms, values, and institutional arrangements.

Marker assisted identification of improved restorer lines with yield enhancing genes adaptable for aerobic conditions

To feed the world's growing population, development and introduction of climate resilient rice varieties/hybrids with increased yield ability are the need of the hour. This can be accomplished through novel genetic approaches such as hybrid rice technology, using a diverse set of parental lines with high restoring ability and specific desirable traits. In our study, for perse genetic yield improvement in aerobic restorer line AR 9-18R, hybridization was carried out with yield enhancing donor YPK 198 possessing Gn1a and OsSPL14 during kharif, 2018 and generated F1s were fixed for its hybridity through morphological and molecular analysis. In kharif, 2019 two hundred and five F2 population obtained were screened for two yield-enhancing Gn1a and OsSPL14 genes along with two fertility restorer genes Rf3 and Rf4 at ICAR-IIRR, Hyderabad. c2 analysis revealed that the c2 value of both yield enhancing genes was non-significant as the population was segregated in a ratio of 1:2:1. whereas c2 value for fertility restorer genes was significant as population deviated from 1:2:1. Phenotypic evaluation of F2 population for yield related traits exhibited high GCV and PCV for number of productive tillers, number of grains per panicle and single plant yield. Plant height, number of productive tillers, number of grains per panicle and single plant yield displayed high heritability along with high genetic advance as per cent of mean. Correlation and path co-efficient analysis revealed that plant height, number of productive tillers and number of grains per panicle are very important traits as selection criteria for effective yield improvement.

Optimizing fertilization strategies for a climate-resilient rice – wheat double cropping system

Optimizing fertilization strategies for a climate-resilient rice – wheat double cropping system

Development and Standardization of an Adaptation Index to Assess the Climate Resilient Practices by Paddy Growers

India is prominently recognized as the foremost producer of paddy, cultivating this crop over 47.83 million hectares and generating 135.75 million tonnes of paddy, thus playing a substantial role in the worldwide paddy output. However, there is an anticipated decline in paddy production yields due to the projected effects of climate change, estimated to range from 10% to 30% by 2030. In recent times, adaptation to climate change has become a major concern to farmers, policy makers and researchers. Climate resilient rice production practices need to be enhanced at the farm level in order to aid rural residents in improving their household food security. Against this backdrop, the proposed research seeks to fill this crucial knowledge gap by developing and constructing adaptation index tailored specifically for paddy growers in India. Through a literature review and discussions with experts, we have identified indicators and sub-indicators using the indicator approach method. These indicators will help us understand how paddy growers are adapting to climate change and implementing climate resilient practices. The relevancy rating score was obtained from 30 experts in the concerned area. Based on the relevancy score, 8 indicators and 23 sub-indicators of 0.80 and above were considered for inclusion in the adaptation index. To compute the index values for each of the identified indicators, their relative importance in the adaptation practices was worked out by assignment of index values to indicators through Principal component analysis (PCA) based on the high factor loadings exceeded 0.5 of sub-indicators were considered and the findings revealed that disease and management had highest index value of 3.461, followed by methods of paddy establishment (2.195), crop rejuvenation techniques (2.10), altered planting dates (2.049), water saving and management techniques (1.987), nursery management (1.562), paddy varieties (1.342) and spacing (1.214).

Strong culm: a crucial trait for developing next-generation climate-resilient rice lines.

Lodging, a phenomenon characterized by the bending or breaking of rice plants, poses substantial constraints on productivity, particularly during the harvesting phase in regions susceptible to strong winds. The rice strong culm trait is influenced by the intricate interplay of genetic, physiological, epigenetic, and environmental factors. Stem architecture, encompassing morphological and anatomical attributes, alongside the composition of both structural and non-structural carbohydrates, emerges as a critical determinant of lodging resistance. The adaptive response of the rice culm to various biotic and abiotic environmental factors further modulates the propensity for lodging. Advancements in next-generation sequencing technologies have expedited the genetic dissection of lodging resistance, enabling the identification of pertinent genes, quantitative trait loci, and novel alleles. Concurrently, contemporary breeding strategies, ranging from biparental approaches to more sophisticated methods such as multi-parent-based breeding, gene pyramiding, genomic selection, genome-wide association studies, and haplotype-based breeding, offer perspectives on the genetic underpinnings of culm strength. This review comprehensively delves into physiological attributes, culm histology, epigenetic determinants, and gene expression profiles associated with lodging resistance, with a specialized focus on leveraging next-generation sequencing for candidate gene discovery.

Performance evaluation of climate resilient rice varieties for increasing productivity in flood prone area of Assam

Performance evaluation of climate resilient rice varieties for increasing productivity in flood prone area of Assam

Superior haplotypes of key drought-responsive genes reveal opportunities for the development of climate-resilient rice varieties

Haplotype-based breeding is an emerging and innovative concept that enables the development of designer crop varieties by exploiting and exploring superior alleles/haplotypes among target genes to create new traits in breeding programs. In this regard, whole-genome re-sequencing of 399 genotypes (landraces and breeding lines) from the 3000 rice genomes panel (3K-RG) is mined to identify the superior haplotypes for 95 drought-responsive candidate genes. Candidate gene-based association analysis reveals 69 marker-trait associations (MTAs) in 16 genes for single plant yield (SPY) under drought stress. Haplo-pheno analysis of these 16 genes identifies superior haplotypes for seven genes associated with the higher SPY under drought stress. Our study reveals that the performance of lines possessing superior haplotypes is significantly higher (p ≤ 0.05) as measured by single plant yield (SPY), for the OsGSK1-H4, OsDSR2-H3, OsDIL1-H22, OsDREB1C-H3, ASR3-H88, DSM3-H4 and ZFP182-H4 genes as compared to lines without the superior haplotypes. The validation results indicate that a superior haplotype for the DREB transcription factor (OsDREB1C) is present in all the drought-tolerant rice varieties, while it was notably absent in all susceptible varieties. These lines carrying the superior haplotypes can be used as potential donors in haplotype-based breeding to develop high-yielding drought-tolerant rice varieties.

Creating market linkage and demand for new climate resilient rice varieties through innovative agriculture extension method

Creating market linkage and demand for new climate resilient rice varieties through innovative agriculture extension method

Comparison of the Morpho-Physiological and Molecular Responses to Salinity and Alkalinity Stresses in Rice.

Rice is a major food crop that has a critical role in ensuring food security for the global population. However, major abiotic stresses such as salinity and alkalinity pose a major threat to rice farming worldwide. Compared with salinity stress, there is limited progress in elucidating the molecular mechanisms associated with alkalinity tolerance in rice. Since both stresses coexist in coastal and arid regions, unraveling of the underlying molecular mechanisms will help the breeding of high-yielding stress-tolerant rice varieties for these areas. This study examined the morpho-physiological and molecular response of four rice genotypes to both salinity and alkalinity stresses. Geumgangbyeo was highly tolerant and Mermentau was the least tolerant to both stresses, while Pokkali and Bengal were tolerant to only salinity and alkalinity stress, respectively. A set of salinity and alkalinity stress-responsive genes showed differential expression in the above rice genotypes under both stress conditions. The expression patterns were consistent with the observed morphological responses in these rice genotypes, suggesting the potential role of these genes in regulating tolerance to these abiotic stresses. Overall, this study suggested that divergence in response to alkalinity and salinity stresses among rice genotypes could be due to different molecular mechanisms conferring tolerance to each stress. In addition to providing a basis for further investigations into differentiating the molecular bases underlying tolerance, this study also emphasizes the possibilities of developing climate-resilient rice varieties using donors that are tolerant to both abiotic stresses.

Assessing the Effectiveness of Climate-Resilient Rice Varieties in Building Adaptive Capacity for Small-Scale Farming Communities in Assam

Rice crop in Assam constitutes a significant portion of the cultivated area, covering around sixty percent of the total area. The state, like many others, confronts the repercussions of climate change, notably evident in recurrent floods that impact agricultural lands. The shifting climate, marked by rising temperatures and increased rainy days, poses threats to crop production. Despite witnessing overall productivity growth, the state grapples with persistent challenges related to flood-induced losses. In response to this, climate-resilient rice varieties were developed to withstand submergence. This study delves into the assessment of the impact of these climate-resilient rice varieties on yield, income, and adoption among farmers. Concentrating on Golaghat and Sivasagar districts, where 106 farmers were interviewed, the research addresses the prevalent challenges in rice cultivation due to changing rainfall patterns. The introduced varieties underwent demonstration in plots, and their effects on yield, income, and adoption were comprehensively evaluated. The study additionally scrutinized the technology and extension gaps in the area, utilizing various indices such as the technology gap, extension gap, technology index, and benefit-cost ratio to measure the efficacy of the introduced varieties. The findings of the study highlight disparities between recommended agricultural practices and the actual methods employed by farmers. Despite these challenges, the introduction of climate-resilient varieties resulted in a noteworthy increase in yield. Economic analysis revealed enhanced profitability from B:C ratio of 0.43 to1.06 and positive changes in economic indicators. The adoption and horizontal spread of these varieties were substantial, with a significant rise from 106 to 378 in the number of adopters and expanded cultivation areas. Overall, the study emphasizes the success of climate-resilient rice varieties in augmenting yield, income, and adoption among farmers. The positive economic changes, coupled with heightened awareness, underscore the importance of promoting such varieties. The study advocates for sustained efforts in disseminating climate-resilient varieties, emphasizing their pivotal role in enhancing farmers' climate resilience. Addressing the identified discrepancies in agricultural practices emerges as a crucial step toward fostering sustainability and optimizing crop yield in the region.

DRR Dhan 65 (IET 27641) – A High Yielding Low Soil Phosphorous Tolerant and Climate Resilient Rice Variety Developed from Wild Introgression Lines

The wild species of Oryza are an important source of genetic variability for the improvement of yield and tolerance to biotic and abiotic stresses. Phosphorus (P) is the second most important key nutrient, vital for plant growth and development at all stages. Phosphorous deficiency is one of the factors limiting rice yields and farmer’s profitability so it is necessary to identify genotypes with stable yield and tolerance to P deficiency. Keeping in view the unlimited potential of wild species for yield enhancement and stress tolerance, interspecific population between Oryza rufipogon in the back ground of Oryza sativa genotype KMR3 was developed by advanced back cross breeding strategy. DRR Dhan 65 (IET 27641) (RP Bio 4919-B-B NSR86) is an interspecific wild introgression line, a derivative of KMR 3 / O rufipogon with short bold grains which is high yielding under both normal and low soil phosphorous conditions. It has seed to seed maturity of 130- 135 days and gives an average yield of 6.5 t/ ha (under normal conditions; 60 kg/ha of P, i.e., recommended dose) and 4.7 t/ ha (under low Phosphorus; 40 kg/ha of P). It was released for cultivation in Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Maharashtra states through Central Sub-committee on Crop Standards, Notification and Release of Varieties for Agricultural Crops vide S.O. 4065(E) dated 31st August, 2022 [CG-DL-E-31082022-238490].