Scientists at the University of Nottingham are helping to develop new varieties of rice that may be able to withstand drought.
Rice is a primary food staple for billions of people, with over half the world’s population eating it every single day.
Growing it, however, requires huge amounts of fresh water, and yields are being impacted as climate change makes rainfall increasingly unpredictable.
Professor Erik Murchie, one of the University of Nottingham researchers, said: “A 1C rise in global temperatures cuts rice yields by 6%, and fierce heatwaves worsen this situation.”
“UK-based research supports breeding efforts that go straight from our labs and into rice fields in rice-growing countries.”
Professor Erik Murchie says rises in global temperatures are affecting rice yields [BBC]
The researchers are experimenting with rice plants with climate-resilient gene variants in special “growth rooms” at the university’s Sutton Bonington campus.
Professor Ranjan Swarup said the rooms allowed them to simulate conditions and see how different plants responded to heat stress and drought.
“In this day and age, when global food security is a big issue facing world agriculture and we have to improve food production in a sustainable way, we are looking at root traits which can improve resilience,” he said.
The rice plants are also analysed in a micro-CT scanner at the university’s Hounsfield Facility.
Hounsfield director Professor Craig Sturrock said it allowed researchers to visualise how roots responded to changes in climate without damaging them.
“There might be a deeper, steeper root angle that gives that plant a benefit to capture more water that’s deeper into the soil profile, and we can then identify which gene controls that and use it in a breeding programme,” he said.
The Nottingham team has been working with other scientists and rice breeders at the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI).
Plants with the identified gene variants are due to be tested under “field conditions” for three years in the Philippines, where the IRRI is based.
“We’re working with them to measure the right things so we can understand the biological origins of heat stress tolerance and drought tolerance,” Murchie said.
Researchers are trying to understand how different root structures respond to changing conditions [BBC]
The research is funded by the International Climate Finance (ICF) – a government initiative to help developing nations respond to climate change.
The UK imports all of the rice it consumes, mainly from “climate-vulnerable” countries such as Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, and Thailand.
International Development Minister Jenny Chapman said: “Instability in the Middle East and the growing impact of extreme weather are putting pressure on global food production.
“This matters for developing countries, and the cost of food which hits our shelves at home.”
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