Manila, The Philippines
August 4, 2009
Source:
PhilRice
The first submergence-tolerant
rice variety in the Philippines was released during the 27th
Council Secretariat Meeting on July 7.
NSIC Rc194 (aka Submarino 1) is IR64 infused with submergence
tolerance gene (Sub1), which was discovered by the
International Rice Research
Institute (IRRI) and the
University of California-Davis from an Indian rice variety
FR13A.
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“Submarino 1 is a non-genetically
engineered rice plant that can survive, grow and develop even
after 10 days of complete submergence in water at vegetative
stage,” said Dr. Nenita V. Desamero, DA-PhilRice
plant breeder and team leader of the on-farm testing of
submergence rice in the Philippines.
Under favorable condition, Submarino 1 will have the same yield
performance as IR64 (4.5 t/ha), but under complete submergence,
Submarino 1 will survive and recover.
Submarino 1 matures in 112-116 days with a plant height of 90-95
cm. Desamero, however, advises farmers not to grow Submarino 1
in blast- and tungro-stricken areas.
Before the 2008 wet season (WS), Submarino 1 was first
introduced to farmers in San Antonio, Nueva Ecija, which is a
catch basin of the neighboring municipalities during the rainy
season.
Recently, DA-PhilRice, together with the 12 DA-Regional Field
Units, has started conducting adaptation trials of Submarino 1
and other Sub1 lines such as Swarna-Sub1, IR49830-7-1-2-3 and
PhilRice lines in selected municipalities around the country.
For the seed increase of Submarino 1, 0.3 ha is allotted for the
production of breeder seeds and 0.5 ha for foundation seeds this
2009 wet season, but will expand in the 2010 dry season. More
commercial seeds will be made available to target farmers by
2010 WS.
The collaborative project of DA-PhilRice and IRRI
“Implementation plans to disseminate submergence tolerant rice
varieties and associated new production practices to Southeast
Asia” is funded by Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. |
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