Philrice offers high-yielding,
pest-resistant rice variety

Two rice varieties that are pest-resistant and yield up to 32 percent more than traditional strains offer Filipino farmers the best alternative to respond to the demand for higher productivity and long-term food security, according to the Philippine Rice Research Institute (Philrice).

PhilRice stressed the importance of looking for better varieties of rice as the country grapples with a regime of higher global rice prices and dwindling supplies, as only seven percent of the world’s total rice production are offered for export.

PhilRice director Leocadio Sebastian said that these two rice varieties were developed locally, using marker-aided selection (MAS) to develop genetic traits that resist bacterial leaf blight (BLB) and tungro, two pests that have been responsible for substantial losses to farmers in Luzon.

Biotechnology tools were used to develop these rice strains, adds Sebastian, and they compare very well with ordinary commercial rice and even fancy rice as well.

These alternative rice varieties are NSIC Rc142 (Tubigan 7) and NSIC Rc154 (Tubigan 11) and they have been available in the market as early as 1995.

Dr. Dindo Tabano of PhilRice said the cost of these strains is as low as any ordinary rice variety.

Tubigan 7 and Tubigan 11 were products of MAS, a mid-level biotechnology technique that armed them with resistance against BLB- a disease that is endemic in provinces with irrigated lowlands like Ilocos Norte, Cagayan, Ifugao, Isabela, Nueva Ecija, Tarlac and Bulacan.

Tubigan 7 and Tubigan 11 are just two of the rice varieties produced by biotechnology that have helped increased farmer’s production- thus answering the country’s problem of low productivity in recent years.

Tubigan 7 can yield at least 24 percent more than the common rice variety during the dry season and up to 32 percent more during the wet season.

Through the use of DNA markers, plant breeders are able to easily identify the offspring that are BLB resistant.

Scientists have already assured that these alternative rice varieties are safe for human consumption. Studies have shown that Tubigan rice varieties have good qualities, as it is moist and sticky when cooked. biolife news service