IRRI develops five rice varieties for RP

LOS BAÑOS, Laguna -- Five promising rice lines bred at the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) have been recommended for release as varieties for the irrigated lowland and saline-prone rice lands in the Philippines. These rice lines have undergone extensive field testing in different regions of the country, through the Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice).

The Rice Technical Working Group (RTWG) of PhilRice recommended these rice breeding lines to the National Seed Industry Council (NSIC) with the following proposed names: Pasig (PSBRc 80) and Peñaranda (PSBRc 82) for the irrigated lowlands and Sipocot (PSBRc 84), Matnog (PSBRc 86), and Naga (PSBRc 88) for saline-prone areas.

Dr. Gurdev Khush, IRRI principal plant breeder and head of the Plant Breeding, Genetics, and Biochemistry Division, said that it took IRRI seven to eight years to develop the varieties.

Another rice line developed by PhilRice was also recommended for release as an irrigated lowland variety and shall be called Pampanga (PSBRc 78). Pampanga, Pasig, and Peñaranda yield 5.1 to 5.4 tons per hectare and mature in 110-112 days. Sipocot, Matnog, and Naga yield two to 2.2 tons per hectare under saline conditions and mature in 111 to 116 days. Moreover, these lines, particularly Naga, have good grain quality. Seed stocks of the said varieties will be maintained and supplied by IRRI and PhilRice.

"There is a strong working relationship between IRRI and PhilRice breeders in developing rice varieties for the different ecosystems," said Dr. Philbert Bonilla, RTWG chair and chief science research specialist at PhilRice. He added that the free exchange of breeding materials and germplasm between IRRI and PhilRice is instrumental in the development of rice varieties adopted by Filipino farmers. Bonilla explained that PhilRice's access to the IRRI rice gene bank widens its sources of biodiversity for developing ecosystem-based rice varieties.

IRRI's breeding materials, with genes that confer high-yielding ability and resistance to abiotic and biotic stresses, are extensively used as parents in PhilRice's hybridization work.

Bonilla, who works as a rice breeder for saline-prone and upland areas, noted that in the last five years, 1,290 IRRI elite breeding lines/varieties were used as parents for breeding rice varieties suitable for different ecosystems. Most of these were used for the irrigated lowlands, incorporating such traits as high yield, acceptability, resistance to insect pests and diseases, aroma, and waxiness.

"We expect that the new varieties for irrigated lowland conditions will be used widely and result in greater impact; as there are more irrigated rice areas in the Philippines than saline areas," Dr. Khush said. He added that the salt-tolerant varieties are expected to have high impact in rice areas that suffer from salt water intrusion.

Parallel breeding programs have been under way at IRRI to develop varieties for rainfed lowland and upland rice areas as well.

Modern rice varieties developed by IRRI and other research institutions are approved for release by the NSCI of the Philippines. The Council has named lowland ricce varieties after famous rivers, upland rice varieties after mountains, and cold-tolerant varieties after places in the Cordillera Region.

"We will continue to make available rice breeding lines to PhilRice and to our other partners in the rice-growing countries and we hope to release more rainfed lowlands and upland rice varieties in the next three years," Dr. Khush said.

Since 1966, 47 IRRI breeding lines have been released as varieties in the Philippines by the NSIC. These varieties are for the irrigated rainfed, irrigated lowland, upland, cool elevated, and saline-prone areas.

A nongovernment organization is now planting the three newly released salt-tolerant varities and the Biol and Hagonoy varieties -- released by IRRI in 1995 -- in areas near the mouth of the Pampanga River.