Year of Rice Science Contest Winners Chosen

ROME, Italy, October 8, 2004 (ENS) - Two rice scientists from two of the world's greatest rice consuming countries have jointly earned the top scientific prize in this, the United Nations International Year of Rice.

Scientists from China and from Japan have won the International Year of Rice Global Scientific Contest, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization and the International Rice Research Institute announced Wednesday.

Dr. Youyong Zhu, president of Yunnan Agricultural University in China and Dr. Takuji Sasaki, director of the Genome Research Department at the National Institute of Agrobiological Sciences in Japan, have been selected for their contributions to the advancement of rice research. They were chosen from nominations contributed by more than 800 rice scientists and researchers worldwide.

"Both papers clearly deserve their respective awards not only for the scientific excellence but also because of their potential impact and importance to the international rice industry," said Ronald Cantrell, director general of the International Rice Research Institute.

"The fact that these awards were given based on the judgement of their peers is also something Drs. Sasaki and Zhu can be justifiably very proud of," Cantrell said.

Rice fields in central China (Photo courtesy FAO)

Dr. Zhu's study demonstrated that utilizing the genetic diversity within rice varieties can reduce the severity of rice blast, a fungal disease affecting rice crops. In Yunnan, monocropped glutinous rice, which commands a premium price in the Chinese market, suffered yield losses of more than 45 percent because of blast. Farmers had to spray fungicides seven to eight times throughout the growing season to control the disease.

By intercropping high value, but blast susceptible glutinous rice, with hybrid indica rice varieties, Yunnan farmers achieved 92 to 99 percent control of rice blast and produced up to one ton more grain per hectare compared with indica rice monocropping, which is the traditional way of growing rice in the region.

Dr. Takuji Sasaki of Japan's Rice Genome Research Program (Photo courtesy RGRP)

Dr. Sasaki's paper reported the successful identification of the essentially complete sequence of chromosome 1, the longest chromosome in the rice genome. This breakthrough is expected to assist breeders in determining gene function, making it possible to better identify and select rice varieties with beneficial traits.

"The successful mapping of the rice genome will assist plant breeders in their efforts to develop rice varieties with increased yield potential, resistance to stress, and improved nutrient content," said Louise Fresco, assistant director-general of the Agriculture Department in the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization.

Drs. Zhu and Sasaki will be recognized at a ceremony on the occasion of World Food Day, October 14, 2004, in Rome. They will be presented with medals on behalf of their research and writing teams.

Three weeks later, rice research is again in the spotlight when the world’s top rice scientists gather in Japan for the World Rice Research Conference.

A climactic event of the United Nations’ International Year of Rice, the conference will take place in the Japanese science city of Tsukuba on November 5 to 7 after an opening ceremony in Tokyo on November 4.

Conference participants will present papers on the latest scientific knowledge in four key areas:

• Innovative technologies for boosting rice production.
  
• Perspectives on the place of rice in healthy lifestyles.
  
• Adaptable rice based systems that help improve everybody’s livelihoods.
  
• The role of rice in environmentally sustainable food security.

Rice feeds more than half the world. (Photo courtesy FAO)

Rice remains the staple food of more than half of humanity, according to the International Rice Research Institute.

In Asia, where 90 percent of all rice is grown and consumed, more than two billion people obtain 60 to 70 percent of their calories from rice. More than half of the world’s 1.3 billion poor are Asian rice farmers and consumers, and Asia’s poorest - urban slum dwellers and rural landless - still spend up to 40 percent of their income on rice.