The Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice) and the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) have identified the “most stable” improved rice varieties in a trial, which sought to identify appropriate varieties with wider or location-specific adaptation.
After analyzing data from regional clusters 1, 2 and 3 composed of Luzon and the Visayas regions, Dr. Mary Jean Du of IRRI said the most stable varieties across sites are the NSIC Rc302, inbred variety for irrigated lowland; RAELINE 3 for rain-fed and drought; PSB Rc68 for submergence; and NSIC Rc330 for saline.
In regional cluster 4 or Mindanao, Du reported that the most stable varieties across sites are the NSIC Rc300 (performed best in Lanao del Norte and Zamboanga Sibugay), NSIC Rc222 and NSIC Rc298 (performed best in Bukidnon and Misamis Oriental) for irrigated lowland; NSIC Rc192 and NSIC Rc348 for rain-fed; NSIC Rc226 for saline; and PR40146 for submergence.
Varieties RAELINE 3 and PR40146, however, have not been released commercially.
The analysis is part of the project, titled “Accelerating the development and adoption of next-generation [NextGen] rice varieties for major ecosystem in the Philippines.” Under the project, IRRI and government researchers conducted the initial participatory varietal selection (PVS) in select sites across 16 regions of the country.
PVS entries were composed of new varieties developed under the Department of Agriculture’s Rice Self-sufficiency Program implemented from 2009 to 2013 and serving as start-up materials in the new Food Staples Sufficiency Program under NextGen.
NextGen aims to use recent advances in plant breeding and improved computational power to make the country’s rice-breeding program more efficient. PVS is part of NextGen’s component 2, which aims to accelerate the adoption of high-yielding rice varieties through a new multi-environment testing strategy and production of high-quality seeds.
“Through PVS, yield trials in farmers’ fields will help them see how improved varieties perform in their area,” said Thelma F. Padolina, senior fellow at PhilRice, in a statement.
In the recent assessment and planning workshop held in Subic, Zambales, NextGen identified the preferred varieties by the farmers after 131 seed kits were deployed across 16 regions in the 2014 wet season. Out of the 86 trials established, 63 sites have valid data and were then analyzed by NextGen researchers.
The NextGen project is an initiative under the Food Staples Sufficiency Program of the DA being implemented jointly with PhilRice and IRRI in partnership with University of the Philippines Los Baños, DA’s regional field offices, Bureau of Plant Industry, state colleges and universities, local government units and rice farmers.