Technology:
Abnormal climate
damages the growth of agricultural products worldwide, and global warming seems
to have entered into a new and more serious stage. Universities and
laboratories are busily occupied with developing rice highly resistant to
climate change. Toshiaki Mitsui of Niigata University developed a new breed
that does not deteriorate the quality even at a high temperature and in a high
concentration of carbon dioxide. Rice suffers from abnormal accumulation of
starch when a high temperature lasts long in summer. If the average temperature
of the 20 days after rice ears up exceeds 26 degrees centigrade, rice grains
become clouded and deteriorate the quality. He replaced the gene of the enzyme
for resolving starch by another gene to decrease cloudiness. In the environment
where the temperature is higher than in the production district, the rate of
cloudiness of the new breed is 30%, whereas 70-80% of the existing breeds
become clouded. In the environment where carbon dioxide concentration is 600
ppm that is 200 ppm higher than the production district, the rate of cloudiness
of the new breed is 30-40%, whereas 50% of the existing breeds become clouded.
It is expected that the new technology will be put into practical used in a few
years.
National Agriculture and Food Research Organization (NARO) developed a new breed that
blossoms early in the morning to avoid problems with pollination. Rice does not
bear easily if the temperature at the time of flowering exceeds 35 degrees
centigrade. NARO mated a wild breed that blossoms early in the morning with the
existing breed. The new breed flowers around 7:00 a.m., three hours earlier
than the existing breed. Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology and
Nagoya University developed a new breed that has thicker stalks than the
existing breed. The new breed does not come down easily even in a gale. The
stalk of the new breed is 7-8 mm, 2 mm thicker than the existing breed.
Accordingly, the new breed has 40% higher ability to resist wind without being
broken. As global warming develops, a typhoon grows bigger and faster. The new
breed is expected not to fall down until harvesting. As mentioned above, lots
of efforts are being made to develop rice breeds more productive in the days of
climate change.
Developing rice breeds highly resistant to
climate change is in progress
climate change is in progress
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