Rice researchers identified highly-adaptable advanced breeding lines for Bangladesh ecosystems

Rice researchers have identified advanced breeding lines suitable for various types of environments which could help in developing new breeding lines and varieties highly adapted to local ecosystems in Bangladesh to help farmers increase productivity, and in turn, strengthen the country's food security.

The outcomes of the trials were presented during the Annual Advancement Meeting of AGGRi Network Trials 2022 on 10 May in Dhaka, according to a press release issued by International Rice Research Institute (Irri) Bangladesh Office.

The agricultural materials were tested for short, medium, and late maturity alongside stress tolerance (against cold, salinity, and submerging or flooding).

They were tested to select the superior breeding lines in different environments in Bangladesh through on-farm field trials under the supervision of the Irri Bangladesh Office and NARes partners.

The results were part of the various field tests conducted on Aman in 2021 by researchers from Irri Bangladesh in collaboration with Bangladesh Rice Research Institute (BRRI), Bangladesh Institute of Nuclear Agriculture (Bina), and Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Agricultural University (BSMRAU).

The experiments were carried out in seven districts, including Gazipur, Rajshahi, Rangpur, Kushtia, Cumilla, Satkhira, and Barisal.

During these tests, researchers studied various materials for short, medium, and long-term duration and identified whether they are suitable for drought and salinity, or if they are flood-tolerant, the press release added.

The findings of the trials are valuable for Irri and NARes partners like BRRI, Bina, public universities and private entities as these could help enrich their rice breeding research and development, and formulate how they develop new varieties.

BRRI Director General Md Shahjahan Kabir and Bina Director-General Mirza Mofazzal Islam were present at the meeting as the chief guest and a special guest, respectively. Humnath Bhandari, Irri Representative for Bangladesh, chaired the event.

A wide range of participants attended the meeting including breeders and molecular breeders from Irri headquarters, Manila and Irri Bangladesh; scientists from BRRI and Bina, professors from BSMRAU, Khulna University, Sylhet Agricultural University, and scientists from five private partner companies such as Aftab Bahumukhi Farms Limited, Ispahani Agro Limited, Lal Teer Seed Limited, Metal Agro Limited, and Supreme Seed Company Limited.

"Taken together, the improvements in product focus, selection accuracy, selection intensity, and cycle length, driven by the effective application of new genotyping, phenotyping, and decision support technologies, have the potential to raise the current rate of genetic gain in the staple food crops produced by farmers in the developing world from a current rate that is likely well under 1% annually (and in many instances not significantly different than zero) to at least 2%," shared Mirza Mofazzal Islam.

"In the process, farmers will be better protected against a rapidly changing climate and be better able to adapt to rapidly commercialising production systems," he added.

"We have lots of challenges in the future for sustaining food security; BRRI needs a massive reform both in human resource development and physical facilities. It is expected that IRRI's contribution and collaboration will be continued for the up-gradation of the research capacity of BRRI, particularly in the field of cutting-edge technologies like genomics, phenomics, proteomics, bioinformatics, genome editing, speed breeding, automation, digitisation, mechanisation and infrastructure development," said Md Shahjahan Kabir, the director-general of BRRI.