Direct Seeded Rice technology is effective rice production technology for farmers of Eastern India under changing climate: Dr Gary Atlin

An interaction meeting of scientists from International organizations International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), Phillipines and Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF), Washington, USA with team of scientists from ICAR Research Complex for Eastern Region, Patna was organized on issue of “Direct Seeded Rice” on 24th September 2024. The chief Guest of this programme Dr. Gary Atlin, Senior Program Officer, BMGF-India in his address; stressed on the development of weed-suppressing rice genotypes for weed management in Direct Seeded Rice. He also emphasized on the importance of genomic prediction technology for the rice breeding program at ICAR-RCER, Patna. Dr. Atlin appreciated the fruitful outcome of the collaboration with ICAR RCER Patna. Dr. Sankalp Bhosale, Research Leader-Product Development & Varietal Development, IRRI, Phillipines appreciated the outcome of the collaboration with ICAR RCER, Patna by development of 11 Climate resilient rice varieties which are being adopted by the farmers of the eastern region.

Earlier, Dr. Anup Das, Director, ICAR-RCER welcomed all the foreign delegates and made a brief presentation on achievements of the institute and its efforts towards rice research through varietal development and agronomic management pratices. He proposed to create a Center of Excellence for rice breeding at ICAR-RCER Patna in collaboration with IRRI, Phillipines. Dr. Santosh Kumar, Senior Scientist, Plant Breeding, and team leader of the RCER rice breeding program presented the achievements of the program and answered several queries raised by delegates during discussion. In the meeting, several issues relevant to rice breeding and direct-seeded rice like weed management, irrigation management, and the introduction of herbicide-resistant rice varieties were discussed.

ICAR RCER Patna has been collaborating with IRRI since 2011 in its rice breeding program which resulted in the development of 11 climate-resilient rice varieties. Some of these varieties like Swarna Shreya, Swarn Samriddhi, Swarn Shakti are very popular among farming communities in Eastern Indian States. ­This meeting was attended by many important foreign delegates like Dr. Srivalli Krishnan (Senior Program Officer, BMGF-India), Mr. Kishore Rao (Sr. Consultatnt to BMGF India), Dr. Vikas Kumar Singh (Regional Breeding Lead-SA, IRRI India), Dr. Shalabh Dixit (Senior Scientist and Plant Breeder, IRRI-Plilippines), Dr. Amelia Henery (Senior Scientist Stress Physiology, IRRI-Plilippines), Dr. J Daminen Platten (Scientist, IRRI-Plilippines), Dr. Swati Nayak (Scientist, IRRI-India), Ms. Mignon A. Natividad (Assistant Scientist, IRRI), Ms. Radhika Dhand (Consultant, BMGF).

Delegates also visited the experimental research farm located at the institute and Sabajpura and appreciated the ongoing experimental trials on DSR and the IRRI-sponsored Plant Direct project.