Floods: New rice seeds on the way

With climate change, floods, droughts & plant diseases making lives of farmers more difficult, Thai scientists have developed stronger seeds (Photo: Walailak Keeratipipatpong).

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The good seed: New rice strains can resist a variety of diseases and natural disasters by Walailak Keeratipipatpong

A series of new rice varieties able to resist rising temperatures, drought, insect infestations and even flooding will become commercially available in a few years, a leading Thai researcher has announced.

The growing natural threats that have resulted in huge losses for Thailand's farm sector in recent years have prompted local rice researchers to develop the new strains. 

"Rice strains that can better resist rising temperature, disease and floods are on the way and will be in the market in 3-5 years," said Anek Silapapun, an executive vice-president of Bangkok Seeds Industry Co, a unit of the Charoen Pokphand (CP) Group.

The natural disasters of 2011, from the heavy drought early in the year to the recent widespread flooding, have reportedly damaged more than 10 million rai of rice fields nationwide, of which 9 million rai were submerged.

We're focusing on any breed that can withstand the effects of frequent disasters, especially extended dry spells and hotter climates. Flooding is actually still not very common, but we're taking this threat seriously too," Dr Anek told a gathering of farmers in Nakhon Pathom's Kamphaeng Saen district earlier this month.

Bangkok Seeds has sent researchers to Hunan Agricultural University in China to study the development of rice strains that can thrive in extreme weather.

In an experimental trial, the Chinese institute successfully developed a new variety whose shoots sprout firmly even in temperatures as high as 40 degrees Celsius, said Dr Anek.

But the veteran researcher said developing new varieties is a time-consuming process.

For example, the company spent seven years developing its CP 304 variety hybrid rice seed featuring strong infestation resistance before offering it to the Thai market last year.

A newly developed pure-line variety, CP 111, was introduced this year as an alternative to the paddy that farmers normally use for replanting.

These varieties yield an average of 900 to 1,000 kilogrammes per rai, higher than the average Thai-rice yield of 450 kg/rai, and contains properties that fight insects that have plagued rice plantations for years such as brown planthoppers.

The flood crisis has pushed demand for rice seed heavily, but the Rice Department will not be able to meet annual demand forecast at 900,000 tonnes.

It produces only 100,000 tonnes of rice seed per year and has earmarked 72,000 tonnes for flood-hit farmers.

The Office of Agricultural Economics estimates the country will lose 3.5 to 4 million tonnes of rice from the floods, but production will revive quickly in some areas thanks to nutrients brought by the flow of water.

Thongchai Mala, dean of the agriculture faculty at Kasetsart University's Kamphaeng Saen campus, agreed, saying that soil quality in some submerged fields in Nakhon Pathom has even improved.

The immediate question is how to help the farmers return to a normal life quickly.

But Assoc Prof Dr Thongchai said many villagers are short of essentials needed to raise the next crop.

Therefore, the university has raised funds for its new "9 Seedlings, 99 Rai, 99 Million Trees" programme to support the flood victims and commemorate His Majesty the King's 84th birthday.

The nine crops in the scheme - tomatoes, eggplant, chillies, holy basil, lemon grass, sweet basil, katuri flowers, angled gourds and star gooseberry - are all easily grown.

The CP Group will participate by distributing rice seed to 99 farmers.

Montri Congtrakultien, the president of CP's Crop Integration Business Group, called the scheme an opportunity for farmers to improve their crop management and place more emphasis on post-harvest work such as soil analysis and fertiliser preparation. 

Participating farmers will be advised on the proper use of farm machinery such as ploughing tractors to turn over the upper layer of the soil, transplanters to uproot rice seedling trays and cultivators, he said. 

Chumpol Suwannakhet, a farmer with 33 rai in Kamphaeng Saen, said his land was less severely affected than in other districts of Nakhon Pathom. 

The ample water allowed him to start planting his second rice crop right after the water receded to an appropriate level, and he expects a strong yield. 

(Source: Bangkok Post, The good seed, New rice strains can resist a variety of diseases and natural disasters, 19/12/2011, Walailak Keeratipipatpong, link) 

Agricultural Science Vocabulary

seed - the small little things from a plant that are planted to grow more plants เมล็ด, เมล็ดพืช, เมล็ดพันธุ์ (See Wikipedia)
seedling - a young plant grown from a seed

variety, strain, breed have roughly the same meaning: different kinds of seeds 

variety - 1. many different kinds of things ความหลากหลาย; 2. one kind of thing among many kinds
strain - one kind or type of a plant (germ, bacteria, organism, etc) สายพันธุ์
rice strain - one kind of rice
rice strains that can better resist rising temperature, disease and floods are on the way and will be in the market in 3-5 years
prompt - cause
prompted local rice researchers to develop the new strains
thrive - do well and be successful and strong
extreme - much more severe or serious than usual ที่ร้ายแรงมาก, ที่รุนแรงที่สุด
the development of rice strains that can thrive in extreme weather.

breed - a special type of plant that has been developed by special breeding by scientists พันธุ์

hybrid - 1. an animal or plant that is bred from two different types (species) พันธุ์ผสม หรือลูกผสม; 2. a mixture of two or or more different things
hybrid rice seed

paddy - rice after it has been harvested from the field ข้าวเปลือก
pure - having nothing in something to spoil its quality or effect บริสุทธิ์
pure-line variety - not a "hybrid" mixed variety
alternative - another choice;  another possible way, different from the usual ways  ตัวเลือก / ทางเลือก
a newly developed pure-line variety, CP 111, was introduced this year as an alternative to the paddy that farmers normally use for replanting

natural - found in nature (not made in a factory by humans) ตามธรรมชาติ
natural disaster - an bad event such as floods, earthquakes, tsunamis, storms, that causes a lot of damage and harm to people

widespread - happening or existing in many places, or affecting many people อย่างแพร่หลาย
the natural disasters of 2011, from the heavy drought early in the year to the recent widespread flooding

drought - a period of time when there is very little rain and water available ความแห้งแล้ง (See Wikipedia)
dry spell - a period of time without rain (so supply of water is low)
extended dry spells - a long period of time without rain

insect infestations - when large numbers of insects come to a place and damage plants and crops
a series of new rice varieties able to resist rising temperatures, drought, insect infestations and even flooding

resist (verb) - to prevent something from happening; oppose or fight against someone or something (same as "withstand" below) ต่อต้าน
resist a disease - fight against a disease (to prevent people from getting sick with the disease)
new rice strains can resist a variety of diseases and natural disasters

resistance (noun) - the ability to resist (fight and oppose something, prevent something from happening) 
infestation resistance - able to prevent large numbers of insects coming to a place and destroying crops (infestation)
the company spent seven years developing its CP 304 variety hybrid rice seed featuring strong infestation resistance

withstand - strong enough not to be destroyed or harmed by a bad event; not to be hurt or damaged by extreme force, extreme conditions, etc. ทนทาน
frequent - happening often เกิดขึ้นบ่อย
frequent disasters - disasters that happen often
we're focusing on any breed that can withstand the effects of frequent disasters

commerce (noun) - the activity of running businesses; buying and selling things
commercial (adjective) - activity done as a business
commercially (adverb)
commercially available - currently being produced and sold by some company

sector - a part of a country's economy or business activity ภาคเศรษฐกิจของประเทศ
farm sector  - all the farms in the country and the agricultural products they produce

submerged - under water จมน้ำ อยู่ใต้น้ำ
nationwide - throughout a whole country ทั่วทั้งประเทศ

damaged more than 10 million rai of rice fields nationwide, of which 9 million rai were submerged
soil quality in some submerged fields in Nakhon Pathom has even improved

climate - the general weather conditions at a place 
hotter climates - when the weather at a place is hotter (than before)

gathering - a party or a meeting when many people come together as a group การรวมตัว, การประชุม

common - seen often; found often; happens often; frequent
not very common - rare;  not happening often, not seen often หายาก

threat - a danger อันตราย
take threat seriously - know that there is danger and prepare for it

flooding is actually still not very common, but we're taking this threat seriously too

experimental trial - a test, usually over a limited period of time, to discover how effective or suitable something or someone is การทดลอง, การทดสอบ testing it out (before making it permanent) การลองผิดลองถูก การทดลอง

rice shoot -  a new rice plant that is just beginning to grow ข้าวกล้า   
sprout - when a plant produces new shoots or leaves แตกหน่อ
firmly (adverb) - with strength (hard, not soft)
shoots sprout firmly  

shoots sprout firmly even in temperatures as high as 40 degrees Celsius

in an experimental trial, the Chinese institute successfully developed a new variety whose shoots sprout firmly even in temperatures as high as 40 degrees Celsius

veteran - a person who has a lot of experience in a particular area or activity ผู้อาวุโส  มีประสบการณ์
veteran researcher

research - studying something to find new facts about it
development - taking research findings and creating a useful product or tool from them
research and development (R&D) - the activity of a company that is directed to creating new products or processes that give the company an advantage over other companies in an industry (See Wikipedia)

time-consuming process - a process that uses a lot of time, takes a long time to produce results
process - a series of actions that you take in order to achieve a result แนวทางปฏิบัติ, กระบวน, วิธีการ
developing new varieties is a time-consuming process

spent - used ที่ใช้ไป

yield - the amount produced per rai produced in farming ให้ผลผลิตต่อไร่
plagued - caused a lot of problems for someone or something for a long period of time ทำให้ยุ่งยาก ลำบากมานาน
plantations - large farms
these varieties yield an average of 900 to 1,000 kilogrammes per rai, higher than the average Thai-rice yield of 450 kg/rai, and contains properties that fight insects that have plagued rice plantations for years such as brown planthoppers.

crisis - an urgent, difficult or dangerous situation วิกฤตการณ์ วิกฤต
demand - the need and desire to buy goods and services by households and businesses
annual - happening once a year ประจำปี
forecast - a statement about what will happen in the future based on information available now พยากรณ์
annual demand forecast at 900,000 tonnes

earmarked - use for a special purpose or programme
it produces only 100,000 tonnes of rice seed per year and has earmarked 72,000 tonnes for flood-hit farmers 

estimates - guesses of what the size, value, amount, cost, etc. of something might be การประมาณค่า

revive - to come or bring something back to life, health, existence, or use ทำให้ฟื้นชีพ bring back to life, get started once again after stopping ฟื้นชีพ  ชุบชีวิต
nutrients - the chemicals in food needed by plants and animal for growth and sustaining life
production will revive quickly in some areas thanks to nutrients brought by the flow of water

dean - a senior official at a college or university อธิการบดี
faculty - a group of departments in a college which specialize in a particular subject or group of subjects คณะ
agriculture faculty

essentials - the important basic things that are needed for daily living (food, clothes, shelter)
short of essentials needed to raise the next crop.

funds - money to be used for a specific purpose
support - help, by giving money, for example สนับสนุน
victims - people who are killed injured or harmed in some way from an accident, natural disaster, crime, etc.
commemorate - to remember someone or something officially การระลึกถึง to remember officially and give respect to a great person or event, especially by a public ceremony or by making a statue or special building ฉลอง (เพื่อเป็นการระลึกถึง)

raised funds for its new "9 Seedlings, 99 Rai, 99 Million Trees" programme to support the flood victims and commemorate His Majesty the King's 84th birthday

scheme - a plan that is developed by a government or large organisation in order to provide a particular service for people แผนการ โครงการ
participate - to take part in or become involved in an activity มีส่วน

tomatoes
eggplant
chillies
holy basil
lemon grass
sweet basil
katuri flowers
angled gourds
star gooseberry

opportunity - a situation when it is possible to do something that you want to do (See glossary)
improve - to make better ทำให้ดีขึ้น

emphasis - special importance or attention that is given to one thing in particular การเน้นย้ำ
place more emphasis on

harvest - gathering fully grown crops from the field เก็บเกี่ยว การเก็บเกี่ยวผลผลิต
post-harvest - after the harvest

fertiliser - food for plants, chemicals to make plants grow faster ปุ๋ย (See Wikipedia)
fertiliser preparation

advise - when experts help people and tell or suggest what should be done 
proper use - correct use (using something such as a tool in the right and correct way)  
advised on the proper use of farm machinery

soil - the dirt that plants grow in, on top of the field and earth ดิน, พื้นดิน (See Wikipedia)
soil analysis - finding out what chemicals are in the soil (which effects what can be grown and how well it can be grown)

layer - a thin sheet of a substance; a level of material, such as a type of rock or gas, which is different from the material above or below it ชั้น
upper layer of soil  

plough  - a farm tool used to break the soil apart before planting seeds เครื่องไถ, คันไถ
tractor - แทรกเตอร์
ploughing tractors to turn over the upper layer of the soil
transplanters to uproot rice seedling trays and cultivators

ample - enough
ample water - enough water