New Glutinous Rice Varieties
Sticky, fluffy, and sweet. These usually come to mind when talking about glutinous rice.
Locally known as malagkit, glutinous rice is deeply embedded in the Filipino culture as it is the main ingredient in various rice cakes (kakanin), the traditional rice-based food Filipinos usually serve during fiestas and other special occasions.
This cultural value of the crop has been the reason of a 37-year-old agricultural engineer and farmer in Bagong Sikat, Munoz, Nueva Ecija in growing glutinous rice.
For 10 years, Aldrin Badua plants 500 sq. m. of his 2.7-hectare farm to glutinous rice, and he has already tried many varieties. But in 2007, he expanded it to 3,000 sq. m. and planted the dinorado variety. He harvested 28 cavans, yet he was not disappointed with this as it was, he said, the expected yield of malagkit.
For this reason, Badua is in search for a malagkit variety that is high-yielding and has good eating quality. And if the market demand for malagkit will rise, he said, he will prioritize its production.
On one hand, rice cakes makers Sherwin and Vivian Embanacido need good quality, mass-produced, local glutinous rice so that they would not import anymore, hence they would save money. This couple who owns the San Vicente Special Homemade Kakanin in Munoz imports glutinous rice as they cannot find good quality malagkit in their neighborhood.
Sherwin and Vivian said they are using first-class glutinous rice to satisfy the demand of customers for cheap and delicious delicacies.
To address concerns such as these, research and development of better quality glutinous rice varieties is being conducted to increase the demand for and price of local malagkit to lobby it as an export product, says Emily Arocena, plant breeder of the Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice).
Now the good thing is that new glutinous rice varieties with good milling potential and acceptable sensory qualities have been released recently.
Like other varieties, recently released NSIC Rc13, 15, and 17 have a milky colored kernel. It was also observed that NSIC Rc15 grows best in the dry season, while NSIC Re 17 thrives in the wet season.
NSIC Rc 19, on one hand, is quite unique as it is a pigmented glutinous rice. This pinkish rice when polished is a pureline selection from We Jin Zou89, and can yield more than 94 cav/ha, which is the average yield of rice variety IR65.
“NSIC Rc19’s potential is also being looked at. This includes its nutritional and medicinal quality and its use in marginalized areas,” says Arocena.
Producing malagkit is no different with other rice. But special attention must be given to pest management, adds Arocena, as specialty rice varieties are prone to pests due to their aroma.
By Maria Adrielle D. Solsoloy
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