Farmer and Son Find IRRI-Bred Flood-Tolerant Rice Sturdy
Flood is one big problem of rice farmers in Barangay Papaya in San Antonio, Nueva Ecija. The place is low-lying so when it rains heavily ricefields here are submerged for more than a week, with water depth reaching 1.5 meters.
Like other farmers in the community, 74-year-old Aquilino Sicat and his son Mario have tried flood-tolerant rice. But of all the varieties he and Mario have planted in the 2008 wet season, says Aquilino, only PSB Rc68 rice survived.
According to Dr. Nenita V. Desamero, plant breeder at the Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice), this is because PSB Rc68 is tolerant to abiotic stresses, particularly drought and submergence. So it is no wonder that Aquilino’s crop survived after being submerged twice in 1-meter water depth for a week.
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