Rice News (Unedited Version)

1. Unedited Version
Clearfield rice varieties for 2014 planting offer yield and
quality
Delta Farm Press
Jan. 14, 2014
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 The Horizon Ag portfolio of Clearfield varieties includes three proven long-grains.
Rice farmers looking for consistent yield and quality performance in 2014 have outstanding
Clearfield variety planting options.
"We are very excited about the 2014 lineup of Clearfield varieties," said Randy Ouzts,
general manager of Horizon Ag. "With rice acres expected to increase in 2014, Horizon Ag
and its seed partners are well-positioned to provide farmers with quality planting seed of
the best-performing Clearfield lines on the market. Horizon Ag continues to focus on
helping U.S. farmers harvest rice with milling and quality that buyers demand. Our varieties
are preferred over hybrid rice by many markets, both domestic and foreign, and are proven
performers in the field."
The Horizon Ag portfolio of Clearfield varieties includes three proven long-grains:
 CL111 has the earliest maturity of any Clearfield variety available for planting in 2014 and offers
excellent vigor, high yield potential and outstanding grain quality and milling. It is ideal for early
planting, staggering harvest timing and for ratoon cropping. CL111 is a Kellogg's preferred long grain
variety.
 CL151 offers very high yield potential, according to several years of trials, and is also a Kellogg's
preferred long grain variety. CL151 uses nitrogen very efficiently. The NSt*R program is
recommended, where available, and may help reduce nitrogen input costs and improve disease
control.
 CL152 offers superior lodging resistance, and good grain quality and milling. It offers strong seedling
vigor and fast tillering. CL152 also uses nitrogen very efficiently. The NSt*R program is
recommended where available and has shown to help reduce nitrogen input costs and improve
disease control with this variety.

2. Two new Clearfield rice varieties have been released by the LSU AgCenter, an improved
Jazzman line and a medium grain variety. Both will be available for seed production this
year and commercial production in 2015.
The new CL271 medium grain shows much better blast resistance and higher yield potential,
and should be a good replacement for CL261, according to Dr. Steve Linscombe, rice
breeder and director of the LSU Rice Research Station in Crowley, LA.
The new CL Jazzman out yields the Jazzman and Jazzman 2 lines, according to testing, and
it retains the aroma aimed at competing with imported aromatic rice.
"It probably has the prettiest grains of all the Jazzman types," says Linscombe.
Horizon will be at the 17th Annual Conservation Systems Cotton & Rice Conference on
January 15 and 16 in Tunica, MS, Horizon Ag encourages farmers to attend the event for
information on rice variety management and many other important topics for maximizing
yield and profits in 2014.
Q&A with Dr. Glenn Gregorio: The Magic of Salt-Tolerant Rice
ELOISE QUINTANILLA
January 07, 2014
In a new series for Impatient Optimist you’ll hear from different voices at the foundation about
various “sustainable” approaches to agriculture we believe can benefit farmers and the
environment. Yesterday, Josh Lozman explained what we mean by “sustainability” and why
helping farmers to grow more food sustainably is so critical. In future posts, Laura Birx will
discuss the links between gender, nutrition, and sustainability; and David Bergvinson will tell us
about a project to store hundreds of thousands of seed samples in “gene banks.” Stay tuned for
more in the week ahead.

4. Meet Dr. Glenn Gregorio, a senior scientist and plant breeder at the International Rice Research
Institute (IRRI) in the Philippines.
He is helping to develop a new variety of rice that can withstand exposure to salt water. Why?
Climate change is threatening the livelihoods of poor farmers, who are disproportionately affected by
droughts, salt and fresh water floods, and other “stresses.” But new varieties of “stress-tolerant rice”
are helping them withstand these climate-related threats.
At IRRI, researchers like Dr. Gregorio are putting 'Stress-tolerant Rice for Africa and South Asia'
(STRASA Rice) through stringent tests with heat, humidity, and salt, hoping they can provide even
greater benefits to farmers to help them adapt and become more resilient in the face of climate
change.
I followed Dr. Gregorio to the greenhouse where he works and asked him a few questions.
Why are you developing salt tolerant rice?
Rice production areas are becoming smaller and smaller because of urbanization. At the same time,
these areas are being affected by sea water intrusion since most are found in deltas. With climate
change, sea water levels have risen, and during high tide, sea water tends to go up rivers and irrigate
these rice production areas.
The areas that are most affected by salinity are India and Bangladesh, but Burma and parts of Africa
are also affected.
Why does this problem affect the poorest disproportionately?
Most of the salt, drought and flood-affected areas are the marginal areas, where the poorest of the
poorest live. These areas tend to be highly populated and on the coast, where people can do other
work like fishing. In many cases, the rice land has been developed and they have been pushed out
into these non-productive areas.
What got you interested in this work?

5. I was attracted to join IRRI when I was young because of my interest in scientific investigation, but
also because of IRRI’s mission to help the poorest of the poorest.
I sometimes visit Bangladesh, and seeing the farmers plant this rice that came from your hand, you
feel like you are someone that is really doing a magical thing for these people. It’s a really big bonus
as a scientist – not only publishing the paper, but people are eating this, and these are the poor
farmers, and they are happy with their varieties.
What's the biggest challenge you've faced so far in your work with this rice?
The biggest challenge is in these depressed and marginal areas, every village, every location has
different problems. Sometimes you have salinity; sometimes you have salinity and drought;
sometimes you have an area with salinity and acidity; some salinity with phosphorous deficiency --
all of these combinations of stresses. That's why we are combining all traits into one to make a
perfect variety fitting all locations. And the good thing is we have new technologies now that can fast-
track the development of different varieties.
 TAGSClimate, International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), Rice, sustainability, sustainable
agriculture,Sustainable Agriculture 2014