Though there are more than 120,000 known rice varieties, there are two main variety types for human consumption: (1) indica, adapted to the tropics, and (2) japonica, adapted to temperate regions and tropical uplands. Japonica rice is grown in the northern part of China, Japan and Korea and tends to have a shorter, fatter grain and is fairly sticky. The grain length, width, texture and aroma of indica varieties can vary widely within and across geographies due to cultural preferences.
Rice is a labor-intensive crop that requires a lot of water; the traditional planting method for growing rice is to flood the fields during–or after–setting the young seedlings. This method requires damming and channeling water and is key to reducing weeds. While flooding is not required to grow rice, all other methods of irrigation require higher effort in weed and pest control during growth periods and a different approach for fertilizing the soil.
Although its parent species are native to South Asia and certain parts of Africa, centuries of trade and exportation have made it an important crop worldwide.
Pioneer began its hybrid rice breeding program in India in 1987 following the successful adoption of hybrid rice technology and increased rice yields in China. The first few years of the program were devoted to collecting germplasm, or genetic material, from various public institutions in India and abroad, including the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI).
Today, the program has one of the most extensive plot testing systems devoted to hybrid rice in the industry. Pioneer has established six research stations in India, Indonesia and the Philippines, and continues to collaborate with rice organizations, including IRRI, on improving rice yields.
Pioneer's rice research efforts focus on developing indica rice hybrids for market segments across South and Southeast Asia. The hybrid indica rice market is composed of many diverse growing areas, defined by a variety of grain quality preferences as well as maturity zones, insect, disease and agronomic stresses.
At a glance…
Indica rice accounts for approximately 80 percent of the rice consumed in Asia and most of world rice trade.
Rice provides more than one-fifth of the calories consumed worldwide by people.
More than half the people in the world eat rice at least once a day.
Breeding and testing locations – Pioneer is strategically located in the heart of the major rice growing rice areas in these countries, and represents the target markets across the tropical and sub-tropical rice growing areas of Asia.
Breeding objectives – Across India, Indonesia and the Philippines, there are about 148 million acres of rice harvested each year to feed 1.5 billion people. Hybrids yield on average 10-15 percent over local, improved varieties.
Commercialization – Pioneer offers 10 commercial hybrids of differing maturities, areas of adaptation, and grain quality preferences across India, Indonesia, Philippines, Pakistan and Vietnam.
Research – Pioneer has more than tripled its number of rice researchers and has expanded hybrid testing across key countries in Asia. Molecular markers are being used to introduce defensive traits like disease resistance and insect pest tolerance into our products.
