Science Shorts

• The ultimate backup
  The Svalbard Global Seed Vault, designed as a last-resort backup for Earth’s most important crops, has accepted its first samples, including more than 70,000 different types of rice


• Rice forum examines key policy issues
  


• Illuminating the gap
  The new science of metabolomics is shining a light into the dark space between a rice plant’s genes and the resultant qualities we appreciate when we eat rice
  By Melissa Fitzgerald and Robert Hall
  


• The unsung heroes of the rice field
  Simply by growing rice, farmers cultivate a complex—and free—pest control system without doing a single extra thing.
  By Yolanda Chen

• The pesticide paradox
  Pesticide use at the International Rice Research Institute is down almost 90% in 14 years, while pests are less of a problem and biodiversity has increased.
  By Henry Sackville Hamilton

• Fertile progress
  The past 20 years have seen an evolution in researchers’ understanding of how to best apply nitrogen fertilizer to rice. That knowledge is now being passed on to farmers.
  By Roland J. Buresh, senior soil scientist at IRRI

• Less salt, please
  Farmers hampered by salt-affected soils in Bangladesh are set for relief as researchers breed salinity tolerance into locally popular rice varieties.
  By Peter Fredenburg

• Black soil, green rice
  An extraordinary type of soil from South America has implications for both rice production and the environment in Asia.
  By Stephan Haefele

• Fighting Asia’s postharvest problems
  The fate of rice after harvest is a crucial but often-neglected part of the production chain. Now a major effort to overcome postharvest problems is gaining momentum.
  By Trina Leah Mendoza and Martin Gummert

• From genes to farmers' fields
  The practical application of gene discovery to develop submergence-tolerant rice will help farmers avoid the ravages of severe flooding
  by David Mackill

• Pest by pest, step by step
  Cambodian researchers are set to increase their understanding of rice diseases as part of a project that could help lift the country off the lower rungs of Asia's rice yield ladder
  by Rowena McNaughton

• Diagnosing drought
  Improved methods of measuring how rice plants respond to drought in the field are helping scientists discover how and why some varieties tolerate water shortages better than others—knowledge that will ultimately help farmers withstand the cruel vagaries of the weather
  by Rachid Serraj and Jill Cairns

• Opposites attract...attention
  Researchers zero in on two genes at opposite ends of the rice genome that provide tolerance for a dreaded due of widespread stresses, high salinity and phosphorus deficiency
  by Peter Fredenberg

• Beating blast
  Combining traditional and modern breeding techniques, researchers in Korea have succeeded in the perilously difficult task of making Korean rice varieties resistant to one of the crop's most destructive diseases
  by K. K. Jena

• It's not all about the research!
  The International Rice Research Institute is, as its name suggests, renowned for its research. But, for more that 40 years, it has also trained scientists to make sure that research has impact.
  by Mark Bell

• Building a better rat trap
  Amid the spectacular mountains of the northern Philippines, an improved rat trap is helping farmers prevent rodents from devastating precious rice fields
  by Adam Barclay

• Unlocking the genetic vault
  Buried deep within the International Rice Genebank are little pieces of genetic treasure-- but how do we find them?
  by Ruaraidh Sackville Hamilton and Ken McNally

• A dry vision
  As Asia's irrigation water becomes increasingly scarce, researchers are developing rice varieties that can thrive in dry conditions
  by Gary Atlin

• How to find needles in haystacks
  The relatively new science of bioinformatics is helping agricultural scientists accelerate research that was once prohibitively time-consuming or even impossible
  by Richard Bruskiewich

• A happening lab
  A state-of-the-art gene-discovery facility in the Philippines has emerged as the buzzing hub of an inclusive community of cereal scientists and trainees
  by Hei Leung and Marichu Bernardo

• Specific benefits
  Farmers earn more from their rice crop by scientifically optimizing fertilizer use
  by Roland J. Buresh

• On your mark, get set, select!
  Molecular markers give breeders the edge in the race against crop loss
  by David Mackill

• Pinning down rural poverty
  An innovative project to map poverty in Bangladesh points the way for programs targeting the rural poor
  by Suan Pheng Kam