New Rice Varieties Released in Madagascar
―FyVary varieties show high productivity under nutrient deficiencies―

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Food

 

New Rice Varieties Released in Madagascar
― "FyVary" varieties show high productivity under nutrient deficiencies―

Main Points

  • Two new rice varieties, FyVary32 and FyVary85, were officially released in Madagascar.
  • The new varieties have excellent productivity even in environments where nutrients from soil and fertilizer are scarce.
  • The farmers of Madagascar were provided with the seeds of the new varieties to start certified seed production.
  • These new varieties are expected to contribute to stable rice production in Africa, which suffers from phosphorus deficiency and other nutrient deficiencies.

Overview

 

JIRCAS, in collaboration with National Center for Applied Research on Rural Development (FOFIPA) and the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), has developed two new rice varieties, which have been registered in Madagascar on November 4, 2021, and released on the same day in the presence of the Deputy Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research and the Minister of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries of Madagascar. The new varieties have attracted a lot of interest from farmers and government agencies in charge of extension as an achievement that will contribute to improving the productivity of rice, the staple food of Madagascar, and was picked up by local media including newspapers.

The two new varieties are FyVary32 and FyVary85. The word “FyVary” means “tasty rice” in Malagasy, the national language of Madagascar. 

The FyVary32 variety was selected and bred from a cross between IR64, a major high-yielding rice variety in the tropics, and two lines that introduced the Pup1 locus (chromosomal region) that increases phosphate absorption. On the other hand, FyVary85 was selected and bred from a cross between IR64 and DJ123. Both varieties show excellent productivity even in environments where nutrients from soil and fertilizer are scarce, which is a problem in paddy rice cultivation in Madagascar and many other African countries.

As a result of repeated productivity tests at 18 sites in three cropping seasons in farmers’ fields in Madagascar, FyVary32 showed 12% higher yield (average yield 3.67 t/ha), 4 days shorter number of days from seeding to flowering, and 20% higher yield (average yield 3.67 t/ha) than X265 (average yield 3.36 t/ha), the main rice variety in Madagascar. FyVary85 was demonstrated to have 20% higher yield (average yield 3.97 t/ha) and 5 days longer number of days from sowing to flowering. Furthermore, taste tests with farmers confirmed that FyVary85 has excellent palatability, and the Seed Management Committee of the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock of Madagascar judged that there is sufficient potential for the variety to be disseminated to paddy rice farmers in Madagascar, leading to its registration.

JIRCAS will continue to produce certified seeds of the new variety and disseminate them to farmers in collaboration with FOFIFA, the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock, and JICA's technical cooperation project.

Madagascar is a rice-growing country where per capita rice consumption is more than twice that of Japan and more than half of the population is engaged in rice cultivation. However, the productivity of rice, the staple food and staple industry of the people, has stagnated to date. The spread of new rice varieties is expected to contribute to stable rice production, food security and poverty reduction in Madagascar.
 

For Inquiries

JIRCAS President: KOYAMA Osamu 
Program Director:NAKASHIMA Kazuo
Researcher-in-charge:WISSUWA Matthias, TSUJIMOTO Yasuhiro (Crop, Livestock and Environment Division) 
Press Coordinator: OMORI Keisuke (Head, Information and Public Relations Office)
E-mail: koho-jircas@ml.affrc.go.jp

 

Photo 1

新品種のFyVary32(左側と手前)とFyVary85(右側と奥側)
FyVary32 (left side, front) and FyVary85 (right side, back)
新品種発表会で高等科学技術省事務次官が新品種の種子を生産農家に受け渡し
Deputy Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research handing over seeds of the new varieties to farmers.

Photo 2

FyVary32(左から籾、玄米、白米)
FyVary32 (L-R  unhulled rice, brown rice, white rice)
FyVary85(左から籾、玄米、白米)
FyVary85 (L-R  unhulled rice, brown rice, white rice)

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