The rice cultivation season at JIRCAS started with the transplanting of rice seedlings at the Hachimandai Experimental Field from May 21-24, 2018. Various crops developed by JIRCAS and overseas research institutes such as the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) and the Africa Rice Center (AfricaRice) are cultivated for research purposes. The rice varieties for cultivation this year included the IRRI-developed indica variety IR64 and the New Rice for Africa (NERICA) variety developed by the AfricaRice. These varieties will be characterized and evaluated for selection of lines that can be used in developing new varieties in the future.