Rice in seawater? Possible now

The idea of global warming now no longer need to send a chill down the spine of rice farmers. Indian scientists have genetically engineered ...

The idea of global warming now no longer need to send a chill down the spine of rice farmers. Indian scientists have genetically engineered a salt-resistant rice variety that can be grown in water three times saltier than seawater.

Food scientists have long been concerned by the havoc global warming-induced rising sea levels could potentially wreak on coastal crops. Now the answer could be at hand. According to the international journal Science, a team of scientists at the M S Swaminathan Research Foundation (MSSRF), Chennai, has introduced a salinity-resistant gene — isolated three years ago from a coastal mangrove — into several Indian rice varieties.

In greenhouse experiments led by Ajay Parida, the plants have grown in water three times as salty as seawater. Last month, the Union government approved a field trial for the new variety.

According to experts, global warming is not the only reason why salt-resistant food crops are the need of the day. Soil salinity is a major consequence of the intensive chemical fertiliser use and over-irrigation spawned by the Green Revolution. MSSRF estimates that about one-third of all irrigated land is now affected by salinisation.

Though the route to the field is long and tedious, with rounds of field testing to be supervised by the government, a beginning has been made. The success in the labs is in itself reason to celebrate.