New rice varieties needed to ensure maximum yield

Fitri Shahminan
BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN

KOPERASI Setia Kawan Berhad (KOSEKA) is currently searching for new rice varieties to maximise rice production output to replace the current national rice variety which is highly susceptible to a serious fungal disease that limits maximum yield, said its executive chairman recently.

Lt Col (Rtd) Hj Mohd Shahlan Hidup said the cooperative is in the process of finding new seeds which suits local taste to replace the Laila variety.

KOSEKA, one of the most productive rice growers in the country, are expected to increase their rice production after being awarded more planting grounds at the Wasan Padi Fields by the Department of Agriculture and Agrifood in October last year.

"We are now looking for a certified seed that can be used as a replacement variety when the Laila rice variety gets treated in the future," he told The Brunei Times during a telephone interview on Friday.

He explained that a certified rice seed can produce an average of six to eight tonnes per hectare.

"Laila can only produce the current production level which is at three to four tonnes per hectare. So the disease has limited potential maximum production by 50 per cent," Lt Col (Rtd) Hj Mohd Shahlan said.

He said that one of the main challenges in obtaining a new rice variety is ensuring its suitability to local taste.

"Consumers in Brunei are very particular about the taste, and they love the taste of Laila,"

The cooperative's chairman said that KOSEKA would begin its first planting season in February, which is due for harvest in May.

He also shared that the cooperative is planning to acquire a new seed drier machine "sometime this year" to help reduce production time and ensure quality of the rice.

In 2010, rice experts from the Philippines Rice Research Institute (PhilRice) who assisted in the Sultanate's national rice said Brunei needed to explore more rice varieties that will serve as fallback solution in meeting its food security objectives.

A rice sufficiency officer from the institute said Laila is highly sensitive to rice panicle blast, a fungal disease that has been attacking the flower heads of the padi plant.

In response to the suggestion, the Minister of Industry and Primary Resources had defended Laila padi as the best rice variety for Brunei, due to its disease resistance and suitability to local taste. However, he acknowledged its weakness to the disease.

Rice blast problems occur almost everywhere rice is grown, according to information on the website of Grain, an international non-profit organisation that works to support small farmers and social movements in their struggles for community-controlled and biodiversity-based food systems.

This fungal disease is estimated to cause production losses of US$55 million each year in South and Southeast Asia.

The losses are even higher in East Asia and other more temperate rice-growing regions around the world.

Dipetik dari - The Brunei Times