Researchers are introducing new rice varieties that do not need to be put in nurseries, cutting the growing time of rice.
The International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) and KALRO have announced that from next year, Kenyan farmers will be able to grow rice varieties that are planted directly, maturing eight to 14 days earlier than transplanted rice and producing 20 per cent more yield.
Farmers will now have rice that can be sown early to take advantage of all available water in rice-growing areas of Central, Western, and Coastal Kenya which IRRI scientist Dr. Daniel Menge explained are facing water scarcity.
Commonly referred to as Direct-seeded rice (DSR) it eliminates the transplanting step, allowing uninterrupted growth and faster crop maturation. DSR rice varieties can be grown both under irrigation and under rain. “The rice does not experience any transplanting shock as is the case with transplanted rice (TPR) which is what Kenyan farmers are currently growing. With TPR rice, seedlings are moved from a nursery to the field, which interrupts their growth and delays development,” Mene explained.
Together with KALRO, the National Irrigation Authority (NIA), and local universities, IRRI is developing the best DSR varieties for Kenya that will be available at KALRO Mwea from next year.
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Dr. Rosemary Murori, Kenya’s Rice Breeding and Country Representative at IRRI added that they would not only come up with new rice varieties but also the best farming package to support the adoption of these new kinds of rice. “We have carried out DSR experiments in Kenya’s major rice-growing regions of Mwea, Ahero, and Bura. Now we are establishing a center of excellence for research and capacity building on DSR farming at KALRO Mwea, and together with KEPHIS we will be releasing rice that can be grown with DSR in Kenya in 2025,” she said.
Basmati direct-seeded rice has been sown to produce 13–18 per cent more yields and reduced the use of water by eight to 12 per cent in comparison to TPR. Other farmers have reported an up to 60 per cent reduction in irrigation water use because DSR eliminates the need for puddling which is the tilling of rice paddies to prepare the soil for planting rice. DSR rice which is already being grown by Indian farmers, has increased rice yields for some growers in the country from 1.75–1.99 tons per hectare to 3.23–3.53 t/ha.
This new rice also offers other significant benefits, including lowering labor requirements, improving soil health, and environmental sustainability by decreasing methane emissions.
By avoiding the need for the labour required to prepare transplanted rice such as raising a nursey, uprooting seedlings, transplanting them, and puddling farmers save over Sh3,651.56 per acre.
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“DSR stands out as the most promising technology for the expansion of the area under rainfed rice from 10,631ha to 42,000ha by 2030. This is because these new areas that rice has to be grown in to meet the 846,000MT target set by the Kenya National Rice Development Strategy 2 face water scarcity,” Doctor Menge added.
Photo: IRRI