What Is Seawater Rice and How Is It Grown: Yuan Longping's Seawater Rice Team Exceeds 400 kg per Mu
On December 18, the Fourth International Seawater Rice Forum was held in Sanya, Hainan, where it was revealed that China's Yuan Longping seawater rice team exceeded 400 kg per mu. So what is seawater rice? How is it grown?
1. What is seawater rice?
Seawater rice, also known as salt-alkali tolerant rice, is a special type of rice that grows on saline-alkali land such as coastal mudflats, and it does not taste very good. However, it is not genetically modified rice. Its place of origin is the seaside of Yanchao Village, Chengyue Town, Suixi County, on land that has been soaked by seawater for short periods. Therefore, the growing environment of this rice is saline-alkali land, and it is not afraid of short-term soaking by seawater. Thus, unlike ordinary rice, it is called seawater rice.
2. How is seawater rice grown to reach 400 kg per mu?
1. Seed selection and seed treatment
(1) Seed selection: The growing conditions for seawater rice are relatively harsh. Generally, before planting, select varieties that are resistant to salt and alkali, resistant to waterlogging, have strong tillering ability, and tend to have larger panicles, and the appearance should be plump with uniform grain shape.
(2) Seed treatment: Soak the selected seeds in tap water for 2-3 days. When 80% of the seeds have sprouts 3 mm long and roots about 5 mm long, they can be removed and prepared for planting.
2. Sowing
(1) Sowing time: Sow on cloudy and rainy days, and try not to plant when the temperature is very high.
(2) Sowing method: Seawater rice plants grow relatively vigorously. On saline-alkali land, try to transplant shallowly, straight, and evenly, with reasonable close planting. The transplanting density is 25 cm×25 cm, with 1-2 seedlings per hill.
3. Post-sowing management techniques
(1) Thinning and replanting: When gaps in the seedlings are found, replant immediately to avoid wasting land. In addition, given the high salt content in coastal mudflat reclamation areas, rice grows relatively slowly, so close planting must be maintained. The transplanting density is 20 cm×13.3 cm, with 3-4 seedlings per hill.
(2) Reasonable irrigation: Seawater rice is a water-loving food plant. In mudflat areas, irrigation may not be necessary, as seawater will regularly take its place. However, in saline-alkali land or ordinary land, reasonable irrigation of seawater rice is necessary.
3. Does seawater rice taste good?
Li Xinlan, an expert committee member for food safety assessment of the China Health Care Association, told reporters that rice cooked from sea rice has a pH value of about 8.8, has a strong ability to accumulate nutrients in seawater, and its red color is mainly due to selenium content, which is 7.2 times higher than that of ordinary rice. According to testing by authoritative departments, compared with ordinary polished white rice, “Sea Rice 86” has an amino acid content 4.71 times higher and has very high nutritional value. Some of the unique growth characteristics of seawater rice are also greatly beneficial to resource-saving green agricultural production.
Relevant experts said that seawater rice is not fertilized and no pesticides are applied. If this gene can be used in existing cultivated rice, it would also be a great contribution to our ecological environmental protection.
As for the taste, according to local farmers and experts who have participated in seawater rice taste tests, the taste of seawater rice is sweeter and more fragrant than ordinary rice, and it does not have the salty taste of seawater.
Related news:
On December 18, reporters learned from the Fourth International Seawater Rice Forum held in Sanya, Hainan, that the average yield per mu at China's regional trial planting bases for salt-alkali tolerant seawater rice exceeded 400 kg.
The seawater rice research team, led by Yuan Longping, academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, as chief scientist, has established 9 regional trial planting bases in Shandong, Zhejiang, and several other provinces, covering a demonstration planting area of nearly 20,000 mu.
China's saline-alkali land area is as much as more than 1 billion mu. Yuan Longping pointed out that China's seawater rice research has reached a world-leading level, and the diverse and abundant land resources are conducive to carrying out seawater rice planting research under various conditions. China also has the heterosis of hybrid rice, and through improved breeding and application in saline-alkali land rice planting, it has also shown relatively high yields. The research team is also exploring the use of conventional breeding and molecular breeding techniques to improve seawater rice's resistance to major rice diseases such as rice blast and bacterial leaf blight.
In 2017, the Hunan Hybrid Rice Research Center, Qingdao Seawater Rice R&D Center, and several other units jointly conducted the first national seawater rice regional trial, at which more than 10 salt-alkali tolerant rice varieties were approved. Among the three groups totaling 40 salt-alkali tolerant rice varieties participating in the 2018 trial, 28 passed the trial. It is expected that in 2020 a series of salt-alkali tolerant rice varieties will pass rice variety certification and can be promoted on saline-alkali land in China.