To give the large part of the world’s population with most widely consumed staple food, Scientist created new variety of rice giving less damage to climate.
As the world’s population grows and needs more food, problem gets worst. However, Scientist found solution to such problem by creating alternative and new variety of rice with starchier grains.
Rice is considered very important to one’s table. It is widely consumed staple food almost half of world’s population, especially in Asia.
It is also agricultural commodity with third-highest worldwide production.
Rice agriculture has become one of the most powerful anthropogenic sources of methane, due to continuously growing world population.
Chuanxin Sun , plant biochemist at Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Uppsala led the group who created the new variety of rice.
“There is an urgent need to establish sustainable technologies for increasing rice production while reducing methane fluxes from rice paddies” he wrote.
This new variety emitted less methane and grew starchier seeds compared to ordinary rice.
In the statement of plant scientist at UC Davis, Bruce Linquist, techniques for reducing methane emissions from rice paddies involve alternating flooding with dry periods.
Due to rice field partly covered with water, crop alone produce millions of methane emission each year. Compared to carbon dioxide, Methane only lives shorter in atmosphere.
Major source of methane is agriculture, mostly taken from guts and manure of livestock and from rice.
Study shows that new variety of genetically engineered rice can sharply cut these greenhouse gas emissions.
Analyst believed approach is great help in food sustainability, however it requires more research to check new rice variety performs well in paddies and fields. Thus, new modified rice boost food security as well.
IMAGE/news.yahoo.com
