Perennial Rice: Plant Once, Harvest Again And Again

Short Wave

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🗓️ 27 March 2023

⏱️ 13 minutes

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Summary

Rice is arguably the world's most important staple crop. About half of the global population depends on it for sustenance. But, like other staples such as wheat and corn, rice is cultivated annually. That means replanting the fields year after year, at huge cost to both the farmers and the land. For years, scientists have been tinkering with rice strains to create a perennial variety – one that would regrow after harvest without the need to be resown. Today, Scientist in Residence Regina G. Barber takes a look at one promising perennial rice effort. It's one of a series of interviews we conducted live at the 2023 Annual Meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).

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Transcript

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0:00.0	You're listening to Shortwave from NPR.
0:06.4	Hey, Share waivers, so earlier this month, some of our team went to a big science conference
0:11.1	in DC, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, or Triple-A-S. This conference
0:17.6	attracts scientists from all over the world.
0:20.6	I listened to one talk on Invisible Matter in the Universe, and another one from a Jordanian
0:25.4	Princess on strengthening science within her country's borders.
0:29.5	Basically, it's a big party for science.
0:32.9	We had a blast, and we tried something new.
0:36.4	Live interviews with scientists on stage.
0:39.4	We're going to share a bunch of those conversations with you in the coming weeks.
0:43.3	To get us started, we have a pair of scientists who are tinkering with what arguably is the
0:47.6	world's most important staple crop.
0:49.9	All of the cereals that we eat and most of the grains are annuals.
0:55.8	You have to re-sow them every single year and harvest them.
0:59.6	None of them are perennials, meaning they regrow after you harvest them again and again
1:05.4	and again.
1:06.8	Not just rice.
1:07.8	Rice!
1:08.8	That's what Tim Cruz is focused on.
1:11.3	He's the Chief Scientist and Director of the International Program within the Land
1:15.3	Institute in Kansas.
1:16.9	Specifically, he's talking about a new perennial variety of rice that wouldn't have to be planted
	...

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