Reducing the carbon footprint in paddy rice by using cutting-edge technologies: Is hybrid rice the key?

Authors: KHATIBI, SEYED - International Rice Research Institute; Adviento-Borbe, Arlene; DIMAANO, NINA GRACEL - University Of The Philippines Los Banos; RADANIELSON, ANDO - International Rice Research Institute; ALI, JAUHAR - International Rice Research Institute

Submitted to: Plant Communications
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 12/15/2024
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary: The climate crisis is a global problem facing the human population The climate crisis is a global problem facing the human population brought on by increasing concentration of greenhouse gases (GHG) in the environment; methane, nitrous oxide and carbon dioxide. And at the same time, rice farming accounts for about 10% of the total GHG emissions in agriculture because of high methane emissions. This review paper discusses advanced technologies that help develop new type of rice plant that can produce higher grain yield under changing weather and reduce GHG emissions in irrigated rice. This paper demonstrates new knowledge about plants growing under less favorable conditions and plant breeding techniques that modifies genetic material of rice that can lower GHG emission potential. These findings are highly relevant to rice breeders, plant scientists, rice farmers, policy makers and the public on their breeding program, assessment and implementation of climate smart farming, and understanding the critical role of rice agriculture to food security and the climate crisis.

Technical Abstract: Climate change poses the biggest threat to agriculture and could dramatically affect rice production. Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, mainly from rice ecosystems, are of primary environmental concern as they speed up global warming. Rice, in addition to providing staple food for half the world's population, is responsible for approximately 48% of GHG emissions from croplands. The intensive rice farming system is placing a lot of pressure on rice fields with the rapid growth of the human population, thereby causing a significant release of CH4, CO2, and N2O gases into the atmosphere and further impairing the balance in rice ecosystems. Scientists are in a tight situation to find ways to produce more rice to feed the increasing human population while reducing GHG emissions. Nitrous oxide (N2O) and methane (CH4) are the most critical greenhouse gases because of their global warming potential and radiative effects. Genotypic variability exists among rice cultivars for GHG emissions, which has been reported under different management practices and environmental conditions of soil and climate. Early-duration rice varieties with superior grain yield are proven to be effective in diminishing GHG emissions based on decreased crop duration, whether in transplanted or aerobic conditions. We demonstrate with this review that progress in developing higher-yielding early-duration hybrid rice cultivars helps to improve the rice carbon footprint with low GHG emission potential. We cover the underlying mechanisms, processes, pathways, and leading factors in hybrid cultivars for decreasing GHG emissions and the possibility of genome editing and artificial intelligence and machine learning tools to accelerate understanding of these for an effective program dissemination strategy. Indeed, the wide-scale adoption of short-duration and high-yielding rice hybrids with higher carbon sequestration potential could be a game changer in global efforts to mitigate climate change.