Telephone
+94 812 388 331 /32/ 34
Email Address
info@doa.gov.lk /
dgoffice@doa.gov.lk
Office Address
Department of Agriculture,P.O.Box.01,
Peradeniya

RRDI_Rice_Introduction_MajorFocuses

RRID- Bathalagoda LOGO
  • Telephone : +94 372 258561
  • Fax : +94 372 259881
Facebook

Rice-the staple food-general information


Major Research & Development Focus Areas

Rice-the staple food-general information


Major Research & Development Focus Areas

Novel rice varieties
Novel Rice Varieties

Development of new rice varieties which

  • could withstand climate change & its impacts
  • are resistant to prevailing and emerging pests and diseases
  • are high yielding
  • having sensory qualities (aroma & taste) attractive to consumers
  • having improved nutritional qualities & healthy
  • could withstand  negative environmental quality (soil, air & water)
  • could resist yeild damages possibly arise from agrochemicals
  • are fertilizer and agrochemical efficient
  • are weed competitive
  • etc.
Efficient use of seed paddy
Efficient Use of Seed Paddy

Looking forward for mechanisms which could lead efficient use of seed paddy through:

  • reduced rates of seed paddy per land area
  • efficient seed treatments for disease management
  • finding ways to make seed paddy abundantly available
  • efficient agronomic practices
  • etc.
Cultivation season
Cultivation Season

Understanding the ways to maimize utilization of crop seasons, and inter-seasonal time periods through: 

  • opportunities for additional cultivation seasons
  • possibilities of cultivating without strict concerns on a seasonal bounds
  • ways to cultivate with reduced and efficient water supply
  • understanding pest dynamics and their efficient management
Proper land preperation
Proper Land Preperation

Land preperation is a key step that could lead to a successful crop. Efficient and optimized land preperation methods will be evaluated with

  • possible maximized mechanization
  • methods to manage pest life stages in soil
  • minimized water use for land preperation
  • feasible, economical and easy levelling methods
  • etc.
Crop establishment
Crop Establishment

Research will be ficussed on 

  • optimized plant density in the field that supports higher yeilds, and low pest damages
  • methods that could minimize labour cost
  • mechanized crop establishment methods
  • etc.
Nutrient management
Nutrient Management

Exploring possibilities on

  • precision nutrient application management
  • optimized practices for organic farming
  • pest management through nutrient application management
  • improvement of plants response to nutrients
  • optimized practices for soil amendments
  • mechanization/automated application methods
  • etc.
Water management
Water Management

Projected research areas would be

  • improving plants’ response to water
  • improving efficincy of water uptake by plants in water stress situations
  • re-use of used water
  • management of water quality (both in-flow and out-flow)
  • minimized requirements for water
Pest & disease management
Pest & Disease Management
  • optimized integrated management methods for each pest
  • integrated methods that could manage pest community in a field
  • reduction of agrochemical use through precision application
  • pest predictions and early warning
  • emergency response readiness
  • adjusted environmental conditions that could support crop to withstand pest damages
  • adjusted abiotic and biotic environment that demotivates pest survival
  • biocontrol methods and natural herbicides
Weed management
Weed Management
  • identifying and surveying weed species in major rice growing areas, including emerging weeds
  • understanding external factors that could influence non weedy species or opportunistic species to become a weed and management of such conditions
  • mapping weed populations and communities
  • precision weed management methods
  • targeted application of herbicides to achieve reduced pesticide use
  • evolutionary patterns of weed species, populations, and communities
  • co-existence of species (plant-plant and plant pest/disease)
  • patterns of hybridization
  • how the weed species develop vigor and resist/ tolerate agrochemicals
  • identify and understand true weeds
  • adjustment of environmental factors to unfavour weed establishment, growth and spread
  • Understanding soil seed bank ecology and their management
Post harvest quality
Post Harvest Quality

Post harvest quality of the produce should be managed in long run, as harvest is released sequentially based on the market demand.

  • developing standards for long term storage facilities
  • mechanisms to maintain quality in stored paddy
  • dehulling quality, and sorting 
  • optimum drying conditions and methods
  • packing, packaging and treatments for pests and diseases
  • popularization, reaching niche markets and international markets
  • value addition
  • parboiling and drying, improved methods to retain quality and mechanization
  • production data management
Abiotic stress response
Abiotic Stress Response

Global climatic changes could impose negative or positive impacts on food production and the productivity. In addition, some environmental changes may have mutual impacts on other environmental factors. Research targetted to address these issues may be:

  • identifying genotypes that are tolerent to / could withstand stresses
  • introduced stress escape mechanisms to plants
  • identifying plant physiological processes that improve plants' ability of efficient resource use, photosysnthetic efficiency, and generate higher yields
  • readiness for emerging abiotic stresses
  •  
  •  
Product development
Product Development

Chemicals and mechanical devices that are environmentally friendly, health safe, economical and easy to use, could be locally deveveloped for farmer use.

  • development of eco friendly, pesticides/ herbicides
  • herbicides and pesticides specifically targetted for certain species
  • precision applicators
  • equipment and machinery that could reduce labour cost at each stage of cultivation
  • etc
Novel rice varieties
Novel Rice Varieties

Development of new rice varieties which

  • could withstand climate change & its impacts
  • are resistant to prevailing and emerging pests and diseases
  • are high yielding
  • having sensory qualities (aroma & taste) attractive to consumers
  • having improved nutritional qualities & healthy
  • could withstand  negative environmental quality (soil, air & water)
  • could resist yeild damages possibly arise from agrochemicals
  • are fertilizer and agrochemical efficient
  • are weed competitive
  • etc.
Efficient use of seed paddy
Efficient Use of Seed Paddy

Looking forward for mechanisms which could lead efficient use of seed paddy through:

  • reduced rates of seed paddy per land area
  • efficient seed treatments for disease management
  • finding ways to make seed paddy abundantly available
  • efficient agronomic practices
  • etc.
Cultivation season
Cultivation Season

Understanding the ways to maimize utilization of crop seasons, and inter-seasonal time periods through: 

  • opportunities for additional cultivation seasons
  • possibilities of cultivating without strict concerns on a seasonal bounds
  • ways to cultivate with reduced and efficient water supply
  • understanding pest dynamics and their efficient management
Proper land preperation
Proper Land Preperation

Land preperation is a key step that could lead to a successful crop. Efficient and optimized land preperation methods will be evaluated with

  • possible maximized mechanization
  • methods to manage pest life stages in soil
  • minimized water use for land preperation
  • feasible, economical and easy levelling methods
  • etc.
Crop establishment
Crop Establishment

Research will be ficussed on 

  • optimized plant density in the field that supports higher yeilds, and low pest damages
  • methods that could minimize labour cost
  • mechanized crop establishment methods
  • etc.
Nutrient management
Nutrient Management

Exploring possibilities on

  • precision nutrient application management
  • optimized practices for organic farming
  • pest management through nutrient application management
  • improvement of plants response to nutrients
  • optimized practices for soil amendments
  • mechanization/automated application methods
  • etc.
Water management
Water Management

Projected research areas would be

  • improving plants’ response to water
  • improving efficincy of water uptake by plants in water stress situations
  • re-use of used water
  • management of water quality (both in-flow and out-flow)
  • minimized requirements for water
Pest & disease management
Pest & Disease Management
  • optimized integrated management methods for each pest
  • integrated methods that could manage pest community in a field
  • reduction of agrochemical use through precision application
  • pest predictions and early warning
  • emergency response readiness
  • adjusted environmental conditions that could support crop to withstand pest damages
  • adjusted abiotic and biotic environment that demotivates pest survival
  • biocontrol methods and natural herbicides
Weed management
Weed Management
  • identifying and surveying weed species in major rice growing areas, including emerging weeds
  • understanding external factors that could influence non weedy species or opportunistic species to become a weed and management of such conditions
  • mapping weed populations and communities
  • precision weed management methods
  • targeted application of herbicides to achieve reduced pesticide use
  • evolutionary patterns of weed species, populations, and communities
  • co-existence of species (plant-plant and plant pest/disease)
  • patterns of hybridization
  • how the weed species develop vigor and resist/ tolerate agrochemicals
  • identify and understand true weeds
  • adjustment of environmental factors to unfavour weed establishment, growth and spread
  • Understanding soil seed bank ecology and their management
Post harvest quality
Post Harvest Quality

Post harvest quality of the produce should be managed in long run, as harvest is released sequentially based on the market demand.

  • developing standards for long term storage facilities
  • mechanisms to maintain quality in stored paddy
  • dehulling quality, and sorting 
  • optimum drying conditions and methods
  • packing, packaging and treatments for pests and diseases
  • popularization, reaching niche markets and international markets
  • value addition
  • parboiling and drying, improved methods to retain quality and mechanization
  • production data management
Abiotic stress response
Abiotic Stress Response

Global climatic changes could impose negative or positive impacts on food production and the productivity. In addition, some environmental changes may have mutual impacts on other environmental factors. Research targetted to address these issues may be:

  • identifying genotypes that are tolerent to / could withstand stresses
  • introduced stress escape mechanisms to plants
  • identifying plant physiological processes that improve plants' ability of efficient resource use, photosysnthetic efficiency, and generate higher yields
  • readiness for emerging abiotic stresses
  •  
  •  
Product development
Product Development

Chemicals and mechanical devices that are environmentally friendly, health safe, economical and easy to use, could be locally deveveloped for farmer use.

  • development of eco friendly, pesticides/ herbicides
  • herbicides and pesticides specifically targetted for certain species
  • precision applicators
  • equipment and machinery that could reduce labour cost at each stage of cultivation
  • etc