CLRRI and IRRI identify 12 potential salinity-tolerant rice lines for the Cuu Long Delta

CLRRI and IRRI identified 12 potential salinity-tolerant rice lines for cultivation in Vietnam’s Cuu Long Delta area. This can help farmers combat salt intrusion problems and secure their livelihoods.

CUU LONG DELTA RICE RESEARCH INSTITUTE (CLRRI), 15 April 2024 — For the last 2–3 years, IRRI has screened more than 7,000 rice elite genotypes in coastal regions across South Asia and the Philippines. The unique integration of effective phenotypic screening with modern breeding approaches using genomics and quantitative genetics has helped identify more than 130 genotypes that are salinity-tolerant.

A subset from this collection underwent rapid screening and was field tested by the Cuu Long Delta Rice Research Institute (CLRRI) in a section of Vietnam’s mega-deltas which is immensely affected by increased salinity. IRRI’s collaboration with the CLRRI under the project “Securing the Food Systems of Asian Mega-Deltas through Identification of Salinity Tolerant Genotypes in Vietnam,” under the OneCGIAR Initiative Work Package 1 for the Asian Mega-Deltas (AMD), ran three trials in Vietnam’s Cuu Long Delta coastal provinces such as Soc Trang, Kien Giang, and Tien Giang, during the dry season in the past year.

CLRRI’s Director Dr. Tran Ngoc Thach and Vice Director Dr. Nguyen Thuy Kieu Tien, emphasized the urgency and need for salinity-tolerant lines with high reproductive stage tolerance. In terms of quantity of rice production, Viet Nam is the fifth largest rice producer in the world, making the country a key contributor to food security not only in the region but also worldwide. However recent research shows that the mega-deltas are facing a major tipping point. The Cuu Long Delta is a part of the Mekong River Delta region, which is vulnerable to increased water salinity because of the continuing…