GRDB sees great promise in new candidate variety

…says has potential to yield up to 60 bags per acre

The Guyana Rice Development Board (GRDB) on Friday presented its newest candidate variety of rice, which, once given approval for release, is expected to take rice production in Guyana to the next level.
While making his presentation to the gathering, GRDB Chief Scientist Dr Mahendra Persaud alluded to the fact that this variety stands to produce 60-plus bags per acre if good management practices are adopted.
“This is quite a high benchmark for us to achieve. It shows that the variety has the potential to perform 55 to 60 bags per acre, which is about nine tonnes per hectare. Our research has shown that it can perform and perform well. If you would’ve asked farmers 15 years ago, one would not think that rice in Guyana could yield this much. Our next job now is to sustain it, not only to achieve it, but to sustain it,” Dr Persaud is quoted in a press released by the GRDB on Friday as saying.
Further, he stated that the research station was able to achieve these characteristics through a number of studies and trials. The data, he added, also suggests that this candidate variety has an excellent ability to emerge from standing water.
Rice farmers, he pointed out, can attest that this is a very desirable characteristic because we have a challenging drainage system. “Sometimes we are not able to drain the fields as early as we would like to, so the rice would have to come through standing water. We’ve seen that this candidate variety has proven well coming through up to nine inches of water. It also has a strong plant which maintains its greenness throughout the crop, and the stems are very strong, so it doesn’t lodge as fast as other varieties,” Dr Persaud said.
Meanwhile, Agriculture Minister Zulfikar Mustapha, while delivering remarks, expressed his satisfaction with the characteristics of the new candidate variety.
“This demonstration today (Friday) is a step in the right direction, as we have to ensure we advance in farming. Gone are the days when we used to do farming just to sell the produce to maintain our families. Agriculture is now a trade, and it is one of the most important sectors and income earners for the country. This is why Government continues to invest heavily in the agriculture sector.
“As a Government, we made a lot of commitments while campaigning to invest in the sector, and rest assured that all those commitments will be kept by this PPP/C Government,” Minister Mustapha asserted.
He added that based on what was presented, it is only a matter of time before the candidate variety is adopted as an official variety in the country, and he is optimistic that Cabinet would give its full support and approval for its release.
The research of GRDB’s Burma Rice Research Station has proven that this candidate variety can also work well against the paddy bug infestation, because the grains are almost at the top of the plant. This gives farmers a great opportunity, when spraying, to have effective control of the pests.