A VISION FOR INNOVATION

Through groundbreaking innovations in seed and service solutions, RiceTec creates more value for farmers, consumers, and the planet.

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Why Rice Matters

Rice is vital to the global food supply, providing 20% of the world’s dietary energy. Half of the world’s population consumes rice daily, making it an indispensable part of daily diets across diverse cultures and regions. Rice is grown in most countries, with cultivation spanning approximately 165 million hectares and yielding over 500 million metric tons annually.

Rice has been cultivated for more than 10,000 years, reflecting its longstanding significance in human agriculture. Its history is deeply intertwined with the development of civilizations. With more than 40,000 varieties, it shows remarkable versatility from field to kitchen. As a row crop in the field, it transforms into a staple enjoyed in numerous culinary traditions.

Sustainability has long been a cornerstone of rice farming, though its importance hasn’t always been fully recognized or understood. Today, with strong political and societal support, sustainable practices are gaining momentum and are here to stay. Demonstrating these practices is crucial as demand for sustainable production grows. This shift profoundly impacts rice farming, ensuring effective production with better yields, reduced environmental impact, and improved livelihoods.

Sustainable solutions

Rice Farming Challenges

Traditional rice growing methods have come under scrutiny for their environmental impact, primarily due to high greenhouse gas emissions and substantial water usage. Rice farming is also labor-intensive, involving long hours and physically demanding tasks, placing a heavy burden on agricultural workers, many of whom are women. Labor shortages and rising wages increase the costs for farmers, making traditional rice farming economically challenging, especially in many parts of Asia where labor is already a significant issue.

Sustainable Rice Solutions

Hybrid rice offers a solution. Recent studies show that hybrid rice cultivars emit less methane than traditional varieties, significantly cutting greenhouse gas emissions. Hybrids enable changes in water management practices and are more stress-tolerant, leading to better weed management and lower water use, further reducing methane emissions. Additionally, hybrid and direct seeded rice (DSR) practices reduce physical labor demands, improving health outcomes and cutting labor costs.

More about methane

Methane in Rice Farming

Methane emission poses a significant challenge in rice farming due to the prolonged flooding of fields, which creates anaerobic (oxygen-free) conditions. These conditions are ideal for certain bacteria that produce methane as they “breathe”, similar to how humans exhale carbon dioxide. Methane is a potent greenhouse gas, it’s much more effective at trapping heat in the atmosphere than carbon dioxide, making it a major contributor to global warming.

RiceTec’s hybrid rice offers a solution. Recent studies show that some of these hybrids let less methane escape to the atmosphere compared to traditional varieties, helping to keep methane sequestered in the soil. Hybrids are also more stress-tolerant and have reduced water requirements.

These results are additive: by combining RiceTec hybrids and better water management, we can reduce methane emissions from rice fields. This reduction can be turned into carbon credits for farmers, rewarding them for practices that lower greenhouse gas emissions and contribute to a more sustainable environment.

Leading innovation

Leading Rice Innovation

Sustainable rice agriculture is central to our mission, driving the passion of our employees.

We’re on a journey to identify the best rice seed product. The goal of our research is to select products that increase value to growers, processors and end-users.

Developing parents is the first step in producing our superior rice seed products. The hundreds of parents we produce result in thousands of trait combinations. Each combination is evaluated against five characteristics: grain yield, milling yield, disease resistance, grain quality and standability. Our breeding work yields a constant supply of top-quality products.

TECHNOLOGY

To create the most value for the farmer, RiceTec invests in cutting-edge technology. As a result, we are able to maintain an in-depth understanding of the rice market and focus attention on the most promising genetic traits. Technology also assists us in rapid introductions of new, better-performing products.

Improvements on the molecular level

RiceTec uses molecular breeding to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of its breeding program. Molecular breeding techniques help us identify the combinations with characteristics desired by the marketplace.

Accelerated breeding

Using plant tissue, locations in the chromosome (normally called markers) are traced in the laboratory. Traits normally measured at later development stages can be identified earlier, enhancing breeding efficiency and speed. Thus we can incorporate a specific trait into a parent much faster than conventional breeding alone and with a more predictable outcome. Molecular breeding techniques enable us to reduce parent development time by five to six plant generations (two to three years).

COLLABORATION

Growers participate in shaping RiceTec product offerings by allowing us to put test plots in their fields. This gives growers the ability to observe and experience the new products along with us. Processors have the opportunity to assess our rice grain before they are released to growers. That informs what we can do to improve the product even further. We welcome and encourage input from those buying our rice and record their comments for use in the future.

INNOVATION

The goal of RiceTec’s Research and Technology team is to increase profitability of rice production for the farmer through the exploitation of heterosis. What is heterosis, you ask? Hybrid vigor describes the increased strength of different traits, the possibility to obtain a genetically superior individual by combining the virtues of its parents. Examples of such exploitation would be superior yield and disease resistance, along with seed specifically formulated to display stable performance in different environments.

RiceTec products are tested across the entire Southern rice market and across multiple years by our own researchers as well as under the careful watch of public collaborators. We estimate that in a single year, the RiceTec yield trial system generates information equivalent to a decade of testing in a traditional rice breeding program. All new products are compared with the best commercial products to ensure that only products with superior grain yield, milling yield, disease resistance, grain quality and standability are introduced to the marketplace.

Research and Technology personnel are located at RiceTec research headquarters in Alvin, Texas; in Harrisburg, Arkansas; and at off-season locations in Puerto Rico, which allow us to grow rice throughout the year.

Research & Development

Leading rice innovation
RiceTec’s global research and development (R&D) team brings together a diverse group of multi-disciplinary scientists from across the world that work together to develop innovative rice products and value-added traits to improve the yield, grain quality, and sustainability of hybrid rice cultivation.

Rice breeding and genetics
RiceTec’s plant breeders create customized solutions for rice growers across the globe by combining novel breeding technologies with unique rice germplasm to improve the value of hybrid rice by increasing yield, improving grain quality, and enhancing sustainability.

The use of precision agricultural technologies like drones, sensors, and satellite imagery are combined with new artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) based analytical methods to create data-driven insights that enhance productivity, while minimizing environmental impact.

Molecular biology and gene editing
RiceTec invests significantly in state-of-the-art molecular technologies to better understand our genetics and improve our products. Using gene editing, DNA sequencing, molecular markers, and predictive breeding, we have developed the most comprehensive understanding of hybrid rice genetics in the world.

We use that understanding to deliver novel value-added traits and trait combinations so that every customer gets the best possible genetics optimized for their unique crop management needs.

Seed production and distribution
RiceTec’s R&D platform emphasizes the most efficient seed production methods using direct seeded techniques to fuel the creation of high-quality seeds and traits to ensure only the best genetic material is used in customers’ fields to achieve optimal yields and quality.

Sustainability practices
The R&D platform promotes sustainable rice production system and specifically tailors our genetics to achieve resistance to common pests and diseases, performance under direct seeding, and irrigation practices that save water and reduce carbon.

By making sustainability a research priority, RiceTec contributes to both food security and environmental conservation.

RiceTec’s global R&D efforts combines scientific expertise, novel germplasm, and modern technology to drive innovations in rice agriculture that benefit farmers, consumers, and the planet.

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Sustainable Agriculture Happens Here

RiceTec is committed to partnering with growers to help them maximize sustainability efforts in their farming operations. Ultimately, the benefits of sustainability lead to increased profitability. The sustainability benefits of planting RiceTec seed are good for the environment in the following ways:

More efficient use of the land – produces the same amount of grain on 15%-20% less land
15%-20% higher nitrogen use efficiency
Generates 36% fewer greenhouse gas emissions
Reduces water usage by up to 30%
Reduces pesticide use due to natural resistance to insect and plant disease

RiceTec is happy to show you how to maximize your sustainability efforts by implementing best practices under our SmartRice® program. The practices include:

Precision leveling
- Precision leveling of the soil significantly reduces water usage
Water use
- Tail water recovery
- Alternate wetting and drying (AWD)
- Sprinkler irrigation

No till or minimum till
- Minimizes erosion
- Minimizes fuel consumption and emissions (as many as seven tractor passes eliminated)
- Enhanced water quality
- Made possible through precision grading and good water control
Pest resistance
- Host plant resistance to common rice pests reduces pesticide need and use
Nutrient management
- Cultivar selection for nitrogen efficiency
- No more than 150 units of N per acre (GHG Standards)
- Grid sampling
- Precision, variable-rate nutrient application
Wildlife management
- Increased waterfowl habitat through precision grading and water control structures

To learn more about RiceTec’s commitment to sustainability and how we can improve your efforts with our seed, please contact your local representative.

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Let's Connect and Grow Together

We are here to assist you with all your rice seed and solution needs, from start to finish. Reach out to RiceTec with your questions. We look forward to building a long-standing and sustainable relationship!

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