ICORP: INCREASING COASTAL ORGANIC RICE PRODUCTION IN SOUTH CAROLINA USING SALT TOLERANT CULTIVARS

• Sponsoring Institution: National Institute of Food and Agriculture
• Project Status: ACTIVE
• Funding Source: OTHER GRANTS
• Reporting Frequency: Annual
• Accession No.: 1027131
• Grant No.: 2021-51106-35494
• Cumulative Award Amt.: $600,000.00
• Proposal No.: 2021-04810
• Project Start Date: Sep 1, 2021
• Project End Date: Aug 31, 2025
• Grant Year: 2021
• Program Code: [112.E]- Organic Transitions

Project Director
Ward, B. K.

Recipient Organization
CLEMSON UNIVERSITY
(N/A)
CLEMSON,SC 29634

Performing Department
Plant & Environmental Sciences

Non Technical Summary
Saltwater is a threat to sustainable organic rice production in coastal regions. Climate change effects are seen in rising sea level, increasing salinity in tidal rivers, and flooding of cultivable lands with saltwater. This project's long-term goal is to increase organic rice production of coastal South Carolina (SC) by bringing salt-intruded lands to cultivation. We will accomplish this goal by completing the following objectives: (1) Evaluating the impact of saltwater and native weed pressure on plant vigor among diverse rice cultivars/germplasm in greenhouse. (2) Validating salt tolerance and performance of select cultivar in organic-plot-trials. (3) Evaluating agronomic performance of salt-tolerant cultivar in salt-affected, organic farms in coastal SC. (4) Developing enterprise budgets for organic rice production. (5) Evaluating soil and water quality improvements under organic rice production. (6) Developing salt-tolerant pre-breeding lines with 'Carolina Gold' type traits. Salt-tolerant cultivar selections will be trialed on-farm to determine productivity and grain quality. New, salt-tolerant cultivars will be introduced, expanding potential for organic rice production in salt-intruded lands. Economics of organic rice production detailed, enabling growers to make informed decisions. Ultimately, new cultivars will expand acreage under organic rice production, while ensuring the economic stability of producers and enhancing ecosystem services. This project will address Priority Areas (1) effects of organic practices on soil quality and fertility and understanding of weeds, (2) technologies to document the mitigation ability of organic crops, and (3) cultural practices and cultivars to remove NOP-cited substances and evaluate efficacy based on resulting productivity.

Animal Health Component

45%

Research Effort Categories

Basic

45%

Applied

45%

Developmental

10%

Classification

Knowledge Area (KA)	Subject of Investigation (SOI)	Field of Science (FOS)	Percent
205	1530	1060	100%

Knowledge Area
205 - Plant Management Systems;

Subject Of Investigation
1530 - Rice;

Field Of Science
1060 - Biology (whole systems);

Keywords

national organic plan (nop)

national organic standards

organic

rice (oryza japonica)

transition

Goals / Objectives
The overall goal of this project is to increase organic rice production in coastal SC on salt-impacted lands. We will accomplish this goal by completing the following objectives:Objective 1: Evaluate the impact of saltwater and native weed pressure on plant vigor among diverse rice cultivars/germplasm in greenhouse.HA1: Saltwater will suppress weeds when salt-tolerant rice cultivars are grown under organic conditions.We will determine the effect of saltwater (representative of organic plot and on-farm locations) and rice cultivar on competition between native weeds and rice crops in pots. We surveyed various SC rice fields and determined the most common weed species are goosegrass (Eleusine indica) and hemp sesbania (Sesbania herbacea), which will be used in the experiments. The greenhouse study will be at the Coastal REC and at Clemson University in Year 1.Objective 2: Validate salt tolerance and performance of select cultivar in organic plot trials.HA2: Salt-tolerant cultivar will grow productively using saline irrigation and organic management practices in field plots.We will use the most salt-tolerant cultivar from the greenhouse trials and the susceptible, commercial cultivar, 'Carolina Gold'. We will determine the cultivar salt tolerance in addition to yield, grain quality, disease rankings, and overall vigor under field conditions. The plots are on the Yonges loamy fine sand, representative soil found in large portions of coastal SC counties. The plots have entered organic transition to become organic certified and have been under organic conditions for the past two years. The plots are chosen due to its proximity to a tidal salt marsh that often inundates the field, especially under high water events. These plots have a history of poor growth of vegetables and cover crops due to saltwater intrusion. This field's proximity to tidal saltwater and our freshwater irrigation infrastructure will allow varied salinity level scenario testing. Plot trials will be conducted during Year 2 and repeated in Year 3.Objective 3: Evaluate agronomic performance of salt-tolerant rice cultivar in salt-affected, organic farms in coastal South Carolina.HA3: Salt-tolerant rice varieties will yield well in organic farms affected by saltwater intrusion in coastal SC.We will grow the same salt-tolerant cultivar used in organic plot trials and in a saltwater intruded agroecosystem. If the rice cultivar exhibits better salt tolerance than the weeds present at the field locations, then the weeds will not be as competitive. Salinity will likely enhance rice vigor while reducing weed pressure, diminishing the need to hand-weed the fields. Rice cultivation costs will decrease with the use of marginal quality (high salinity) water and reduced weed management. On-farm trials will be conducted in four locations along the coastal plain in SC where saltwater intrusion is evident with reduced rice yields. These trials will be carried out in Year 3 and 4 at (1) Turnbridge Plantation (Marion R. Chalmers), (2) Ashe Plantation (John H. Smoak), (3) Lavington Plantation (Jimmy Hagood), (4) Toogoodoo Oyster Company (Andrew Speaker), (5) Rosebank Farms (Sidi Limehouse) and (6) Whitehouse Plantation (Donald A. Quattlebaum). All farms are either certified organic, under organic transition, or are eligible to bypass transition and enter straight into certified organic.Objective 4: Quantifying costs and potential revenue of organic rice production by developing enterprise budgets for organic rice production in coastal region.HA4: The cost of organic production in marginal salt-intruded agricultural lands will be similar to the cost of production in non-marginal land.We will develop enterprise budgets and compare the cost of different production practices, including 1) conventional saltwater rice production with current varieties, 2) conventional saltwater rice production with salt-tolerant varieties, 3) organic saltwater rice production with current varieties, and 4) organic saltwater rice production with salt-tolerant varieties. Economic analysis will be carried out in Year 2, 3, and 4.Objective 5: Evaluate soil and water quality improvements under organic rice production.HypothesisA5.1: Organic management may improve soil and water quality and crop productivity.We will collect soil and water samples periodically throughout the growing seasons from the plots (Year 2 & 3) and the growers' fields (Year 3 & 4) (both before and after rice trials initiated). Samples will be analyzed for pH, salinity, cation exchange capacity (CEC), nitrate, total N, total P, total C, microbial diversity, and common herbicides. Under organic cultivation, the leaching of nutrients should be minimal. We will analyze leachate and soil samples for salinity, pH, and CEC from the greenhouse study in Year 1 to document the basic soil and water chemistry.Objective 6: Develop salt-tolerant pre-breeding lines with 'Carolina Gold' type agronomic traits.HypothesisA6: Salt-tolerant traits from a salt-tolerant rice germplasm can be introgressed into 'Carolina Gold'.We will initiate a breeding approach to cross 'Carolina Gold' and/or 'Charleston Gold' rice with a salt-tolerant line (e.g., 'Doble Carolina' and/or 'M202') identified during screening experiments at Clemson Costal REC (Table 1). Thereafter, the desired parent cultivar i.e., 'Carolina Gold' and/or 'Charleston Gold' will be used as a recurrent parent; back-crossing will be performed to maximize the 'Carolina Gold' background traits in the salt-tolerant offspring. From a true hybrid seed, F2:3 population consisting of 250-300 recombinant inbred lines will be generated (Year 1 & 2). We will evaluate those 250-300 F3 'Carolina Gold' type rice lines in the greenhouse under tidal saltwater-stress in Year 3 & 4 at Clemson coastal REC. We will advance the individual lines comprised of salt-tolerance and 'Carolina Gold' grain quality to F7/F8 homozygous state for germplasm release and variety development for salt-intruded coastal regions' organic rice producers.

Project Methods
Objective 1The Year 1 experiment will be a factorial, completely randomized block design with five replications per treatment with one plant per pot. Experiment treatment factors include: (1) soil type [Yonges loamy fine sand, Kiawah Sandy Loam, and Edisto Muck (thermic Typic Endoaqualfs)] that represents soils of areas affected by salt intrusion and majority of areas where rice was grown historically; (2) rice cultivar (commercial standard, low-, medium-, and high-salt tolerance); (3) salinity concentration representative of organic plots and growers' fields [freshwater 0× (control) to 1× (0.375%), 2× (0.75%), and 3× (1.5%)], and (4) weed competition [rice alone, native weeds alone, native weeds seeded with rice, and native weeds transplanted at the seedling stage with rice]. Native weeds included in the objective will consist of goosegrass (Eleusine indica) and hemp sesbania (Sesbania herbacea). We will conduct preliminary studies to determine the density of weeds that would reduce biomass of 'Carolina Gold' to use as guidelines for this objective. Plants will be grown in one gallon 25 cm2 surface area pots with water retention pans to achieve complete soil saturation and will be replenished as needed. We will use Nature Safe organic OMRI certified 10-2-8 fertilizer at 150 lb/acre, which is the commercial standard.Objective 2The organic plot trials will be conducted at Coastal REC, Charleston, SC. The experimental design will consist of a completely randomized block design with four replications and a plot size of 4 ft2 with a total of 16 plants each. The treatments will be structured as factorial with four weed-free periods (0, 2, 4, and 6 weeks weed free) by two irrigation regimes (freshwater or salt water from tidal rivers) by two rice cultivars (most salt tolerant selection from the greenhouse screening and the local standard 'Carolina Gold') for a total of 16 treatments. Seedlings will be planted on 25 cm centers between row and within row. Three-foot-wide beds will act as buffers between beds so that the buffer will be wider to avoid cross treatment contamination. The two center rows will be used for data collection with all the response variables collected and analyzed as in Objective 1. Individual plots will be treated with saline water with a system of dosing pumps. Water for the treatments will come from the brackish water source located on site and diluted to salinity treatment levels described in Objective 1. Organic fertilizer application will follow the prescription as in Objective 1. This plot trial will be repeated twice (Year 2 and 3).Objective 3The on-farm trials will be conducted at four farms that are either certified organic, under organic transition, or are eligible to be certified organic. All trials will be completely randomized block design and replicated four times with plot size 16' × 16' with plants planted 25 cm within row and between rows. In addition, an additional experiment will be performed on all four sites using grower's preference rice cultivar spacing that varies from 6" × 6" to 9" × 9" within and between row spacing, respectively. All response variables mentioned in Objective 1 & 2 will be collected. Data will be analyzed as described in Objectives 1 & 2. These on-farm trials will be repeated twice (Year 3 & 4).Objective 4Since organic rice is currently a very niche market, it is important to understand its economics and develop plans for growers' production and investment costs. We will develop and disseminate/provide information to the industry towards the cost of organic rice production in marginal salt-intruded agricultural lands. This objective will be achieved with the use of enterprise budgets. The cost data required for the development of the budget will be obtained from the plot and on-farm trials in Objectives 2 and 3, and from interviews conducted with the farmers who currently produce organic rice.Objective 5Soil core samples (12 to 15 cm below the surface) from different treatments will be collected in triplicates at regular intervals (starting at pre-treatment as Time 0) for each experiment to track chemical movement and fate in the root-zone of the soil. Soil samples will be homogenized and analyzed for its pH, EC, CEC, ammonium, nitrate, total N, total P, total organic carbon, and microbial diversity (heterotrophic bacteria and fungi) using standard methods. Lysimeters will be installed on plots at 60 cm depth both at Coastal REC and four growers' farms. Water samples will be collected periodically (starting at pre-treatment as Time 0) throughout the growing season including once after the crop harvest. Leachate collected from pots (greenhouse trials) and pore water from the plots and on-farm trials will be analyzed for pH, EC, CEC, ammonium, nitrate, total N, total P, dissolved organic carbon, trace elements, cations and anions using standard methods. Ten percent of the water samples collected from plot and on-farm trials will be analyzed for select agrochemicals either GC (for volatilized chemicals) or HPLC (for non-volatilized chemicals) pesticides/herbicides panel.Objective 6We will develop 'Carolina Gold' type rice breeding lines with salt-tolerance and desirable agronomic traits for its successful organic production in coastal regions of SC. To achieve this goal, 'Carolina Gold' and/or 'Charleston Gold', highly desirable varieties for organic production in this region, will be crossed with selected salt-tolerant cultivar such as 'Doble Carolina' and/or 'M202,' (Year 1 & 2). True-hybrid seeds will be identified by marker-assisted selection and will be back-crossed to 'Carolina Gold' or 'Charleston Gold'. After backcrossing, the resulting true-hybrid F1 plant will be selected and selfed for two generations. The F2:3 population, with at least 250-300 recombinant inbred lines, will be developed by the end of Year 2.Salt-tolerance screening of this population (F3 generation) will be conducted in Year 3 using a completely randomized design and three replications at the Coastal REC as explained in the Objective 1. During salt-tolerance screening, data will be collected on agronomic traits such as: chlorosis, transplant injury, tillers number, plant height, heading date, chlorophyll content (using SPAD meter), spikelet sterility, chalkiness, seed length (L), seed width (W), L/W ratio. After evaluating the data, the top 10% of the lines (25-30 lines) with desirable salt-tolerance level, heading date, plant height, spikelet fertility, and grain quality will be selected and further evaluated in greenhouse at the Coastal REC during Year 4 of the project. During the years 3 & 4, the F2:3 generation will be advanced to homozygosity reaching at F7 or F8 generation using greenhouse at the DBNRRC. From the analysis, best breeding lines will be selected for germplasm release and/or variety development by the end of the project.

Progress 09/01/23 to 08/31/24

Outputs
Target Audience:Target audiences reached by our efforts during this reporting period include all existing and new conventional, transitional, and organic growers, including underrepresented and underserviced minority growers racial and ethnic minorities and those who are socially, economically, or educationally disadvantaged. Also, again in 2023-2024, through the Carolina Gold Rice Foundation (CGRF), a non-profit, audiences were reached out to directly with additions to the board of directors representing these areas of society. In addition, we reached out to the Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor, South Carolina. Our audience expands through extension with field days and training. We held three CGRF meetings that were grower and extension trainings and data dissemination points with guest speakers from industry. Additionally, we disseminated data at numerous scientific conferences and at the 2024 International Temperate Rice Conference in New Orleans, Louisana. Our audience included breeders, agronomists, extension and industry stakeholders. Although our breeding work was originally meant as a proactive measure to assist growers prior to the salt intrusion problems becoming worse, more and more growers are taking note of our salt tolerant breeding work as the impacts from rising salt concerns have arrived sooner than anticipated and our growers are in desperate need of germplasm to cope with the rising salt concerns. Changes/Problems:Tropical weather and associated variable tides with variable salt concentrations and the heavy rains made it difficult to maintain the salt concentrations in the experimental fields. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? Nothing Reported How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?To date, eleven talks and to posters have been given at either scientific conferences or grower meetings. Two manuscripts are currently being developed. Additionally, the concern and rise of interest in coping with salt in local irrigation waters has stimulated interests across commodities and vegetable growers in the field and in CEA agriculture. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?We are on track with regard to our objectives plan and timeline. We plan to continue to reach and meet our objective goals within the timeline of the study. We plan to push 4 lines of salt tolerant (with varying salt tolerances and attributes)rice with the Carolina Gold culinary, historical and cultural values and importance for research on growers' farms in the spring of 2026. Full scale commercialization of salt tolerant seed will be ongoing.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? We have completed 4 out of 4 greenhouse trials for Objective 1., on salinity tolerance and weed tolerance. Addressing Objective 6., a stable cross has been made with Carolina Gold and M202 and will enter the spring field trials of Objective 2. Objective 4., has been conducted and data is being analyzed. Currently, we are conducting year 2 of field experiments to compare and validate the salinity tolerance (0, 1.5%, 3%, 6%, and 12% seawater level) six rice genotypes (Carolina Gold, Santee Gold, Doble Carolina, M202, Jupiter and JN100) in the weed free and weed competition scenarios (Fig. 1). Three-week-old rice seedlings were transplanted at a spacing of 25 x 25 cm and a rate of one seedling per hill, after which they were flooded with fresh water. Weed-free plots receive hand weeding twice a week. At the late tillering stage, plants in the control plots are irrigated with fresh water, while plants receiving salinity treatment are supplied periodically (2-3 times per week) with 4 different concentrations of brackish water drawn from a nearby marsh associated with the Stono River. Using a gasoline pump, we collect brackish water from the marsh in a 4000-gallon-capacity reservoir/pool. Based on Atlantic Ocean sampling, we consider 55 dS/m to be the concentration of pure seawater. The calculated volumes are then pumped into the field plots based on each plot's fresh and seawater volumes. Every time before application, we use a conversion factor to normalize seawater concentrations based on brackish water's electrical conductivity (EC). The salinity level of treated plots is monitored by measuring the EC values. We installed flow meters in each plot to measure the volume applied to each plot. We also measure pH, TDS, Temperature, precipitation and ORP daily. All other response variables mentioned in study 1&2 will be collected. We showcased our research plot at Field Day Talk on June 5, 2024, at Clemson Coastal Research and Education Center, Charleston, SC. The results of this study were presented at ASA, CSSA, SSSA International Annual Meeting in Nov 2023. We are currently repeating this study to validate last years' results. Currently we have screened our F2 breeding population of approximately 4,000 individual breeding lines, exposed to 30% ocean water, allowed to grow back in freshwater. A rubric of selection criteria was used to move approximately 300 lines forward to the next breeding phase. Ultimately, our long-term goal for this project is to use the cultivars that prove superior through these trials, giving growers the immediate ability to grow where they are not able to now. Eventually, we will use these cultivars in a conventional breeding program to incorporate these salt [1] tolerant genes into historically significant cultivars like Carolina Gold, Charleston Gold and Santee Gold.

Publications

• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2024 Citation: Singh G., Rohila J., Subudhi P, Vassalos M., Marshall M.W., Karthikeyan R., White S.A., Cutulle M.A. and Ward B. Exploring Salt-Tolerant Germplasm: Alleviating Saltwater Intrusion and Weed Management Issues in Rice in South Carolina in Partial Saltwater Agroecosystem. 2024 International Temperate Rice Conference. (June 6-9, 2024, at New Orleans, LA).
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2024 Citation: Singh, G., Cutulle, M. & Ward. B. (2024). Rice Field Trials and Breeding Program Updates. Field Day Talk on June 5, 2024, at Clemson Coastal Research and Education Center, Charleston, SC.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2023 Citation: Singh, G, Ward, B., Karthikeyan, R., Rohila, J., Vassalos, M., Cutulle, M. (2023). Field Evaluation of Salinity Tolerance and Weed Competitiveness of Lowland Rice Genotypes in Organic Production. Meeting Abstract. 2023 ASA-CSSA-SSSA Annual Meeting. St. Louis, Missouri. October 29 - November 1, 2023.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2023 Citation: Singh, G., Karthikeyan, R., Ward, B., White, S., Rohila, J., Vassalos, M., & Cutulle, M. (2023). Salt-Tolerant Rice: Time to Deliver. 2023 CAFLS Graduate Research Symposium, Baruch Institute of Coastal Ecology & Forest Science Georgetown, SC. October 16-17, 2023.

Progress 09/01/22 to 08/31/23

Outputs
Target Audience:Target audiences reached by our efforts during this reporting period include all existing and newconventional, transitional, and organic growers, including underrepresented and underserviced minority growers racial and ethnic minorities and those who are socially, economically, or educationally disadvantaged. Also, through the Carolina Gold Rice Foundation (CGRF), a non-profit, audiences were reached out to directly with additions to the board of directors representing these areas of society. In addition, we reached to the Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Cooridor,South Carolina Department of Natural Resources, South Carolina Department of Agriculture, Clemson University Plant Industry and Clemson University Crop Improvement Association. Our audience expands through extension with field days and training. We held three CGRF meetings that were grower and extension trainings and data dissemination points with guest speakers from industry. Changes/Problems:We ran into a seeding issue on the first grow out, causing a delay, yet we were able to learn from the mistake, replicated the trial and are now current and on time with our objective goals and timeline. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Two students, one masters and one doctoral presented their work at multiple venues, including a water quality symposium, and two conferences. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Results have been disseminated to the communities of interest, through Symposia, conference proceedings, and CGRF meetings. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?We are on track with regard to our objectives plan. We plan to continue to reach and meet our objective goals within the timeline of the study.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? We have completed 3 out of 4 greenhouse trials for Objective 1.,on salinty tolerance and weed tolerance. Addressing Objective 6., astable cross has been made with Carolina Gold and M202 and will enter the spring field trials of Objective 2. Objective 4., is currently being worked on and surveys are scheduled to be sent out to growers this Winter. Currently, we are conducting field experiment to compare the salinity tolerance (0, 1.5%, 3%, 6%, and 12% seawater level) of six rice genotypes (Carolina Gold, Santee Gold, Doble Carolina, M202, Jupiter and JN100) in the weed free and weed competition scenarios (Fig. 1). Three-week-old rice seedlings were transplanted at a spacing of 25 x 25 cm and a rate of one seedling per hill, after which they were flooded with fresh water. Weed-free plots receive hand weeding twice a week. At the late tillering stage, plants in the control plots are irrigated with fresh water, while plants receiving salinity treatment are supplied periodically (2-3 times per week) with 4 different concentrations of brackish water drawn from a nearby marsh associated with the Stono River. Using a gasoline pump, we collect brackish water from the marsh in a 4000-gallon-capacity reservoir/pool. Based on Atlantic Ocean sampling, we consider 55 dS/m to be the concentration of pure seawater. The calculated volumes are then pumped into the field plots based on each plot's fresh and seawater volumes. Every time before application, we use a conversion factor to normalize seawater concentrations based on brackish water's electrical conductivity (EC). The salinity level of treated plots is monitored by measuring the EC values. We installed flow meters in each plot to measure the volume applied to each plot. We also measure pH, TDS, Temperature, precipitation and ORP daily. All other response variables mentioned in study 1&2 will be collected. We showcased our research plot at Field Day Talk on June 7, 2023 at Clemson Coastal Research and Education Center, Charleston, SC. The results of this study will be presented at ASA, CSSA, SSSA International Annual Meeting in Nov 2023. We will repeat this study next year. Ultimately, our long-term goal for this project is to use the cultivars that prove superior through these trials, giving growers the immediate ability to grow where they are not able to now. Eventually, we will use these cultivars in a conventional breeding program to incorporate these salt-tolerant genes into historically significant cultivars like Carolina Gold, Charleston Gold and Santee Gold.

Publications

• Type: Other Status: Published Year Published: 2023 Citation: 1. Singh, G., Cutulle, M. & Ward. B. (2023). Field evaluation of salinity tolerance and weed competitiveness of lowland rice genotypes in organic production. Field Day Talk on June 7, 2023 at Clemson Coastal Research and Education Center, Charleston, SC.

Progress 09/01/21 to 08/31/22

Outputs
Target Audience:During our first year, our audiences that were targeted were extension agents, professors within Clemson University and other academic institutionswith rice production programs and students who had never had the opportunity to work with rice in South Carolina. We also targeted stakeholders, including landowners andgrowersdirectly impacted by salt intrusion. In addition, other state and federal agencies within South Carolina were interested as an audience in how our efforts will benefit the state from a natural resource and ecosystem serviceperspective. During two of our Carolina Gold Rice Foundation meetings in the Fall of 2021 and Spring of 2022, we had guest speakers and an audience made up of food historians, culinary educators and chefs. There has also been a huge interestin the underserved and underrepresented members of our community in the Gulla GeeChee Corridor and how through this research and the efforts of Clemson and the USDA are helping to bring rice back to the historic southeast. Changes/Problems:Only one major problem was experienced regarding germination at initiation of the study. We hadpoor germ due to operator error with regard to germination under an anerobic condition. We quickly solved the problem by pipping seed into transplant or starting seed in pots under restricted water during this phase as occurs in real-world situations. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Through cooperation with the Carolina Gold Rice Foundation, a grower field day and an annual Fall meeting is planned for October 21st at Clemson's main campus with guest speakers from USA Rice. This event is specific for training purposes as it will cover germplasm, agronomy, horticulture, pathology harvest and postharvest considerations. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Through the 2 student symposiums, three presentations have been given to academia and extension. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?We are currently on track to accomplish our goals moving into year 2 and plan to follow our plan as written in the orginal proposal.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? We made the two crosses as planned: (i) Carolina Gold x M202, and (ii) Carolina Gold x Doble Carolina. We got F1 seeds and after verifying that they are hybrids (not self) by molecular analysis we will advance to the next step i.e., advancing to F2 generation. Greenhouse experiments with 3 soil types, four cultivars and 4 salinity types are nearing completion. We see definite cultivar x salinity responses, with some cultivars exhibiting better salt tolerance than others both with vegetation and flowering. At the Clemson Coastal Research and Education Center inCharleston,SC, we conducted four greenhouse screenings with Edisto Muck (predominate soil type in the SC Coastal Plain), two focused on the interaction of weeds with rice with 5 salinty levels and four rice genotypes. Two additional studies were performed looking specifically at weed pressure and salinityeffects with and Phenospex plant phenotyping hardware and software. Additional field locations on stakeholder lands have been identified as needing salt tolerant germplasm. The economics and surveying team have enrolled a student and the design phaseof the economic analysis and survey construction is underway. Field work for on-station trials have begun by leveling a salt inundated field at CREC.

Publications

• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Accepted Year Published: 2022 Citation: Singh, G., M. A. Cutule, S. White, B. Ward, M. Vassalos, J. S. Rohila, and R. Karthikeyan 2022b. Rediscovering gold: Carolina Gold rice in South Carolina. CAFLS Graduate Research Symposium, Clemson University, Pee Dee REC, Florance, SC, United States
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Accepted Year Published: 2022 Citation: Singh, G., M. A. Cutulle, S. White, B. Ward, M. Vassalos, J. S. Rohila, and R. Karthikeyan. 2022a. Exploring Salt-tolerant Germplasm to Increase Organic Rice Production in South Carolina. Clemson University Water Research Symposium, Madren Center, Clemson University, Clemson, SC, United States
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Accepted Year Published: 2022 Citation: Hart, A., Kerrigan, J. and Karthikeyan R. 2022. Sustainability through symbiosis: utilizing fungal endophytes to mitigate salinity stress in Carolina Gold Rice. CAFLS Graduate Research Symposium, Clemson University, Pee Dee REC, Florance, SC, United States