Performing Department
(N/A)
Non Technical Summary
Climate variability and climate change pose serious challenges to enhancing rice productivity with a reduced environmental footprint. The project is designed to increase the sustainability of rice farming systems in the Southern U.S. using innovative climate-resilient technologies. This trans-disciplinary and multi-state coordinated agricultural project is based on the hypothesis that sustainability and profitability of rice production systems will be enhanced by the development and adoption of climate-smart crop production technologies and practices. The specific objectives of this project are to: (1) assess the socio-economic and environmental impacts of current crop management practices and identify barriers to adopting novel technologies and practices; (2) develop novel genotypes with enhanced tolerance to biotic and abiotic stresses; (3) develop and optimize environmentally-friendly crop management practices; and (4) implement a robust extension program to disseminate the concepts and benefits of sustainable farming technology. Our team will apply a multidisciplinary approach to accomplish the above objectives. The project will enable the development of a skilled workforce who will continue research and development and facilitate dissemination of the green technologies. Knowledge gained from this project will increase the speed and accuracy of identifying rice genotypes with desirable combinations of genes for improved adaptation to a changing climate. The sustainability and profitability of rice farming systems will be enhanced by minimizing the use of natural resources, maximizing production efficiency, and improving environmental quality. The project will help growers to make right decisions at the right time to reduce yield losses, land use, labor, and energy consumption. The proposed extension and education activities will equip the current and next generation of rice farmers, consultants, and researchers with the necessary knowledge and skillset to embrace the new climate-smart agriculture technologies and production practices.
Animal Health Component
0%
Research Effort Categories
Basic
60%
Applied
40%
Developmental
0%
Goals / Objectives
The overarching goal of this project is to improve sustainability and profitability of rice farming through research innovations. The project is committed to promoting and disseminating sustainable rice farming practices, technologies, and their benefits to the growers through outreach and training of the next generation researchers, extension workers, and consultants. The project proposes education and training opportunities for high school students, undergraduate and graduate students, and research fellows who will be the future innovators, researchers, trainers, and consultants to address food security challenges due to climate change. Our interdisciplinary team consisting of researchers with expertise in plant breeding, genetics, plant physiology, plant pathology, entomology, agronomy, soil science, precision agriculture, microbiology, mechanical engineering, modeling, artificial intelligence, sociology, economics, and extension education, will work together on the following objectives: Objective 1. assessing socio-economic and environmental impacts of current farming practices and identify barriers to adopting climate-smart technologies; Objective 2. designing climate-smart rice cultivars; Objective 3. developing climate-smart management practices; Objective 4. developing and implementing an effective extension programming.
Project Methods
Objective 1: A simulation model will be designed to assess the economic effectiveness of the climate smart agriculture (CSA) practices. The risk premiums will be estimated to determine the level of compensation needed to adopt a particular production system and the role of US domestic agricultural policy support on adoption of CSA practices will be examined. The economic impact of climate change on rice production in the US will be estimated. The sustainability of rice farming using FAO's Sustainability Assessment of Food and Agriculture Systems framework will be assessed.A sociological analysis focusing on growers' social and institutional networks, institutional support structures, understanding of CSA technologies, practices, and their potential economic and environmental benefits, and perceptions of support and barriers in adopting CSA technology and practices, will be conducted.The crop simulation models will be used to forecast crop yields at various spatial scales and assess the phenological responses of different rice cultivars and to forecast rice yield based on simulated crop growth and development under different management practices under a variable climate.Objective 2. A diversity rice panel will be evaluated for tolerance to early-season cold and drought stress under current and elevated atmospheric CO2. A genome wide association study will be conducted to identify the putative genes and pathways for stress tolerance. An experiment will be designed to quantify the interactive effects of eCO2, temperature, and drought on rice yield, and quality. Two mapping populations and the above germplasm panel will be evaluated for both drought and heat tolerance in replicated field experiments. The QTLs associated with drought and heat tolerance will be identified. Above data will be used to develop a model to predict the traits and trait combinations on grain yield and grain quality under drought and high-temperature stress. Marker-assisted selection (MAS) will be conducted using markers to pyramid heat tolerance QTLs. Novel germplasm for early morning anthesis will be identified. The above diversity panel will be evaluated to identify superior donors and genes responsible for improved water use efficiency and nitrogen use efficiency. Few selected ILs for tolerance to drought, heat, and salt stresses along with the donors and recurrent parents (RP) will be subjected to whole genome sequencing and RNA-sequencing to identify the differentially expressed genes. The leaf metabolic profiling in stress tolerant lines will be examined by innovative metabolomic and imaging technologies.The existing databases will be used to perform in-silico saturation mutagenesis to produce a list of candidate cultivars with desirable agronomic and metabolic traits. Subsequently, a breeding network will be used to predict the properties of the resulting cultivar by inputting information such as genotypes, metabolic data, gene expression data, phenotypic data, and weather and environmental data. The selected stress tolerant breeding lines will be evaluated for stress tolerance, yield, and agronomic traits in replicated field trials. Marker-assisted selection will be employed to develop breeding lines with a combination of introgressed QTLs for tolerance to multiple stresses.The genomic regions for bacterial panicle blight (BPB) will be identified and sequence variants associated with BPB resistance in a resistant mutant line will be characteriized. A germplasm panel will be screened for resistance to the kernel smut fungus in the greenhouse and field conditions. The fungal isolates of kernel smut fungus will be collected and their virulence, genetic diversity, and population structure will be characterized by sequencing the ITS regions and whole genome. The effectiveness of and optimal timing of foliar-applied fungicides and theircombinationswill be determined. A panel of diverse genotypes will be screened for resistance to water weevil and stem borer in field and greenhouse trials. The molecular genetic basis of the insect resistant phenotypes will be deciphered using genomics and physiological tools. The rice genotypes exhibiting high level of insect resistance will be identified for use in breeding program. Optimal seed treatments will be developed.Objective 3. The remote sensing, artificial intelligence, and crop modeling will be employed for scouting biotic and abiotic stresses, timing of remedial measures, phenotyping, and rice yield prediction. The potential for resistance development in key insect pests to insecticides will be determined by laboratory bioassays to support future resistance monitoring efforts. Replicated field trials will be conducted to compare standard N application practices and a "need-based" application of N-fertilizer using remote sensing and N-rich strip technology to reduce fertilizer use and production expenses. Biological control of BPB and sheath blight using an avirulent strain of fungal pathogen will be investigated and the application timing and combination of foliar spraying and seed treatment will be optimized. The effects of siliconamendment on resistance to diseases and insect pests will be evaluated in field trials and efficacy of silica-solubilizing bacterial inoculates in alleviating biotic and abiotic stresses will be evaluated in field sites. Field experiments will be conducted in cooperation with commercial rice producers to evaluate mycorrhiza application in enhancing tolerance to insect pests. Replicated split-plot studies will be conducted to demonstrate the potential for cover crops to offset fertilizer applications using cover crops as main plots and fertilizer rates as the subplots.Objective 4. The outreach component will include organizing workshops and trainings for extension personnel and consultants on newtechnologies to improve sustainability of rice farming. A project web "CRISP-RICE" will be developed to disseminate research findings. Decision support tools based on the Rice Enterprise Budget spreadsheets will be developed. The Rice Research Verification Program will be expanded. Students will be trained in multiple disciplines with focus on improving sustainability of farming systems. Seminars and a mini symposium will be organized. Summer workshops will be conducted for training high school students and teachers. An interdisciplinary special topics course with focus on sustainable farming systems and climate change will be developed. A scientific and stakeholders advisory board along with an external evaluator will evaluate the project needs, progress and provide guidance throughout the project duration regarding the development and adoption of novel strategies to address the problems faced by growers.