Rice Varieties from Iran Can Be Grown in RP

Binam. Khazar. Salary. Their names sound foreign to local ears, but Filipinos, being immense rice consumers, may become interested in these tasty rice varieties, from Iran. And the good news is that these can he grown here in the Philippines.

This is possible for there are abundant soil suitable for rice production in the country, therefore, rice will grow almost anywhere.

In Iran, however, although rice is as important as wheat and barley, rice is not regularly eaten. Most Iranians prefer to eat bread as staple food, which they make from wheat and barley. Perhaps this is because rice only grows in the southern part of the Caspian Sea near the Alborz Mountains, as in the cities of Rasht and Sari where there is much rainfall. Conditions in other parts of Iran are not conducive to rice production hence, the area for rice in this country is limited.

Since many rice cultivars thrive in the Philippines, the author deemed the possibility of growing Iranian varieties here worth looking into. Hence, he conducted a study titled “The Influence of Water and Fertilizer on the Growth and Yield of Transplanted Iranian Rice Under Philippine Condition” in the Bureau of Plant Industry in 1988-1989.

A doctoral dissertation submitted by the author to the Graduate Studies and applied Research of then Gregorio Araneta University Foundation (now De La Salle Araneta University), the study sought to determine the effects of water level and nitrogen (N) fertilizer on the growth and yield of Iranian rice varieties.

Using Binam, Khazar, Salary and local variety IR64, the study was done in pot experiments, with each variety subjected to different water depths and fertilizer levels. A total of 112 clay pots were used, and each one was filled with 7 kg of soil obtained from a rice farm. Seedlings used came from pre-germinated seeds, and these were transplanted 20-25 days after sowing.

The pots were irrigated and maintained at 5-centimeter water depth and 10-centimeter water depth, respectively three days after transplanting until two weeks before harvest. On the other hand, pots with seedlings being grown at 0-centimeter water depth were kept moist from transplanting until two weeks before harvest.

Each variety was applied with N fertilizer at levels varying from 0 kg, 50 kg N/ha or 0.833 gm/pot, 70 kg N/ha or 1.167 gm/pot, to 90 kg N/ha or 1.50 gm/pot. A blanket application of phosphorus and potassium fertilizers was also done, and the quantities of each applied to test plants were determined through laboratory analysis in the Bureau of Soils and Water Management.

Harvesting was done when 80 percent of the panicles were straw colored and the grains in the lower portion of the panicles were in hard dough stage.

Result showed that varying water depth had no significant effect on the growth and yield of rice plants. All rice plants grew similarly and produced almost the same yield. Regarding the effect of N fertilizer, test plants fertilized at 70 kg N/ha and 90 kg N/ha showed best growth and highest yield.

Since Iranian cultivars can be grown in the Philippines based on the result on the study, why not consider them for local plant breeding? At a time when rice shortage is a threat, increasing the number of local rice varieties could be worth looking into. After all, rice is the staple food of Filipinos so chances are they would well develop a strong liking for Binam, Khazar and Salary. These are all delicious, and this is a fact that Iranians attest.