Perennial Rice: Plant Once, Harvest Again and Again
2nd September 2023
Rice is arguably the world’s most important staple crop. About half of the global population depends on it for sustenance.
But, like other staples such as wheat and corn, rice is cultivated annually. That means replanting the fields year after year, at huge cost to both the farmers and the land. For years, scientists have been tinkering with rice strains to create a perennial variety – one that would regrow after harvest without the need to be resown.
For what may be the first time in about ten thousand years of human rice cultivation, the new strains stay productive harvest after harvest.
This could be HUGE. It will save tremendous amounts of labor, time, and expense. And think of the advantage if perennial forms of wheat or maize could be grown.