Grasses and Grains Rice


Growing rice began 15,000 years ago in East and South Asia, way back when people settled in the lush, fertile river deltas and domesticated what was once wild rice. Rice is now grown all over the world, except on the icy continent of Antarctica. It is so widespread, in fact, that 50% of the world’s rice is eaten within 8 miles of where it is grown.

Rice, however, suffered a near wipe-out in the 1970s as the grassy stunt virus launched an unusually rabid attack on the Southeast Asian rice crop. Thanks to a gene from the wild strain Oryza nivara, of Uttar Pradesh, India, the rice crop was saved.


Farmers today are still worried, however, because rice is subject to a good number of major diseases. These include bacterial leaf blight, black sheath spot, brown leaf spot, sheath blight, and stem rot.

Did you know…


 Biotech rice, engineered with the Bt gene, is planted over 4,000 hectares (9,884 acres) in Iran. More new biotech rice will be harvested in China in the coming years: scientists there are working on insect-resistant rice, as well as a variety of the crop engineered with resistance to bacterial blight. Scientists are also hard at work on developing Golden Rice: a variety with lots of Vitamin A!