New rice variety fights bacterial flight disease and climate stresses

By Surya S Pillai

India is the world’s largest producer of rice with the production reaching a record 150.18 million tonnes last fiscal, largely driven by high-yielding varieties. Cultivated across 51 million hectares, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, and Punjab are the top producers.

India also dominates global exports of rice, accounting for nearly 40 per cent of international trade.

Rice producers, however, are battling with bacterial blight– a devastating disease in tropical Asia, causing up to 74 per cent yield loss. It causes water-soaked streaks, leaf yellowing, and the “kresek” (wilting) phase in seedlings.

The Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR) along with the Indian Institute of Rice Research (IIRR), Hyderabad has developed ‘Improved Samba Rice’, a bacterial blight disease resistant and diabetic friendly rice.

“The variety was developed using ‘marker-assisted breeding’ technique with a specific focus on incorporating resistance to bacterial blight – a major constraint in rice production. Importantly, the variety retains the grain quality, cooking characteristics, and consumer acceptance of the original Samba Mahsuri,” Dr R M Sunddaram, Director, ICAR-IIRR told The Tribune in an interview.

“Under normal conditions, its yield is comparable to the parent variety. However, under bacterial blight incidence, it provides a substantial yield advantage of about 35-40 per cent, ensuring yield stability and reducing crop losses. This also translates into reduced use of chemicals, making it more environmentally sustainable and climate-resilient in practical farming conditions,” he said.

While the ‘Improved Samba Mahsuri’ has seen strong adoption in the Andhra Pradesh-Telangana-Karnataka belt, its footprint has already expanded to states such as Bihar, Chhattisgarh and Uttar Pradesh.

“Under the ‘Blight Out’ initiative of CSIR, seeds were distributed across several bacterial blight-affected regions where the original Samba Mahsuri is popular,” Dr Sundaram said.

Are there any plans to expand the reach of the variety across the country?

“Our approach to scaling is need-based and agro-ecology driven. Wherever the varietal characteristics align with regional preferences and disease pressures, efforts are being made through the national research and extension network to expand its reach further across suitable geographies,” he said.

How is Improved Samba Mahsuri (ISM) rice different from its earlier version? Is it more climate-friendly and high yielding?

“ISM is a landmark achievement developed through indigenous efforts and collaboration between two Hyderabad-based research organisations — ICAR-Indian Institute of Rice Research (ICAR-IIRR) and CSIR-Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CSIR-CCMB),” the IIRR director said.

He noted that the variety retains the grain quality, cooking characteristics, and consumer acceptance of the original Samba Mahsuri. Under normal conditions, its yield is comparable to the parent variety, he said.

However, under bacterial blight incidence, it provides a substantial yield advantage of about 35-40 per cent, ensuring yield stability and reducing crop losses. This also translates into reduced use of chemicals, making it more environmentally sustainable and climate-resilient in practical farming conditions.

There is a larger debate on genetically modified (GM) agri-food systems, with one spectrum vehemently opposing it while the other not falling short of eulogising its benefits.

‘ISM’ is not a transgenic variety or genetically modified.

“The variety was developed through backcross breeding using marker-assisted selection by transferring resistance genes from compatible rice lines. That said, the broader discussion on GM technologies should be viewed through a scientific, evidence-based lens,” the scientist reasoned.

He noted that there are persistent agricultural challenges such as biotic stresses, climate change impacts, and resource-use efficiency that may require advanced technological solutions, including GM approaches.

Sundaram, however, said India has a robust regulatory framework to evaluate such technologies carefully. It is also important that the country remains technologically prepared and globally competitive, especially in the context of evolving international trade dynamics, including potential imports of GMO products, he added.

The government had received backlash over its genome-edited rice varieties last year. Was it a conscious decision to not go for genome-editing with ‘ISM’?

“The development of ‘ISM’ predates the recent advances in genome editing and was optimally achieved through marker-assisted breeding, which allowed faster deployment and wider acceptance at that time.

“Genome editing, however, is an important emerging tool. The concerns raised earlier have been systematically addressed by the Government of India and scientific institutions. Genome-edited crops, which are without foreign DNA, are comparable in many ways to mutation-bred varieties, which have long been accepted in agriculture,” the IIRR director stated.

Going forward, he said the choice of breeding technology will continue to depend on scientific suitability, regulatory clarity, and societal acceptance, with the overarching goal of delivering safe, effective, and farmer-centric solutions.

He said the success of ‘ISM’ demonstrates how innovative yet widely accepted breeding approaches can address real-world challenges while maintaining farmer and consumer trust.

With the West Asia conflict threatening the global agricultural supply chains, it is high time countries develop more indigenous varieties of crops to tide over export dependency and volatile geo-political situations.

“Indian agriculture today is largely self-reliant in food production, and this strength comes from the continuous development of indigenous, locally adapted crop varieties, hybrids and refined crop production and production technologies. Anticipating challenges such as fertiliser supply disruptions, ICAR had earlier initiated programmes more than a decade ago to develop varieties that can perform well under reduced input conditions without compromising productivity,” Sundaram added.

This article has been republished from The Tribune.