Genetic engineering
Promising initial tests of new rice strains with high potential for farmers have spurred biotechnologists to press ahead with the search for …
Indian firm finds new way to create GM hybrids
Rice -- the staple food of 65 per cent of India's population -- is in for a revolution. An Indian firm has developed a technique to develop …
Orissa faces acute food insecurity
It is well known that farmers of Orissa are not the 'privileged ones'. What is not known, albeit, is the fact that their plight is all set to …
Another problem with China's coal: Mercury in rice
A study finds that coal pollution in China is leading to people getting significant levels of mercury poisoning from …
Why is Telangana asking the Centre to procure its excess stock of parboiled rice?
The Telangana government is asking the Centre to buy more than 90 per cent of its stock of parboiled rice at Minimum Support Price, some of which …
Tinkering with root hair may help boost crop yields
Researchers are exploring mechanisms adopted by plants to survive in low phosphate soils to figure out if they can enhance survival in poor water …
Ragi is back - but only as exotica
No body knows for sure how the ragi bandwagon started, but all of a sudden the urban elite became curious about the grain. Today, it is being …
"We have to produce more rice using less water"
Robert Zeigler, director general of the Manila, Phillipines-based, International Rice Research Institution (IRRI) talks to Sourav Mishra about …
Fukushima rice passes radiation tests for first time since disaster
The earthquake that hit Japan nearly four years ago had forced the country to stop export of fish and other produce from the area near Fukushima …
Goodness of the unpolished
The popularity of polished white rice has killed the red and black varieties that have medicinal properties. A few Tamil Nadu farmers are …
Keeper of grains
An ecologist has been guarding seeds of more than 750 rare rice varieties for over a decade
Researchers develop transgenic rice with reduced arsenic accumulation
Lucknow-based CSIR-National Botanical Research Institute researchers developed transgenic rice by inserting a novel fungal gene, which results in …
Don’t worry, experts say after Pakistan gets GI tag for its own Basmati rice
Basmati joint heritage of the subcontinent; Pakistan’s exports will not dent India's share
In Search of the Forgotten Rice Varieties
If the current trend towards genetic uniformity in rice varities continues, our food security will be severely imperilled
Thin on facts
High sales pitch of Saffola’s ‘healthier’ rice relies on unproven data
Cupfuls of misery
Nothing more than a vote-catcher, Andhra Pradesh's cheap rice scheme has resulted in an ecological disaster in its drought-prone areas
Three crops rule the world: What it means for the planet’s wildlife
Over-dependence on wheat, maize and rice threatens the future of wildlife survival and global food security
Commercialisation of GM rice turns out to be a dud: report
Countries across the world continue to promote golden rice even though there is evidence to show vitamin A deficiency can be reduced without …
Will climate change bring back the age of famines in Kashmir?
A quick glance at government data shows that climate change has eaten into the output of top food crops in Jammu and Kashmir
Getting more with less
System of crop intensification, specially in rice, has shown sizeable savings in water and seed usage. Yet its adoption has not spread despite …
The Green Revolution and a dark Punjab
Punjab has paid a price for food security. The use of pesticides and fertilisers has resulted in a number of health issues for the state’s …
Treasure and the tricks
Conserving genetic purity of 750 varieties of rice with limited resources like a small piece of land and no workforce is a major challenge. Debal …
The ‘qissa’ of Basmati
As the European Union gets set to pronounce whether to give a GI tag to India’s Basmati rice, we explore the history of a grain that …
Scientists develop transgenic rice that can grow under high salinity, drought
A team of Indian and international scientists hit upon the idea while studying a wild rice variety, Pokkali, grown in coastal regions of Kerala
Drought but why: The agricultural wasteland that is Bihar
Below-normal rainfall and drought-like situation for 7 years pushing out youth for livelihood