Course Description
Over the last few decades, global rice production has doubled from 257 to 600 million tons. This growth has mainly been achieved through the application of conventional plant breeding methods, coupled with improved production technologies. To meet the growing population, we need to produce 25% more rice by 2025. This increase in rice production must come with less land, water, chemicals, and labor. Many biotic and abiotic stresses continue to pose significant threats to rice productivity and sustainability. The major challenge is to overcome these constraints and produce high-yielding rice varieties with resistance to both biotic and abiotic stresses, while also improving grain quality and nutritional value. The latest advances in biotechnology and genomics offer new opportunities to address these limiting factors in rice production. New approaches are crucial to accelerating current breeding programs.
This course covers the stages and components of a rice breeding program, with a specific focus on product development, and provides participants with an in-depth understanding of the latest developments and techniques in hybrid rice breeding.
Course Objectives
By the end of the training course, the participants should be able to:
- Describe the “One IRRI rice breeding strategy” and its role in global rice breeding efforts
- Identify the key stages and components of a hybrid rice breeding program and their interconnections
- Demonstrate proficiency in the tools and techniques used in modern rice breeding practices
- Explore the latest hybrid rice breeding initiatives at IRRI and gain insights into their potential applications.
Target Audience
The course is intended for graduate students, researchers, agricultural scientists, rice breeders, breeding program managers, extension workers, and seed industry professionals. The training can accommodate a maximum of 20 participants.
Key Modules:
- Rice Breeding at IRRI
- Hybrid Rice Technology
- Direct Seeded Rice Breeding
- Overview of Molecular Breeding
- Abiotic Stress Phenotyping (Salinity and Drought)
- Drone Phenotyping
- Genomic Selection for Abiotic Stresses
- Bioinformatics Software and Databases
- AI and Machine Learning
- Overview of GHG Emission
Learning Modality
The course will be delivered in person through a combination of lectures, hands-on training, and field visits.
