THEMES/TOPICS
1. Policy, market, and supply chain
Global rice consumption remains strong, driven by both population and economic growth in many countries. The recent crisis in the rice market exposed fundamental imbalances in rice supply and demand. A Second Green Revolution must be achieved under significant constraints: water and land scarcity, environmental degradation, ever-increasing input prices, and globalized markets. Sustainable technology development must be accompanied by appropriate policies, efficient supply chains, and a competitive marketplace. We invite papers focusing on (i) strategies and policies for achieving rice food security that are sustainable and efficient; (ii) global rice trade and border policies affecting food security and poverty alleviation; (iii) analysis of input and output marketing systems and other supply chain issues; and (iv) social, cultural, economic, and environmental impacts of rice technology adoption.
2. The social and cultural dimension in rice farming and communities
For millions of people globally, rice is life. We invite papers on the effects of broader changes such as rapid urbanization, labor out-migration, population growth, climate change, and technologies (knowledge-intensive, capital-using and labor-saving, energy-reducing, productivity-increasing) on rice farming communities, on farming and landless households, and on gender roles as well as coping mechanisms in sustaining food security in stressed rice environments. This session will also include the roles of social organizations/networks and culture in farmer learning and technology adoption, farmers’ perceptions on rice technologies, and the role of local institutions in effective technology adoption and dissemination.
3. Postharvest: saving the rice harvest, maintaining a full rice bowl, and moving toward better livelihoods
Production gains have enabled us to maintain a full rice bowl for an ever-increasing world population but, at the same time, 15–25% of the rice harvest is still lost in inefficient postharvest chains. In addition, farmers and the industry are losing out on potential income because of delays in postharvest operations, outdated postharvest technology, and limited access to quality markets. We seek papers on new or improved postharvest technologies and management options for the reduction of qualitative and quantitative losses, value adding to harvested rice, and new approaches in increasing farmers’ participation in the rice postharvest value chain.
4. Information, dissemination, and innovation
The dramatic fall in computing costs has opened up unprecedented possibilities in data and information integration over vastly different scales and from traditionally different domains, as well as in massive online collaboration, dissemination, and access. The next generation of rice scientists will expect to use and contribute routinely to online data, information, and knowledge resources. Papers will highlight efforts that add value to data, information, and knowledge related to rice research or production by integrating them over different scales, from different sources or domains, available for online collaboration or curation, and freely accessible and interactively usable by a large audience over the Web or other mass communication technology.
5. Climate change and rice agriculture
Recent progress in rice research has clearly shown the potential of adjusting rice production systems toward higher resilience to climate-induced stresses as well as lower methane emissions, without yield penalty. Derived from the complex interaction of rice production and climate change, this session will focus on (i) impact assessments, (ii) adaptation to climate change, and (iii) mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions. At the same time, we welcome presentations from different scientific disciplines (from genomics to socioeconomics) as well as investigations covering different spatial and temporal scales (from site-specific studies to wide-ranging assessments).
6. Environmental resilience and ecosystem services
Increasing pressure on land resources, urban expansion, and the reduction in biodiversity that results from habitat loss and agricultural intensification will continue to affect the functioning of rice ecosystems. Sustainable rice production requires efficiency of ecosystem function at both the field and landscape level. We welcome papers that examine topics such as rice-paddy food webs, toxicology, biodiversity maintenance, nutrient cycling, multitrophic interactions, and other aspects of ecological and biochemical processes related to rice production and the rice environment. Where possible, papers should directly address the ecological sustainability and functional efficiency of rice production systems.
7. Water availability and access
Improving water-use efficiency and availability of water is an imperative for all rice production systems. Irrigated rice must increase the amount of rice produced by unit of water use, and rainfed rice must improve its access to water to increase and stabilize yields. Enormous opportunities exist to increase water availability by collecting and using part of runoff water without damaging the environment or conflicting with other uses. We welcome papers on any of the different approaches of water-use efficiency, novel ways to make water more available for irrigation, and improving water management to increase yields and reduce environmental impact.
8. Pest, disease, and weed management
Limiting yield losses due to nematodes, insects, rodents, diseases, and weeds has always been a major challenge to agriculturalists and rice farmers. Restriction on the use of pesticides due to costs, legislation, or resistance; evolution in the nature of the pest problem; changing management practices; and climate change are some of the factors likely to present new challenges. We seek research findings and reviews that provide new understandings and insights, particularly in an ecological context, relevant to pest, disease, and weed management in our changing world.
9. Drought, flooding, and problem soils
Rainfed ecosystems have failed to reap the benefits of the first Green Revolution. Drought, salinity, submergence, and soil nutrient deficiencies are the main abiotic stresses reducing rice yield. During recent years, concentrated efforts have been made to improve rice yield under abiotic stresses using conventional and molecular breeding approaches as well as agronomic and soil management strategies. We invite papers reporting innovative approaches to improve rice yield under abiotic stresses and the impact of such efforts on farmers’ livelihoods as well as papers that explore the effects of rapid climate change on the occurrence and severity of water-related stresses for rainfed ecosystems in future decades.
10. Closing the yield gap
The gap between yield potential and actual yield obtained by farmers is significant everywhere. Closing this gap could significantly improve rice competitiveness and overall production, even with the same varieties that farmers grow today. Many reasons underlie this yield gap, and therefore holistic approaches are needed to address it. We seek papers reporting on how a combination of technological, organizational, and institutional changes has helped to improve yields and reduce farmers’ costs. Papers should indicate how and under what conditions impact has been achieved beyond the field level, and how lessons could be applied on an even larger scale.
11. Harnessing rice biodiversity
The rice gene pool encompasses an enormous diversity within both cultivated species and wild relatives. Yet, much of this potentially valuable diversity still remains largely unexploited. We seek papers on innovative approaches to improve the link between conserving rice diversity and using it more effectively. Papers may address basic studies of genetic diversity in rice, new approaches to analyze genotype-phenotype relationships, novel computational methods to explore and predict the distribution of diversity and search for valuable variants, methods for tracking alleles, and technologies for wide hybridization to increase the range of diversity that can be effectively harnessed.
12. Molecular biology and “omics” technologies
We seek to highlight research that has used molecular biology and genetic engineering for sustainable rice production. Papers will represent initial success with high-risk unconventional routes and ideas that provide molecular biology input into the overarching system of sustainable rice production under impending scenarios of changes in climate, land, water, and energy use and under impending shifts in eco-geography of rice cultivation. For example, we encourage papers on research exploring the molecular basis of success with direct-seeded rice; enabling C4 photosynthesis; exploring plant-pest/pathogen interactions under altered regimes; tolerance of abiotic stresses (drought, heat, salinity); and altering phenology, morphology, and/or physiology toward higher yield.
13. Raising the yield potential
The Green Revolution enabled rice production to meet the demands of a growing population over the last 5 decades. By 2050, the world’s population is projected to reach 9.8 billion and an additional 40–50% increase in rice production will be needed. Yield potential of modern rice inbred varieties has remained constant since the release of IR8 in 1966 and yield gains in hybrids have been lower than predicted. Papers are invited on innovative approaches—conventional, molecular, or physiological—that can help break this yield stagnation and lead to a Second Green Revolution.
14. Quality grain, health, and nutrition
Quality grain must look and taste good. The persistence of benchmark varieties over many decades demonstrates that our capacity to select for quality has reached a plateau. Further, the more esoteric features of taste currently lack adjectives, and therefore the potential to understand controlling genes. We seek papers that describe research enabling us to move beyond the current plateau, toward new and deeper understanding of genetic, metabolomic, biochemical, or rheological factors that underlie known traits of quality and that reveal new traits that will increase the capacity of breeders to select for a specific type of quality in different genetic backgrounds.
ABSTRACT SELECTION AND SUBMISSION OF ABSTRACTS
The IRC 2010 Scientific Committee invites authors of original research work and studies to submit abstracts for POSTER PRESENTATIONS. In poster presentations a specific period will be allotted for poster presenters to interact and discuss with delegates. Posters will be presented according to the same themes as the oral presentations, and may cover any aspect of research under a specific theme.
Authors whose abstracts have been accepted for Poster Sessions MUST register as Congress delegates. Unregistered authors will not be allowed to present nor will their abstracts be published in the official congress proceedings. Co-authors who wish to attend the conference must likewise register.
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