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Rewarding Rice Mutant Varieties in Viet Nam, VIE/5/015
A dozen mutant varieties have been developed by the counterparts of the IAEA's TCP VIE/5/015 working on rice improvement for better quality and tolerance to bio/abiotic stresses using mutation techniques and biotechnologies in Viet Nam.
In Southern Viet Nam, the mutant rice variety VND95-20, among others, has been widely grown in the past 5 years. In addition to its high yield potential (10-17% increase in controlled yield trial), it has premium grain quality and is one of the key rice varieties
produced for export.
It has very good tolerance to salinity, hence it adapts very well in the Mekong Delta. It also shows moderate resistance to brown plant hopper, a devastating insect pest recently affecting southern Viet Nam. Therefore it emerged as the number one rice variety in terms of growing area in 2007, with an annual acreage of 300 k.ha. Other mutant varieties under large scale cultivation include: VND95-19, VND404, VND99-3. TNDB-100 and recently released varieties are: VN 121 and VN 24-4. Referring to the impact of mutant varieties developed in his institute, the Director General of the Institute of Agricultural Genetics, located in northern Viet Nam, noted that: "we talk a lot of biotechnology, but the outcome has been only from mutation techniques". A new mutant variety, DT38, was recently released as a national variety for ecosystems where farmers grow rice and farm shrimps.
Rice mutation breeding has never been so rewarding in Viet Nam. Farmers from the Mekong Delta to the highlands have been benefiting from higher yields and better price thanks to the high quality of the varieties. The VND serial varieties alone produced a net benefit for farmers amounting to 186.30 millions USD. Scientists - like Dr. Do Khac Thinh, chief breeder of VDN95-20 - , are also rewarded with national prizes recognizing their contributions. In highland areas, farmers began stopping deforestation since they can now produce enough food on their land. Besides, dozens of local officials who helped disseminate these varieties are also rewarded with promotions to higher positions. The plant breeding community is also foreseen to benefit from these achievements, as the Vietnamese government has recognized the usefulness of nuclear techniques and has approved a plan to launch a large-scale project on nuclear techniques in food and agriculture, under the 'Atoms for Peace' action.
Qingyao Shu, Technical Officer