Applying technology to improve the quality of rice seeds

As one of the world's leading rice exporting countries, in order to improve the quality of rice to serve the needs of consumption and export, the Vietnamese rice industry is always interested in promoting the application of new technology in research, production, and quality control of rice varieties. Strengthening chain linkages, improving production capacity to ensure quantity and quality, and varieties of seeds to serve rice production in the direction of low emissions, adapting to climate change, and meeting the strict requirements of the market.

Positive results

With a rice growing area of ​​about 7.1-7.2 million hectares, the country needs about 5.70,000-580,000 tons of rice seeds per year. With the active participation of authorities at all levels, along with institutes, schools, seed centers and many units and enterprises in research, selection and production of seeds, our country has not only created a large amount of rice seeds to serve production but also diversified rice seed varieties and improved quality.

The promotion of the application of new technologies in production and quality management such as biotechnology, gene technology, cell technology, etc. has played an important role in creating many new rice varieties with short cultivation time but high yield, good quality and adaptability to many adverse production conditions.

In recent years, the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment (MARD) together with central and local ministries and branches have strengthened chain linkages, supported farmers and cooperatives to connect with institutes, schools and enterprises to promote the socialization of seed work. Encouraged and supported the development of a 3-level rice seed system, with the participation of many cooperatives, cooperative groups and farmers, contributing to the supply of high-quality rice seeds to meet production requirements.

Farmers visit and learn about rice varieties of the Mekong Delta High-Tech Agricultural Research Institute, which are being grown on demonstration in Thoi An Dong ward, Can Tho city.

According to the Vietnam Seed Trade Association (VSTA), before 2010, most of the nationally recognized rice varieties were selected and bred using traditional sexual hybridization methods and artificial mutations. Since 2010, biotechnology, cell technology, and gene technology have been applied in research and breeding of rice varieties. As a result, target genes such as quality, resistance to pests, salinity, waterlogging, etc. have been successfully located and transferred into lines and varieties.

The country currently has more than 200 large enterprises, joint ventures, private enterprises, provincial seed production and trading units and more than 20 institutes and universities researching, producing and trading plant varieties. Large corporations and enterprises such as Vinaseed, ThaiBinh seed, Loc Troi, ... use modern seed processing machinery and technology systems such as silo drying systems, horizontal and reversible tray drying systems to ensure seed moisture according to regulations; automated processing machines with screening, filtering systems, removing impurities, unbalanced seeds, broken seeds, seeds that are too large, too small, many doors, the seeds obtained through processing are clean, uniform, weed seeds and different seeds are eliminated.

In addition to the achieved results, the development and application of new technologies in rice seed production still face difficulties. Specifically, the cost of seed production is still high, and the rice seeds sold on the market do not ensure good quality and purity. Many farmers still use non-standard seeds... These are issues that need to be addressed and resolved in the coming time.

Overcoming difficulties to increase production capacity and seed quality

According to Mr. Tran Xuan Dinh, Vice President and General Secretary of VSTA, currently about 70-75% of the seed volume is processed using medium to modern technology, about 25-30% is still processed manually and the quality is uneven. It is worth noting that there are many rice seed distribution channels nationwide (such as agents, agricultural cooperatives, individuals, etc.). With the development of information technology and social networks, there has been a situation of selling rice seeds in a multi-level manner, selling online and staging untrue videos , causing damage to rice farmers.

At the “Scientific solutions seminar to improve the quality of rice and rice seeds” recently organized by the Vietnam Rice Industry Association in collaboration with VSTA in Can Tho City, many experts and businesses said that it is necessary to promote the application of new technologies to improve production capacity and seed quality. In particular, it is necessary to effectively apply digital technology and AI (artificial intelligence) technology in production management, quality control, and purity of rice seeds. Apply digital technology and AI in orienting breeding and selection plans, as well as performing crossbreeding. In addition, continue to pay attention to the application of cell technology and gene technology to create fragrant, quality rice varieties, nutritious rice varieties, and low-emission rice varieties...

Dr. Tran Ngoc Thach, Director of the Mekong Delta Rice Institute, said that using AI to check the quality and distinguish rice varieties and grains is necessary. This technology is a good direction, supporting rice seed producers and state management agencies in assessing the purity and cleanliness of rice varieties. However, to do this, there must be a large database. Currently, the whole country has hundreds of rice varieties, so it is necessary to have a process of "teaching" AI to identify rice grains. In addition, seasonal factors, weather and processing also affect the shape of rice grains, so attention must be paid to AI to identify them accurately.

Rice seeds are one of the important inputs in the rice value chain and directly affect the quality of rice. Mr. Pham Thai Binh, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Trung An High-Tech Agriculture Joint Stock Company, said: “The application of science and technology and digitalization in rice seed production is necessary to ensure seed quality. As a rice exporting enterprise that has been participating in cooperation with farmers in many cooperatives in rice production and consumption, the company always hopes to have a source of quality, purebred rice seeds to bring to the fields, so it is very necessary for units and enterprises to come up with solutions and apply AI to analyze standard rice seeds, certified seeds, and not mixed.”

Article and photos: KHANH TRUNG

Source: https://baocantho.com.vn/ung-dung-cong-nghe-nang-cao-chat-luong-lua-giong-a190713.html