Progress report for FNE25-124
Project Information
Research Objectives:
- To determine if the SRI (System of Rice Intensification) principle built on early transplant of rice seedlings at 9,15, and 21 days provides an increase in yield compared to the industry standard of 28 days.
- To determine which transplant treatment described above provides the greatest whole grain rice yield on the per hectare and per acre basis in three cultivars.
- To evaluate ten rice cultivars of diverse origin and grain class for suitability for production in the Northeast by measuring disease incidence, lodging susceptibility, and other phenotypic traits described in Materials and Methods Table 2 in addition to yield and milling quality.
- To conduct a consumer taste test of all ten cultivars in the variety trial to determine which are most palatable.
Outreach Objectives:
- To share information learned from this project with producers and advance knowledge on rice production in the Northeast so that more new farmers, who often focus on vegetable production on leased land, can integrate rice into their crop rotation through a field day focused on upland rice production.
- To educate the public and producers on upland rice production and expose the public to the diversity present in rice germplasm through a Variety Showcase and Taste Test hosted at a local restaurant, Willa on Main.
- To develop and distribute a comprehensive report detailing our findings to the general and farming public.
- To publish articles on the trial in the Growing for Market magazine and Small Farmers Journal.
- To present findings to the Cornell Rice Project Cohort at their next meeting.
Rice is the third most widely grown crop in the world, and supports the diets of billions of people. While rice is typically grown in flooded paddies, “upland” or “dryland” rice has been selected for marginal conditions in areas where the flooding required for a paddy system is not available (Atlin et al.). As vegetable farmers on leased land, we are typical beginning farmers in the Northeast who don’t have permanent land tenure and cannot justify the investment in constructing a paddy.
With a focus on long-term food security, rice is a climate-resilient crop for the Northeast as it can tolerate both flooding/rain and dry conditions. Because it can be grown with the existing infrastructure of most vegetable farms, upland rice seamlessly integrates into vegetable production in the Northeast. Upland rice production is considered more climate-friendly as it retains the flood-tolerant qualities of paddy rice without the associated methane emissions, since the soil is not purposely deprived of oxygen for extended periods (Thakur and Uphoff 2017). Integrating production of a high-quality, nutrient dense, well-storing grain gives farmers an additional income-generating crop to sell through the winter months, while radically diversifying the nutrient/calorie profile the farmer is offering their community.
Germane to our work with this project is the System of Rice Intensification (SRI). In continuously flooded paddies, rice is planted very close together in a high-density stand. Plants are started in a nursery and transplanted at several weeks of age into clusters of 2-4 plants in the flooded paddy (Quinton 2023). These settings developed more intensively with the so-called “Green Revolution” which globalized the distribution of modern, “high-yielding” crop plants that responded to chemical fertilizers, herbicides and pesticides. With no limit on application but stagnant results, the externalities from these practices have been called into question as climate change has come into focus (Thakur and Uphoff 2017).
Seeking an alternative, attention came to the work of a French Monk in Madagascar who, working with local farmers, developed the practices that became known as SRI. Under Father Henri de Laulanié’s methods, farmers saw 25-100% yield increases. Through planting seedlings as single plants, with increased spacing, at 8-12 days old, seedlings developed stronger root systems and developed more tillers (grain heads) per plant, all with little to no chemical inputs (Uphoff 2002). More recent studies have shown that rice plants grown with SRI principles demonstrated increased capacity for extreme conditions, with more robust root systems and stronger stem strength, making them more resilient to the impacts of climate change (Thakur and Uphoff 2017).
In our experience growing rice, one limitation with upland rice production is the relatively low yield compared to paddy rice. SRI has dramatically increased yields for rice farmers around the world in the tropics, but has thus far not been applied to an upland production system in a cold climate. In this project, we aim to test both the principles of SRI in a cold climate and conduct trials of 10 different varieties that have shown promise in our rice growing efforts thus far. These trials will systematically test yield, overall agronomic performance and help identify parent lines for both seed production as well as future on-farm breeding efforts of novel varieties adapted for our climate.
Fortunately, we are not the only farmers committed to expanding rice production in the Northeast. Motivated by problems with crop loss from excess rainfall and increased flooding with climate change, Cornell Cooperative Extension and Cornell Rice Researchers started a working group focused on peer learning and resource sharing to increase the number of farmers growing rice in the Northeast. This fall Home Farm participated alongside several other farmers, extension agents, students and staff in the Cornell Rice Field Day 2024. The intention is for additional meetings with peer-to-peer classes likely to begin this winter.
Locally produced rice is a highly marketable product with great interest among consumers. Our colleague and collaborator Erik Andrus of Boundbrook Farm sells his 10,000lb rice harvest by March 1st. Rice is a widely-eaten staple that our food-educated populace in the Northeast is eager to purchase to compliment their local vegetables and proteins. Similar to the explosion of local grain sales, there is no limit to the sales potential of Northeast rice.
Additionally, adding rice to the Northeast larder as a consistent staple crop would make a contribution to regional food security. Grains make up 23.4% of American caloric intake on any given day (DeSilver 2016). However only 5% of those grains are actually grown in the Northeast (Joyce-Bulay 2021). This makes our region highly vulnerable in the face of political and climate instability. We simply must be able to grow a higher percentage of our communities’ caloric needs.
Another aspect of our contribution to the Northeast rice ecosystem is through the production of locally adapted seed varieties. Motivated by creating long-term food security in our region, we are establishing diverse rice varieties to offer through our seed company, Coming Home Seeds. The lack of genetic diversity in rice farmers’ fields is already proving to be catastrophic. The latest example of this is with a Japanese rice variety called ‘Koshihikari’ which is renowned around the world for its quality. This year, however, it vastly underperformed as Japan experienced unprecedented heat waves (Davis et al. 2024). With so many producers growing what is ostensibly a clone, their fate is tied to that one variety.
We can mitigate risk for both the market and for food security through having more than one “King” variety that is grown by a large percentage of producers. This is why we are committed to developing several varieties, so that as conditions continue to change, farmers are growing rice varieties with diverse genetics across the region. We believe that if we support this pattern of diversity now while Northeast rice production is in its early stages, we mitigate risk and increase food security and resilience through the time-honored practice of maintaining genetic diversity.
Cooperators
- - Technical Advisor
- - Producer
- - Producer
- (Researcher)
Research
We propose to conduct two separate trials during the 2025 growing season at our farm located at 1647 US 9 in Clermont, New York. The first is an SRI (System of Rice Intensification) trial and will examine the impact of transplant date and cultivar on milling quality and yield. The second is a variety trial and will focus on identifying elite cultivars for the region by quantifying yield, disease resistance, lodging incidence, thousand seed weight, and milling quality.
Trial Design
Both trials were built using a randomized complete block design (RCBD). The SRI trial will have four replicates and evaluate the effect of two treatments: seedling start date (9, 15, 21, and 28 days prior to transplant) and cultivar (Loto, Estrella, and Yukihikari). Seed start dates were chosen based on methodology outlined in the conference proceedings of the 2002 Assessment of the System of Rice Intensification (SRI) conference (Uphoff 2002) and cultivars were selected based on performance in past plantings at Home Farm. Actual dates of plant out had to be adjusted due to weather constraints, meaning plants were actually planted out at 16, 22, 28 and 35 days of maturity. Due to labor constraints, data on the 28-day treatment, which is being used as a comparison/regional standard, will be pulled from Loto, Estrella, and Yukihikari plots in the immediately adjacent variety trial. For this reason, the variety trial will have three replicates and an additional fourth partial replication of the cultivars included in the SRI trial (please see trial maps in supplemental materials for clarification). We ended up collecting data on nine cultivars of diverse origin and grain length for evaluation in the variety trial (Table 1), as some
|
Cultivar |
Origin |
Type/Grain Length |
Notes |
|
Delmati |
USA - LSU |
Basmati |
A basmati type rice developed by the Louisiana State University Agricultural Center in cooperation with the USDA-ARS, and other southern state Ag. Experiment Stations in the late 1990s. |
|
Estrella |
Colombia |
Medium-Long Grain |
A long-grain variety from Colombia that has consistently performed well for us in the past few seasons. |
|
IAC 600 |
USA - US Breeding Center |
Short Grain Black |
An aromatic, short grain purple rice that we acquired from Purple Mountain Organics in Maryland but that they got from the Dale Bumpers Rice breeding program in Arkansas. Performed well in Maryland and has shown promise for us in NY during previous season’s grow outs. |
|
Jupiter |
USA - US Breeding Center |
Medium-Short Grain |
A high-yielding, early-maturing, and short stature medium-grain rice cultivar that was developed in 2004, by the LSU AgCenter in cooperation with the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station, the Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station, and the Texas Agricultural Experiment Station. NOTE for progress report: Jupiter did not mature in time for data collection. |
|
Kumamoto |
Japan |
Short Grain |
Another Japanese variety that was one of our most resilient performers in 2024. |
|
Kyzyl Shala |
Uzbekistan |
Short Grain |
An early-maturing, short grain, extremely diverse landrace from Uzbekistan. It’s performed very well for us since our first grow out in 2020 and seems to thrive even in low input conditions. NOTE for progress report: This variety got disease quite severely (Blast) and we were unable to collect data on it. |
|
Loto |
Emilia-Romagna, Italy |
Risotto |
A short grain Risotto-type variety from the Emilia-Romagna region in Northern Italy. This has been a consistent performer among other northern rice growers. |
|
Purple Matsumae |
Japan |
Short Grain |
A Japanese variety that we’ve seen grown both in upland and paddy systems in the Northeast. Early maturity, striking purple foliage and delicious, short grains. |
|
Sutarsar |
India |
Medium Grain |
An upland variety originally from India with medium grain length. Praised by rice growers in Maine and Vermont who shared seed with us. |
|
Yukihikari |
Hokkaido, Japan |
Short Grain |
A workhorse that has been praised by other paddy and upland rice growers in Vermont and Maine. Originally from the island of Hokkaido in northern Japan, its name roughly translates to “snow light”. |
Table 1. Description of cultivars chosen for the variety trial.
Field and Transplant Preparation
Soil samples will be collected from the trial area prior to bed preparation and sent to Dairy One for analysis. Based on test results, the soil will be amended with the appropriate organic fertilizer to optimize fertility. Beds will be formed using black horticultural plastic with two lines of drip tape between the soil and plastic to provide irrigation season-long.
Seedlings will be started in a heated greenhouse maintained at 45°F either 9, 15, 21, or 28 days prior to our anticipated transplant date (May 19, 2025). All seeds for the cultivar trial will be started 28 days prior to transplant. Seeds will be soaked to encourage germination and sown into 200 cell trays containing organic Fort Vee potting mix at a depth of .5 inches. Trays will be checked twice daily for adequate moisture and watered as needed.
While we'd planned to plant on May 19, we ended up having to wait a week and planting on May 26th. The day before or the morning of, both trial fields will be measured and plots will be marked off using field marking paint to ensure appropriate spacing. Plots will be permanently labeled with UV-resistant plant tags mounted on tent pegs. Plants in both trials will be transplanted using a dibbler to ensure consistent spacing and planting depth and spaced 8 inches apart in-row and 11 inches apart between rows, resulting in 27 plants per plot. Please see supporting materials for trial maps and further explanation.
Trial maintenance will consist of regular weeding by hand until plants take up adequate space so that new weeds cannot germinate. Aisles will be maintained by mechanical tractor cultivation. Soil moisture will be continuously monitored and irrigation will be turned on as needed. In past years, we have not had any pest or disease issues, but we plan to scout the trial weekly and deal with any concerns as they arise.
Data Collection and Processing
In-field data collection for both trials will begin the week after planting and continue weekly until harvest. Please see Table 2 below for more information on data collection protocols and timing.
We anticipate that the trial will be ready to harvest starting in mid-September. The middle 4 feet of each plot will be harvested by hand with sickles, the grain separated carefully by hand and weighed to obtain the Whole Plot Green Harvest Weight. Grain from each plot will be placed into heavy-duty paper grocery bags labeled with each plot’s unique ID and transported to the Home Farm greenhouse for drying. After drying, we will thresh each sample and take a post-thresh weight, and post-winnow weight. Finally, after dehulling/milling. Data will be reported in the final report on both the kg ha-1 and lbs ac-1 basis.
|
Parameter |
Collection Timeframe |
Trial |
Description |
|
Disease Rating (% Disease) |
Weekly from transplant until harvest |
SRI, Variety |
Percent of total plant area within a plot presenting disease symptoms. Will be separated by disease type if disease occurs in trial. |
|
Weed Incidence (% Coverage) |
Weekly from transplant until harvest |
SRI, Variety |
Percent of plot area covered by weed canopy. |
|
Lodging (% Lodged Plants) |
Just prior to harvest |
SRI, Variety |
Percent of plants lodged in plot area. |
|
Plot Heading Date (50% Heading Date) |
Weekly from tillering until 50% heading |
SRI, Variety |
Date that the panicle emerged from the bottom flag leaf in 50% of plants. |
|
Harvest Maturity Date |
Monitored weekly after dough stage until harvest |
SRI, Variety |
Date that a subsample of grain from the plot reaches 12-14% moisture. |
|
Grain Moisture Content (% Moisture) |
At milling |
SRI, Variety |
Moisture content of grain at milling measured with our electronic moisture meter. |
|
Per Plot Pre-Milling Dry Grain Weight (g) |
During milling |
SRI, Variety |
Weight of dry grain from each plot pre-milling. |
|
Per Plot Post-Milling Dry Grain Weight (g) |
During milling |
SRI, Variety |
Weight of dry grain from each plot post-milling. |
|
Whole Milled Rice Percentage (%) |
During data processing |
SRI, Variety |
Percentage of marketable rice post-milling. Calculation: (Post-Milling Dry Grain Weight/Pre-Milling Dry Grain Weight)*100=Whole Milled Rice Percentage. |
|
Moisture Adjusted Rough Yield (kg ha-1) |
During data processing |
SRI, Variety |
Area Adjusted Green Harvest Weight adjusted to 120 g kg–1 moisture content. |
|
Whole Grain Rice Yield (kg ha-1) |
During data processing |
SRI, Variety |
Marketable whole rice yield. Calculation: (Moisture Adjusted Rough Yield)*(Whole Milled Rice Percentage)=Whole Grain Rice Yield (kg ha-1) |
Table 2. Description of data collection and reporting parameters partially adapted from Quinton 2023 and Blanche et al. 2009.
Data will be analyzed using analysis of variance (ANOVA) to evaluate the effects of transplant date and cultivar on rice yield and milling quality in the SRI trial and the impact of cultivar on yield and milling quality. Assumptions will be checked to assure normality and homogeneity of variances. Tukey’s HSD post-hoc test will be conducted to identify significant differences between treatment means. All data will be stored in Excel spreadsheets and analyses will be done in the lastest version of R. Potential R packages used to analyze and visualize data are tidyverse, emmeans, multicompView, agricolae, and ggplot2. Results will be conveyed to the public in a white paper distributed field day attendees, members of the Northeast Rice Coalition, and other relevant parties.
Field Day and Variety Showcase - Grower and Public Education Evaluation
We plan to survey attendees of both events pre- and post-event to assess how impactful our programming was. Participants will complete the pre-event survey when they register and will receive an email two weeks after each event asking them to complete the post-event survey. We will use approaches outlined in the NWF’s GrowMore Outreach Toolkit (Outreach Toolkit). Please see supplemental materials for survey examples.
Variety Showcase - Taste Test Survey
At the variety showcase, attendees will be asked to complete a survey to gather data on their perception on the flavor, texture, and aroma of all 8 cultivars included in the variety trial. Methodology was adapted from the Home Grown Taste Test Guide developed by the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction (Dill and Williams 2021). Please see the supplemental materials for a sample survey. This event will be held in early March 2026.
We were able to effectively implement our experiment as planned despite some setbacks due to weather, disease and general learning curve. A cold damp spring that kept the soil from drying out meant we were forced to delay our planting. We'd anticipated planting on May 19th and instead were forced to plant on May 26th. This slightly adjusted the age of the seedlings we planted out, but overall the experiment still demonstrated a diversity of seedling maturity dates and their impact on overall yield, seedling, crop vigor and ultimately, final yield.
Another factor impacting the data was a disease outbreak. Blast, a common fungal disease affecting rice, showed up in one variety, Kyzyl Shala and impacted some of the surrounding plots in one area of the field. We ended up roguing the worst of the diseased plots as to try and stem the spread, though from what we learned about Blast, if it's in one area of the field it's likely infected most of the field. Additionally, we learned how important it is to anticipate timing. Blast tends to show up right as plants are about to head out, and it affect plants more that are not in wet soil. Since we are upland rice producers, we were prepared to water every day once flowering begins, however, the level of observation as to how quickly some varieties flower means we need to 1)anticipate the day of flowering and 2) begin soaking the soil before that time.
Additionally, we believe that the Blast may have been seed borne. Another thing we learned was the importance of seed treatment before planting. Some other rice farmers a few towns over taught us their method for pre-seeding water treatment - keeping the seed at a consistent 140F for 7 minutes is supposed to eliminate Blast and a number of other seed borne pathogens from the seed. We anticipate completing these type of seed treatment for our 2026 planting.
Overall, we observed that seedlings younger that 21-22 days old have a hard time surviving in the field. Additionally, while we are still cleaning the rice from the trial plots and getting final numbers, it's clear that Loto and Estrella are well suited to our area, and when planted at about 21 days old, have a much higher yield potential than many of the other varieties we tested. From early calculations, based on 60" center plastic culture beds, they will yield between 3900lbs (Loto) and 3300lbs (Estrella) per acre. These are promising numbers.
We also learned that there is a significant amount of interest in rice in our region. We had over 80 people come to our SARE field day!
Finally, while we anticipated growing production rice at our second lease, about 16 miles away in Athens, NY separate from the SARE trial, we were unable to get into the fields until much later in the spring because of the weather and ended up not producing rice at the larger scale we'd hoped in 2025.
Overall, we sought to measure the System of Rice Intensification (SRI) methodology with three different varieties (Loto, Estrella, Yukihikariin a cold climate (Upstate NY's Hudson Valley) and complete a variety trial of 10 diverse rice varieties.
Despite the delayed planting date of May 26 (we'd aimed for May 19), we were still able to meet our objective and compare/contrast the planting dates and varieties.
While we are still finishing cleaning all the trial rice, winnowing it and weighing it, we observed that seedlings that are about three weeks old (21 days after sprouting) represent the right balance of seedling vigor and youthful, adaptive energy (not too weak, not root bound and able to quickly move through transplant shock). Plants that were younger than 21 days sometimes burned up in the sun or were unable to overcome weed pressure.
In terms of varieties, it seems clear that Loto and Estrella were the highest yielding, though we are still crunching final numbers.
An additional piece will be the taste test. We anticipate hosting our "rice tasting" event in early March with a local farm-to-table chef. We will report more on this during our final report.
Education & outreach activities and participation summary
Participation summary:
On Tuesday August 5th we hosted a field day with Scenic Hudson, Cornell CEE, Erik Andrus of Boundbrook Farm as well as about 75 other community members, including farmers and some other agricultural professionals. (see attached flyer). Participants heard about the trial, the importance of rice as a climate resilient crop for our region and got to observe the trial for themselves. They also heard from Erik Andrus about his work importing specialty rice equipment and the movement of rice growers in the Northeast. Rice Farming Field Day flyer 25
Additionally, we hosted a CRAFT event in early September. CRAFT is a regional training program for young and beginning farmers. We had an additional 50 people for this event. We spoke about rice, the trial as well as our work with stewarding and breeding rice and other staple crops.
In March 2026 we anticipate hosting a rice tasting where the public may come and taste our rice and hear about the trial, as well as our future goals with rice production.