Planting Rice in Fish Ponds to Boost Food Security

In the midsummer season, at the Guangdong International Fishery High tech Park in Dongyong Town, Nansha District, Guangzhou, the approximately 14 acre fish pond rice planting experimental demonstration base welcomed a bumper harvest. This is the first experimental site led by the Provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, jointly conducted by the Guangdong Provincial Agricultural Technology Promotion Center and the Rice Research Institute of our institute (hereinafter referred to as the Rice Institute) to conduct research on fish pond rice related technologies.

Fish pond rice planting refers to a new type of rice planting method that uses materials such as floating plates as carriers to grow rice on the water surface. Through reasonable development and utilization of fish pond water surface rice planting, water rice planting, and underwater aquaculture, it achieves one water dual use. Guangdong, especially the the Pearl River Delta, has a large area of aquaculture. Rational use of fish pond water surface for rice planting is an effective way to stabilize or even increase rice planting area and yield. At the same time, it can also help solve problems such as basic farmland restoration, land competition for grain and fishing, and pollution of fish pond tail water.

The 10 rice varieties planted in this experiment are all high yield, disease resistant, and high-quality varieties selected by the Rice Institute of our institute, including silk seedling rice and salt tolerant red rice varieties. From these varieties, excellent varieties suitable for fish pond cultivation were selected, with a maximum yield of over 730 kilograms per mu. Although there were sustained heavy rainfall and typhoons in the middle and later stages of this year’s early season experiment, there was no lodging phenomenon. The silkworm excrement biological Manure independently developed by our institute was also used in the test. From the current test results, it is safe for fish, and rice and fish grow well.

Guangdong silk seedling rice variety. This variety has a beautiful appearance, a strong rice taste, and a soft, smooth, and fragrant aroma. It has won the National Gold Award for Taste and Quality Evaluation of High Quality Rice Varieties for three consecutive years. It is the only indica rice variety in China to receive this honor, and is the main variety of high-end and high-quality rice brands in Guangdong Province. For many years, it has ranked first in the rice planting area in Guangdong Province. It has been extensively promoted in 8 provinces including Guangdong, Guangxi, Jiangxi, Hunan, Sichuan, Yunnan, Shaanxi, and Hainan, and is the largest variety of high-quality indica rice in China.

A three-line hybrid rice combination formed by combining high-quality slender grain male sterile line Taifeng A and restoring line Guanghui 208, both of which were bred from the same rice variety. The plant is short and sturdy, with a moderate plant type, large panicles and many grains. It is a high-end and high-quality Thai rice variety that combines good resistance, good taste, and high and stable yield. Taifengyou 208 has won the National Gold Award for Quality Rice Taste Evaluation for two consecutive years, making it one of the only two hybrid indica rice varieties. Suitable for early and late rice planting in the northern Guangdong and central northern rice growing areas of Guangdong Province, and for late rice planting in double cropping rice areas in some areas of Jiangxi and Guangxi.

A breakthrough new rice variety that coordinates super high yield with super high quality and high-level. The rice grains are slender and slender, the rice is shiny and fragrant, and delicious. It has won multiple honors such as “Top 10 High Quality Gold Award Products at the First Guangdong Rice Industry Development Conference” and “Top 10 Gold Award Varieties of Guangdong International Famous Rice (Indica Rice)”. After being approved by Guangdong and recognized as the “Guangdong Silk Seedling Rice Variety”, it has been selected as the leading agricultural variety in Guangdong Province and is currently the main brand variety of the Guangdong Silk Seedling Rice Industrial Park. At the same time, introduction experiments were conducted in Hainan, Guangxi, and Hunan, and large-scale promotion and planting began.

Guangdong silk seedling rice variety developed using dynamic plant type breeding theory and technology. With good plant type, high yield, and resistance to rice blast, it is one of the top ten gold medal varieties of Guangdong International Famous Rice (Indica Rice) and won the Bronze Award in the Indica Rice Group at the 3rd Heilongjiang International Rice Festival in China. Through the identification of Guangdong silk seedling rice varieties, it is the main variety of high-end and high-quality rice brands in Guangdong Province. Currently, it has been promoted and planted in multiple regions of South China, and is highly welcomed by farmers.

Early evening dual purpose sensitive, medium late maturing conventional rice varieties. Strong lodging resistance, suitable for light and simplified cultivation such as direct seeding, as well as application in new composite industries such as fish and rice. It has a wide adaptability and has been approved by Guangdong, Hainan, Guangxi, Hubei and other provinces, making it suitable for early and late planting in rice growing areas outside of northern Guangdong in our province. Selected as the leading agricultural variety in Guangdong Province and Guangzhou City.

In the future, the industrial park will revolve around the development of modern seed industry and promote the implementation of seed industry revitalization, with our comprehensive experimental base as the core area, the supply of high-quality and characteristic seed seedlings as the core task, quality testing and supporting services for improved varieties and methods as the link, and demonstration bases as the window, Focus on building the overall spatial layout of “one core and five platforms” (“one core”, i.e. the core area for efficient crop breeding in South China; “five platforms”) It refers to the South China seed and seedling breeding technology innovation platform, South China seed and seedling quality inspection and guarantee technology platform, South China improved seed and method technology integration and display and promotion platform, Guangdong seed industry scientific and technological achievements transformation and seed and seedling trading platform, Plantation seed industry data and information service platform), and then build a seed industry development system integrated with “breeding and promotion” to create a new highland of seed industry core technology support services, Serve the modern agricultural industrial park and seed industry throughout the province, and contribute agricultural technology to achieve self-reliance and self-reliance of seed cores throughout the province and ensure food security.