economy

Research on fast breeding is now widely conducted on a global scale to breed and improve good crop varieties in a short span of time by introducing bioengineering technology.

The Academy of Agricultural Science established a new technology for fast rice breeding in line with the specific conditions of the country.

Scientists of the academy ensured the domestic production of a device for fast rice breeding and invented a new breeding technology based on the device, thus opening a prospect for remarkably shortening the period of breeding new rice varieties.

"The technology for fast rice breeding enables us to accelerate the growth of rice and minimize its growth period by artificially creating the environment and conditions necessary for the growth of rice," said Jo Yong Ae, a researcher of the academy.

In order to develop in a short span of time a technology for breeding the good rice varieties that can produce high and stable yields despite unfavourable weather conditions, the scientists made various facilities capable of automatically ensuring light, temperature, humidity and carbon dioxide with locally available techniques and materials and solved in a Korean way the technical problems arising in setting up the relevant control system.

As a result, a breeding technology for cultivating several generations of rice in one year was established, a relevant material and technical foundation created and another scientific foundation laid for breeding good varieties in a short time.

Now, the scientists are intensifying research into breeding new rice varieties that are highly resistant to diseases, short in growth period and of good quality and produce high yield by applying the fast breeding technology.