Phl rice to be preserved using Korea`s technique

Complete structure of rice plant can be preserved until four years using a plant preservation technique developed in Korea .

Dr. Jeong-Kwon Nam , rice breeder from the National Institute of Crop Science of Korea ’s Rural Development Authority, recently trained researchers of Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice) on rice plant liquid preservation at the Korean Project on International Agriculture (KOPIA) Center based in Science City of Muñoz, Nueva Ecija.

“This type of plant preservation retains the original color and structure of the plant, even symptoms of diseases, until three to four years,” Nam said.

Nam said liquid preservation can be done in easy-to-follow steps but requires risky liquid solutions. In conducting the method, the Korean expert recommended the use of proper protection equipment such as gloves and masks.

Meanwhile, Dr. Sang-Guei Lee, KOPIA director, said plant preservation is necessary to “provide a form of verifiable evidence of a plant’s existence in time and space.” The technique is also useful for museums and future studies on rice varieties.

The liquid preservation method will be PhilRice’s first in preserving rice plants with complete structure.

“Currently, PhilRice has a genebank to preserve only the rice grains. This preservation method will be a good start and later, studies may be conducted to increase the storage life of this method,” Dr. Norvie Manigbas, lead of KOPIA’s varietal improvement team, said. 

Manigbas said PhilRice will try rice plant liquid preservation to improve the quality of rice varieties to be showcased in museums.