Jakarta – The office of the State Minister of Research and Technology will soon introduce irradiated rice using nuclear technology that is expected to double productivity from 7 to 14 tons per hectare.
"Besides the higher productivity, Bestari rice is more resistant to pests and has a shorter growing period," National Nuclear Energy Agency (BATAN) PR head Dedy Miharja said Thursday.
He added the rice, with a sowing-to-harvest period of 115 to 120 days, was soft and firm – a common characteristic of good-quality rice.
Regular Pandanwangi rice has a sowing-to-harvest time of 170 days. "The technology used is the irradiation of seeds by gamma ray," Dedy said.
Research on irradiated rice has been ongoing for four years, he said, adding the new rice had been tested in at least 20 locations, as required by the Agriculture Ministry for every new variety of rice.
Harvests at some test locations had yielded 7 tons of dry rice grains per hectare, with a potential of about 9.5 tons, while harvests at other sites showed 14 tons was obtainable.
"Its strength is not merely in the yield. The important thing is this rice is resistant to all kinds of diseases and pests, like the brown wereng and the leaf hawer," Dedy said. "Pests like these grow stronger each year, and this variety of rice is resistant to them."
BATAN has since 1982 produced 15 rice varieties using nuclear technology. One of them, Mira rice, is already on the market. BATAN is also testing nuclear technology on cotton and soybeans. The Mitani soybean and Kharisma 1 cotton are varieties tested last year.
"They are premium-class varieties, and more resistant to diseases and pests," Dedy said.
Mitani soybean yields an average of 2 tons per hectare, with a potential of 3.2 tons, while other varieties yield about 1.5 tons per hectare.
Bestari rice will be one of the highlights of the 14th annual National Technology Awakening Day celebrations on Aug. 10. Related events will be organized in eight cities by the Office of the State Minister for Research and Technology, from May to August.
Richard Mengko, the minister's defense technology assistant, said his office would hold an expo, Ritech, on creativity and technology. "If we lack creativity, we end up aping others' technology," he said.
"Ritech will showcase the latest achievements of the country's sons and daughters."
Syachril Anas, the ministry's science and technology PR head, said only the newest technologies would be presented, adding the ministry would also award creativity and innovation at the grassroots level.
Professor Engkos Koswara, one of the minister's adviser, said the ministry had to select from about 3,000 research proposals each year.
"Last year we selected 350 proposals for grants of a maximum of Rp 500 million," he said.
Richard said technology and science were intangible, therefore hard to assess, adding the results of research were not always visible. "But don't forget, we're investing in the human mind," he said. (iwp)