SEED DORMANCY OF TWO RICE CULTIVARS IN COSTA RICA

3. COSTA RICA

B. SEED DORMANCY OF TWO RICE CULTIVARS IN COSTA RICA

Transgenic rice may represent an alternative for Costa Rican farmers to easily manage noxious weeds along with a reduction in input-and-labour costs. However, it is known that crosses between transgenic rice and wild relatives occur, which is of great concern in regions of high biodiversity. The chances of having crosses between the transgenic and the wild species are higher when their flowering times overlap. During rice harvest, there are a large number of seed that fall on the ground, and may taken by the current of water (in the case of flooded rice) to adjacent fields. Those seeds may germinate immediately, may remain in the soil for a long period without losing their germination potential, or may die. If seed of a transgenic crop germinate, and flower at the same time as its wild relatives, the chances for crosses to occur are high. Since the use of transgenic crops is highly regulated in Costa Rica, for this experiment the rice cultivars that will be used are the ones that have been used to be genetically modified to have herbicide resistance, assuming that the characteristics related to seed dormancy are the same after transformation.

With this study, we aim to elucidate:

The time seeds of the varieties CR-5272 and Palmar 18 remain viable when stored at ambient conditions

The time seeds remain viable in the ground after burial at different depths.

Contacto: Adriana Murillo Williams  - UNIVERSIDAD DE COSTA RICA

E-mail: adriana.murillowilliams@ucr.ac.cr

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