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Research article2020Peer reviewedOpen access

Adaptation of Rice to the Nordic Climate Yields Potential for Rice Cultivation at Most Northerly Site and the Organic Production of Low-Arsenic and High-Protein Rice

Fei, Mingliang; Jin, Yunkai; Jin, Lu; Su, Jun; Ruan, Ying; Wang, Feng; Liu, Chunlin; Sun, Chuanxin

Abstract

There is an urgent demand for low-arsenic rice in the global market, particularly for consumption by small children. Soils in Uppsala, Sweden, contain low concentrations of arsenic (As). We hypothesize that if certain japonica paddy rice varieties can adapt to the cold climate and long day length in Uppsala and produce normal grains, such a variety could be used for organic production of low-arsenic rice for safe rice consumption. A japonica paddy rice variety, "Heijing 5," can be cultivated in Uppsala, Sweden, after several years' adaptation, provided that the rice plants are kept under a simple plastic cover when the temperature is below 10 degrees C. Uppsala-adapted "Heijing 5" has a low concentration of 0.1 mg per kg and high protein content of 12.6% per dry weight in brown rice grain, meaning that it thus complies with all dietary requirements determined by the EU and other countries for small children. The high protein content is particularly good for small children in terms of nutrition. Theoretically, Uppsala-adapted "Heijing 5" can produce a yield of around 5100 kg per ha, and it has a potential for organic production. In addition, we speculate that cultivation of paddy rice can remove nitrogen and phosphorus from Swedish river water and reduce nutrient loads to the Baltic Sea and associated algae blooms.

Keywords

low-arsenic rice; high-protein rice; infant food; rice for cold climate; Uppsala rice cultivation; Baltic Sea

Published in

Frontiers in Plant Science
2020, Volume: 11, article number: 329

      SLU Authors

          • Sustainable Development Goals

          End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture

          UKÄ Subject classification

          Agricultural Science

          Publication identifier

          DOI: https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2020.00329

          Permanent link to this page (URI)

          https://res.slu.se/id/publ/105809