Scientists at the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) and their Indian partners have made a major breakthrough in developing drought-tolerant rice varieties that can sustain higher yields during water scarcity. The research, published in the Journal of Experimental Botany, highlights a gene variant called OsIRO2 that showed significant potential when introduced into the popular rice variety DRR Dhan 44.
Water stress during the reproductive stage of rice growth often leads to severe yield losses, but this newly discovered gene variant helps the crop maintain productivity even under drought conditions. Field trials across multiple locations and seasons tested 450 rice lines, revealing that rice carrying this OsIRO2 variant produced up to 27% more grain compared to the original variety, without compromising yield stability.
