Higher yields and lower methane emissions with new rice cultivars

Rice yields decline with higher night temperature from global warming.

The impact of projected global warming on crop yields has been evaluated by indirect methods using simulation models. Direct studies on the effects of observed climate change on crop growth and yield could provide more accurate information for assessing the impact of climate change on crop production. We analyzed weather data at the International Rice Research Institute Farm from 1979 to 2003 t...

Methane and nitrous oxide emissions from rice paddy fields

Recent field studies in rice paddy fields in Japan and China have shown that N2O is emitted to the atmosphere not only after the application of nitrogen fertilisers under flooded conditions but also in a period from the final drainage to submergence in the following rice-growing season through nitrification or denitrification. Those results clearly indicate that CH4 and N2O emissions in rice pa...

Global methane emissions from wetlands, rice paddies, and lakes

Optimizing grain yields reduces CH4 emissions from rice paddy fields.

Microbial production in anoxic wetland rice soils is a major source of atmospheric CH4 the most important non-CO2 greenhouse gas. Much higher CH4 emissions from well managed irrigated rice fields in the wet than in the dry season could not be explained by seasonal differences in temperature. We hypothesized that high CH4 emissions in the wet season are caused by low grain to biomass ratios. In ...

Effect of organic materials and rice cultivars on methane emission from rice field.

A field experiment was conducted for two years on a sandy loam (Typic Ustochrept) soil of Punjab to study the effect of organic materials and rice cultivars on methane emission from rice fields. The methane flux varied between 0.04 and 0.93 mg m(-2) hr(-1) in bare soil and transplanting of rice crop doubled the methane flux (0.07 to 2.06 mg m(-2) hr(-1)). Among rice cultivars, significantly (p ...