Farman Jodari, Ph.D. Plant Breeder

AREAS OF RESEARCH: Long Grains, Basmati, and Jasmine Rice Breeding, Cooking and Milling Quality, Grain Fissuring, and Stem Rot Resistance.

RESEARCH STATEMENT:

Long-grain breeding at CRES is focused on improving yield potential, head rice milling yield, and specific cooking characteristics of three important cooking quality types, the traditional Southern U.S. long-grain, "Newrex quality", and basmati rice. Improvement of seedling vigor, and resistance to stem rot, aggregate sheath spot, and cool temperature induced blanking are part of the ongoing effort.

Long-grain acreage has declined in California and one of the primary factors cited is low head rice (whole kernel) yield in current varieties which increases the unit cost of whole kernel long-grain rice. The long-grain project is addressing this problem through extensive research and breeding efforts.

  A new Basmati type Aromatic long-grain variety was released to California growers in 1999. Catmati-201 possesses extreme cooked kernel elongation and cooking qualities that approach those of imported basmati rice, with slightly less flakiness. This semidwarf variety heads at about the same time as A-201 and an average of 5 days later than L-204. Calmati-201 is pubescent and susceptible to cold induced blanking and is not recommended for cooler regions. In spite of cold sensitivity, Calmati-201 is expected to perform well in warmer regions in California especially for a basmati class of rice. Basmati rice yield levels are inherently lower than standard varieties even in their country of origin, primarily due to their small and slender kernels. 

 Breeding for resistance to stem rot disease is an important aspect of the long-grain breeding project. In a Preliminary Yield Test a stem rot and sheath spot resistant long-grain experimental, 94-Y-561, yielded more than L-203 (not statistically significant). This improved yield potential represents a significant improvement over the released stem rot tolerant germplasm line 87-Y-550. Like 87-Y-550, stem rot resistance was transferred to 94-Y-561 from the wild species Orzya rufipogon through a complex series of backcrosses in the long grain breeding project. Stem rot inoculation and evaluations were conducted by the cooperating CRES rice pathology project. 94-Y-561 would not be acceptable as a commercial variety because of low head rice milling yield. However, 94-Y-561 is already in use as a stem rot resistant donor parent in the long-, medium-, and short-grain breeding projects at CRES. It is hoped that this line may serve as a "bridge" in the incorporation of stem rot resistance into California rice varieties from the wild species O. rufipogon.
 
 

AFFILIATIONS:

Associate Department of Agronomy and Range Science, University of California Davis

Member of Crop Science Society of America

Member of American Society of Agronomy

Member  1997-2001  Rice Crop Germplasm Committee

Member of Rice Technical Working Group

Linscombe, S.D., F. Jodari, K.S. McKenzie, P.K. Bollich, L.M. White, D.E.  Groth, and R.T. Dunand. 1993. Registration of ‘Cypress’ rice. Crop Science. 33:355.

Linscombe, S.D., F. Jodari, P. Christou, M.P. Braverman, J.H. Oard, and D.E. Sanders.    1996.  Potential for use of transgenic rice for the control of Oryza sativa and other rice weeds. Proc. 2^nd Intl. Weed Control Congress, Copenhagen, 435-439.

Jodari, F., S.D. Linscombe, P.K. Bollich, K. Bett, D.E. Groth, L.M. White, and R.T. Dunand.  1996. Registration of  ‘Dellrose’ rice. Crop Sci.  36:1413.

Jodari, F.  and  S.D. Linscombe,  1996. Grain fissuring and milling yield of rice cultivars as influenced by environmental conditions. Crop Sci. 36:1496-1502.               

Linscombe, S.D., F. Jodari, P.K. Bollich, D.E. Groth, L.M. White, R.T. Dunand, and D.E. Sanders.  1997.  Registration of `Lafitte' rice.  Crop Sci. 37:631.

 Jodari, F. and S.D. Linscombe. 1996. Grain fissuring resistance improves milling quality in rice cultivars. La. Agri. 39(4):26-30.

 Chu, QR, HX Cao, F Jodari, and S Linscombe. 1998. Carbon sources on embryogenic callus induction of  Southern U.S. crosses. Rice Biotechnology Quarterly 35:14-15.

 Jodari, F., X. Sha, S.D. Linscombe, P.K. Bollich, D.E. Groth, L.M. White, R.T. Dunand and Q.R. Chu.  2003. Registration of  ‘Dellmati’ rice. Crop Sci.  43:435-436.