An antioxidant can save Italian rice from climate change

Italy produces half of Europe's rice, especially in the Po Valley.Salinization due to drought is causing damage, but today there is a solution.

•  Italy produces 50 percent of European rice, but the drought is putting crops in crisis by increasing the salinity of the soil.
• In 2023 alone, the cultivated area decreased by 8,182 hectares (-3.7 percent compared to 2022, with 210,239 hectares).
• An Italian discovery can save the situation, transferring an antioxidant from the more resistant rice varieties to the more fragile ones.

Perhaps Italian rice, threatened by climate change, is safe.Thanks to scientific research:a team of researchers fromCampus Bio-Medico University of Rome in fact it has identified the molecular characteristics that allow some varieties of rice to resist the increase in soil salinity, offering a promising solution to guarantee the sustainability of rice production in the future.

Half of European rice comes from Italy 

Italy is the main rice producer in Europe, with around 50 percent of the crops and an annual production of around 1.5 million tonnes.However, the Italian varieties, appreciated all over the world, are suffering due to the increase in salinity of the water in areas like the Po Valley, where over 95 percent of national production is concentrated.Excess salt in the soil can cause a significant reduction in productivity, putting the production capacity of the rice sector at risk.The phenomenon of salinisation is closely linked to climate change, because it occurs when rainfall is not sufficient to eliminate the salts contained in the soil.

The research focused on four varieties of rice grown in Italy: Baldo and Onyx, more tolerant to salt, e Selenium and Vialone Nano, more sensitive.By analyzing the molecular traits related to the symptoms of suffering and growth inhibition due to soil salinisation, researchers have identified the ability to produce and accumulate antioxidants, such as glutathione, the key to greater salt stress tolerance.“The results obtained so far from our research were presented in recent days at the international congress 'Reactive Oxygen and Nitrogen Species in Plants' organized by Plant Oxygen Group in Antibes Juan-les-Pins“, explained the teacher Vittoria Locato, teacher of Food Sciences and Human Nutrition and of Food Science and Technology and Food Design.“In the coming months it will be possible to identify tolerance markers present in the plants most resistant to soil salinisation.Once these markers have been identified, it will be possible, through different biotechnological approaches, to transfer the resilience characteristics to rice varieties which, despite having great productive interest, are not resistant to salt stress".

 

This discovery could revolutionize rice production, allowing different varieties to be crossed to obtain crops that are more resistant to climate change and maintaining the organoleptic properties that make Italian rice and risotto famous throughout the world.“Thanks to the possibility of crossing the different varieties of rice”, continues Locato, “it will be possible to transfer characteristics of tolerance to environmental stress to varieties of agronomic interest, obtaining crops that are more resistant to climate change and therefore more productive”.

The crisis of rice production in Italy

The main rice production areas in Italy include Piedmont (Vercelli and Biellese), Lombardy (Lomellina and Pavia), Emilia Romagna (Ferrara and Po Delta), Veneto (Verona and Rovigo), Sardinia (Oristano and Muravera), Tuscany (Grosseto), Calabria (Piana di Sibari), Friuli Venezia Giulia (Udine), Sicily (Piana di Lentini) and, recently, also Trentino.In the 2023, the cultivated area decreased by 8,182 hectares (-3.7 percent compared to 2022, with 210,239 hectares), and throughout Europe there is a decline in production due to the consequences of global warming, which worsens the salinity of the soil.

The discovery of salt tolerance markers represents a crucial turning point for the future of rice production in Italy.This innovation could ensure that Italian rice varieties, renowned for their organoleptic qualities, can continue to thrive despite the challenges posed by climate change, thus ensuring the sustainability of rice production in the long term.