Happy Aloha Friday PGS Blog Readers. Whether or not global warming is real or just a fear based phenomenon, no one can deny the fact that we are all experiencing  climate changes locally and worldwide. It doesn’t matter if you grow indoor or outside, these changes  effect all of us and our growing habits. One of the most obvious and noticeable things so far is water prices, shortages, water quality, and the politics behind it all. Growing crops that use heavy amounts of water is already becoming a little more costly then it did say 10 years ago. Fast forward another 10 years from now, and what do you expect water prices and availability to do? All trends and analysis, articles, studies, hypothesis, and science say that we will have less and less water as time goes by and it will be more and more expensive as the years pass. This is not just global warming hype or conspiracy theory, if you think your going to always have that fresh water right at the tap for the same $$ that you pay now, you are kidding yourself. As resources get squandered and sold like product, we all will need to find ways to grow more with less water. I found an article about a couple new strains of rice that only need a fraction of the water. When I lived in Hawaii, I met Coffee growers and Grape growers that did the same. All of this makes me consider that we need some new strains of drought resistant varieties that don’t have such serious water demands, yet still yield a bounty of quality and quantity. Experiment with some of your strains and see which ones perform well with less water. I also know from my 5 hour seminar with Paul Stamets, that fungi, both on the top soil or medium, as well as inoculated in your medium helps with this process. He told us about beneficial viruses that work with fungi to colonize root zones and coat roots with a waxy substance that keeps them from getting stressed under drought conditions and allows plants to thrive even though they are getting less water then usual. I strongly encourage everyone to explore these methods of water conservation and control. I know it’s possible to get bonifide bumper crops even though your using less water. Many people come into the stores wanting to talk about how much less water they use by growing with hydroponic methods. This is an interesting conversation for me. I used to grow hydro, strictly ebb and flow. I also have tried Aeroflow, Waterfarms, Rainforests, and drip emission. If you always top off your res, then yes I would say hydroponic techniques does use less water then traditional soil/ container gardening, but I have never met one grower, myself included that didn’t toss out the water in your res after its been in there a couple weeks. While topping it off works, it often leads to problems over time, and all hydroponic recipes call for a fresh change of your nutrient solution at least every 10-14 days. What do you do with this extra water…. Well if your like 98 percent of all hydro growers, you flush it down the drain, wasting 1000s of gallons over a lifetime. Dumping your old nutrient water into your yard or garden is bad for the environment over time and can pollute ground water supply. All of this is leading to my point which is, USE LESS WATER. If you dump your old nutrient solution each time, then you will use less water doing a drain to waste or container to waste technique. As I type these words, I realize once again how vital organic gardening is, and how the microbial dynamics of your garden play such a crucial role in all metabolic functions and in obtaining the perfect “Bumper Crop” while being sustainable.

Rice Today’s July-September 2009 edition features the development of drought-tolerant rice and other research the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) and its collaborators are doing to curb the devastating effects of drought.

With some degree of water shortages predicted to affect 15-20 million hectares of irrigated rice within 25 years, smart crop management and even genetically modified rice may also play a role in helping farmers cope with the crisis.

Rice Today also reports that in Uganda rice production has increased 2.5 times from 2004 to 2008 through government initiatives, private investment, and farmer support.

Across the other side of the planet rice production, consumption, and prospects in Latin America are being explored. Rice is being promoted to consumers in Mexico and Central America and in Brazil production is improving.

In light of further boosting production, IRRI takes a look at some practical solutions to help reduce grain losses and improve grain quality during postharvest. Between 15-20% of rice grains are often lost at this stage because of unsuitable drying techniques, pests, and other factors.

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