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134 History of the International Rice Research InstituteFrom 1963 through 1966, Johnson studied water losses by evapotranspirationand seepage on IRRI’s experimental farm, He found a high positivecorrelation between solar radiation and evapotranspiration, with the loss fromthis source amounting to more than 8 mm on a hot sunny day and to less than2 mm on a cool cloudy day. Along with the agronomists and physiologists, hefound a high correlation between solar radiation and dry matter production ofrice.Johnson's background and interests made him part engineer and partagronomist. During the 4 years that he devoted to research at IRRI, heconducted precise studies of the relationships between spacing and yieldcomponents. Although research in this category was being carried out by theagronomists and physiologists, Johnson used unique planting designs thatpermitted him to develop accurate mathematical equations for expressing therelationships between planting density and yield components. In a drylanddirect-seeded experiment, for example, he obtained positive correlation coefficientsof 0.99 between the land area available to each plant and both thenumber of panicles and the total grain weight per plant. The seeding densitywas such that the space per plant ranged from only a few centimeters to 500.He conducted similar experiments with transplanted rice. In one such study,2he used 41 spacings ranging from 1 to 400 plants/m and developed mathematicalrelationships between spacing and such factors as leaf area index, lighttransmission ratio, and yield components.CHEMISTRYThe work in the Chemistry Department fell into two categories — biochemistryand cereal chemistry, which are discussed separately here.BiochemistryAkazawa, the head of the Chemistry Department, arrived in mid-1962. Hisprevious training and experience were in basic biochemistry and he continuedworking in that area at IRRI. During his 2 years at the Institute, he concentratedmostly on studying the nature of the enzymatic mechanism of starch formationin ripening rice grains and the characteristics and changes of Fraction I proteinin the rice plant.A brilliant chemist, Akazawa contributed to the knowledge of the basicbiochemical processes occurring in the rice plant. Such findings, although notdirectly applicable to IRRI’s problem-oriented research program, were neverthelessof lasting value to other scientists engaged in similar pure research.When Natori replaced Akazawa in 1965, he studied primarily the functionof the amino acid histidine on the growth and development of the rice plant.Through water-culture techniques, he demonstrated that rice plants developednormally when the sole nitrogen source was any of the common aminoacids, with the exception of histidine. When fed histidine only, the plantsdeveloped normally until they reached the reproductive stage. From that pointon, no starch accumulated in the spikelets; thus, there was no grain formation.At harvest time, the histidine-fed plants had only 80% of the dry weight of the
Early research and training results 135plants fed with ammonium sulfate. This led to a series of basic studies on thenature of histidine-induced sterility in rice plants. Again, such studies were ofscientific interest and value. But because rice plants in nature do not grow ina medium where the only source of nitrogen is histidine, Natori's research hadno practical application in IRRI's goal to increase the productivity of the riceplant.After Natori returned to Japan, IRRI decided to concentrate on cerealchemistry, which had a direct bearing on developing varieties of rice withsuperior grain quality.Cereal chemistryDuring the 6-year period (1962-67) covered in this chapter, Juliano conductedhundreds of studies of the physicochemical properties of the rice grain. Byinvestigating the composition of the proteins and starch, he was able tocharacterize fully the chemical properties of rice and to relate them to eatingand cooking quality and nutritional value.He analyzed IRRI’s world collection of rice varieties for protein content andconcluded initially that because the variations ranged from 5.6 to 18.2%, therewas hope of developing improved varieties with a genetically high proteincontent. Although the project was pursued industriously by both the cerealchemist and the plant breeders, it was not finally successful, chiefly because ahigh negative correlation between protein content and yield was found.To determine the preferred eating and cooking quality, Juliano analyzed theleading varieties from some six Asian countries. In addition, he ran tastingpanels in cooperation with the Department of Home Technology of the Collegeof Agriculture. He concluded from those studies that the amylose and amylopectincontents of the starch 1argely determined the cooking and eatingquality of rice. The higher the proportion of amylose (and consequently thelower the proportion of amylopectin), the greater the tendency of the rice tocook dry and fluffy and the greater the resistance of the grain to disintegrateeven after long cooking. It became clear that the rice-eating population of thePhilippines and Indonesia preferred a medium-amylose rice. IRRI’s earlyvarieties were too dry-cooking and tended to harden excessively when theycooled. After the first 2-3 years, IRRI’s plant breeders made a strong effort tocreate some varieties that would meet the quality preferences of Filipinos andIndonesians. The first variety to meet the requirement was named IR24 in 1971(the cross having been made several years earlier).The broad scope of Juliano’s work in cereal chemistry can be surmised fromthe following partial list of the topics it covered: the amino acid content of riceproteins, fatty acid content of the lipids of rice, changes in the cooking andeating quality during storage, methods for testing rice quality, physicochemicalstudies of rice starch and rice protein, amylose and eating quality of rice,grain hardness and grain structure, changes in physicochemical propertiesduring ripening, endosperm capacity, nutritive value of rice, parboiling andgrain properties, relationships between starch gelatinization temperature andother properties of the grain, and the protein content of wild species of rice.
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An Adventurein Applied Science:A HI
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ContentsDedication viiAbout this pu
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About this publication . . .In 20 y
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xiname, and release varieties. Thus
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PrefaceThe International Rice Resea
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CHAPTER 1An international institute
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An international institute for rice
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CHAPTER 2Developing and staffingthe
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Developing and staffing the program
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Page 117 and 118: Chapter 4Early Researchand training
Page 119 and 120: Early research and training results
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Page 161 and 162: CHAPTER 5Financing of IRRIThe purpo
Page 163 and 164: Financing of IRRI 149foreign assist
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Page 181 and 182: Aerial view of IRRI in1981.However,
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Page 192 and 193: IRRI today 181neering Department: K
Page 194 and 195: IRRI today 183In spite of this high
Page 196 and 197: IRRI today 185turn, received geneti
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IRRI today 1871. Research to assist
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Appendices 189materials could readi
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Appendix 2OVERSEAS DEVELOPMENTINTER
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Appendices 193ate to concentrate on
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Appendices 195estimates for buildin
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Appendices 197(4) Development of pr
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Appendices 199was approved for the
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Appendices 201association, or perso
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Appendices 203b. To pass upon the b
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Appendices 205Article VIIMISCELLANE
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208 History of the International Ri
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