For the past several years, Brazil has caught much of the attention of the global rice market. The large increase in rice production in Brazil, its expanding share in the international rice markets and its highly valued quality rice have made it recognized as a major player in the global rice market. Herbicides have played a major role in the increase in rice production in Brazil.

“Weedy red rice is one of the main problems in most of the rice-growing regions of the world because it decreases rice grain yield and milling quality. …The development of imidazolinone herbicide–resistant rice cultivars has allowed selective control of weedy red rice in the rice crop. This technology has been used across approximately 1.1 million ha in Brazil and the same area in the United States, and is under development in several countries in South and Central America, Central Europe, and Asia. The use of imidazolinone herbicides on imidazolinone-resistant rice cultivars has improved the control of red rice and led to the adoption of better crop management practices. In Brazil, this system started to be used in 2003, and since 2007 these processes resulted in an increase of approximately 40% in the mean rice grain yield in southern Brazil. Similar benefits have also been observed in other areas where this technology has been used.”

Authors: Goulart, C. G. R., et al.
Affiliations: Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil.
Title: Distribution of weedy red rice (Oryza sativa) resistant to imidazolinone herbicides and its relationship to rice cultivars and wild Oryza species.
Source: Weed Science. 2014. 62:280-293.­ Available: http://www.bioone.org/doi/abs/10.1614/WS-D-13-00126.1