ABSTRACT
International agricultural research centers and national programs in many rice-growing countries are conducting well-rounded research efforts covering all important aspects of rice production. This chapter presents a few lines of investigations that show unusual promise of making, within the next decade, a significant contribution toward the removal of serious constraints to high rice yields on farmers' fields. The yield potential and the disease and insect resistance of the rice plant have improved remarkably since the 1960s. Early maturing rice varieties make possible the growing of several rice crops within 12 months. Some of the rice breeding objectives that need to be stressed are early maturity, more stable resistance to insect and disease attack, maintenance of fertilizer responsiveness, and tolerance to drought, to varying water depth, and to adverse soil conditions. Rice breeding work aimed at developing stronger resistance to insect and disease attack has usually involved major single gene resistance.
