The Rice Open Field Day celebrates 25 years supporting the sector

Friday, August 10, 2018
IRTA

The annual Rice Open Field Day, organized by IRTA, will be held for the 25th time on 30 September. The event, conducted for the first time in 1993, has become a meeting point for producers, cooperatives and companies linked to the sector. This year it expects to bring together more than 300 people at IRTA’s Ebro Experimental Field in Amposta, Spain.

The event will be used to present the most significant results of the research carried out on rice during the different tests at IRTA Ebro Experimental Field. Mar Català, an IRTA researcher and the event organizer, emphasizes that “all the work done is always in keeping with the needs of the sector”. Thus, this year, in response to the demands of rice growers in the Delta, the results of a strategy to reduce the presence of the apple snail, consisting of removing the water long before harvesting, will be presented. Another of the topics to be covered will be dry seeding, viewed from different standpoints.

The most important activities conducted outside the station, to be displayed in a poster area, include the Origins^TM project. The aim of this joint project between Kellogg’s and IRTA is to educate rice growers in Ebro Delta to enable them to improve the profitability and sustainability of their crops.

In addition to the technical presentations, the Rice Open Field Day will have technological display cases where companies will be able to exhibit the latest developments in plant material and fungicide-related strategies. A machinery demonstration has also been added this year. The number of companies attending the event has increased in recent years, demonstrating that IRTA’s Rice Open Field Day is not just a showcase for research but also aims to be a meeting point for relationships and innovation within the sector.

Mar Català points out that “the transfer that takes place in this day sets an example for other rice-growing areas”. The goal of this year’s edition is consolidation, with IRTA as a strategic ally within the sector. In addition, the plan for the future is to hold a biannual edition to give the event a more international nature, so that it also becomes a major European event.

The event will end with a meal for all the attendees to celebrate the 25 years of research alongside the sector.