Snorkel rice could feed millions “起重机”式水稻或可养活数

A new rice plant has been developed which grows "snorkels²" when exposed to floods.

一种可以在洪水地区像“起重机”一样生长的新水稻被发现。

A paper in the journal Nature, describes how the plant elongates³（延长，伸长） rapidly in response to being submerged（水下的）.

One of the scientists, Motoyaki Ashikari from Nagoya University in Japan, said "the impact is huge".

It could also boost the production of rice in Asia and Africa, where up to 40% of crops are subject to flash floods or deep water.

"People cannot plant any crops in the rainy season, because the crops drown and die in the floods," said Mr Ashikari.

Writing in Nature, Laurentius Voesenek describes how the Japanese scientists discovered the "snorkel¹（液压起重机）" genes⁴ in flood-tolerant rice, and introduced them to more sensitive high-yield（产量很高的） rice.

"Snorkels" grow as hollow tubes from parts of the plant called internodes（节间）, preventing it from drowning.

When the floods arrive, the super rice plants can grow up to 25cm per day.