BASF's Clearfield effectively combats red rice in Uruguay

The rice sector was worried about the growth of the weed called red rice, stated Martín Piriz, from the company BASF in January 2009. Nowadays, more than four years later, his concerns became true.

Red rice is a very harmful weed which belongs to the same group of cultivated rice. This species competes against rice for water, nutrients, light and space, reducing the yield of paddy. Besides, it affects the milling quality of the rice, reducing the percentage of whole grain and, thus, the commercial value of the final product.

Currently, Clearfield is the best technology to face this problem. It is the only resource currently available (non transgenic) for the efficient chemical treatment of red rice in severely infected fields. The Clearfield Production System for Rice was developed by BASF and “consists in the combination of the use of Kifix herbicide-a mix of imidazolinones- together with certified seeds of rice which have mutations that make them resistant to the herbicide”, explained people working at the lab.

“The package is completed with a series of handling requirements and recommendations to ensure the usefulness of this technology, which aims to minimize the risk of crossing between Clearfield rice and red rice. The area using this technology has grown exponentially since its release in 2009, from 4,800 to 13,000 hectares for this harvest,” BASF officials said.