New Clearfield rice variety offers improved quality

Horizon Ag announced the launch of a new, high-yielding semi-dwarf Clearfield variety with significant improvements to cooking quality.

 

Developed by Mississippi State University, the new CL163 is an example of the efforts made by Horizon Ag and its university partners to improve not only yield potential and production practices, but also the quality of rice being grown in the United States. According to a major domestic food company that has tested this variety extensively, CL163 has cooking and processing properties that represent significant improvements over most lines planted in the U.S. today.

 

“Horizon Ag and it rice-breeding partners are focused on improving the overall quality of U.S.-grown rice to meet the needs of our export partners,” said Dr. Tim Walker, general manager of Horizon Ag. “Our industry was once the unmatched leader in producing high-quality rice grain, but today, there is more competition for that title. We can separate ourselves again by focusing breeding and development on varieties like CL163 that bring value at the buyer level and improved production at the farm level. The result is better potential for farm profitability.”

 

Well-adapted to the southern rice-growing environments, CL163 has shown to offer yield potential that is between CL111 and CL151 in over 50 testing locations. It has high amylose content (26%) compared to other current long-grain varieties on the market and is an ideal candidate for the parboil industry. Because of its desirable cooking properties and grain quality, CL163 offers the potential for the identity-preservation and contracting market.