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IR8 is a high-yielding semi-dwarf rice variety developed by the
International Rice Research Institute The International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) is an international Agricultural science, agricultural research and training organization with its headquarters in Los Baños, Laguna, in the Philippines, and offices in seventeen countries. IRRI ...
(IRRI) in the early 1960s. It was the work by Peter Jennings (no relation to the U.S. journalist) and
Henry Beachell Henry Monroe "Hank" Beachell (September 21, 1906 – December 13, 2006) was an American plant breeder. His research led to the development of hybrid rice cultivars that saved millions of people around the world from starvation. Born in Waver ...
. In November 1966, IR8 was introduced in the
Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...
and India. Promoters such as the IRRI and farmer benefactors of IR8 have called it 'miracle rice', and celebrate it for fighting famine. IR8 dramatically increased the yields of Asian rice from 1 or 2 ton per hectare to 4 or 5 tons per hectare.World Food Prize Foundation 1996 Laureate: Beachell and Khush
worldfoodprize.org
It played a significant part in the
Green Revolution The Green Revolution, also known as the Third Agricultural Revolution, was a period of technology transfer initiatives that saw greatly increased crop yields and agricultural production. These changes in agriculture began in developed countrie ...
. IR8 was the eighth of 38 crossbred rice varieties in a 1962 experiment by IRRI. It was a cross of Peta, a high yield rice variety from
Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guinea. In ...
, and Dee-geo-woo-gen (DGWG), a dwarf variety from
Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the northeast ...
,
Republic of China Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the northeas ...
. The ''semidwarf-1'' gene (sd-1 or Os01g0883800), which encodes an
enzyme Enzymes () are proteins that act as biological catalysts by accelerating chemical reactions. The molecules upon which enzymes may act are called substrates, and the enzyme converts the substrates into different molecules known as products. ...
in the production of the hormone
gibberellin Gibberellins (GAs) are plant hormones that regulate various developmental processes, including stem elongation, germination, dormancy, flowering, flower development, and leaf and fruit senescence. GAs are one of the longest-known classes of plan ...
, which affects plant height; this improved its yield. IR8 was well suited to the places it was first introduced. However, it “did not fit most rice-growing situations,” which involve heavy
monsoons A monsoon () is traditionally a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by corresponding changes in precipitation but is now used to describe seasonal changes in atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with annual latitudinal oscill ...
or deep flooding.


References

Rice varieties {{poaceae-stub