By Perfecto T. Raymundo, Jr.
MANILA HOTEL — The two-day (June 26-27) First International Plant Breeding Conference 2025 was being held here on Thursday (June 26) with the participation of various government and other stakeholders.
During the conference, Dr. Lee T. Hickley, from ARC Training Center, said that plant breeding efficiency must continue to accelerate through the green program.Dr. Hickley noted that there are various technologies in plant breeding around the world.
He cited the inspiration of flexible speed breeding protocols that are available and the importance of plant breeding.
Dr. Hickley said “we are trying to create ‘plant factories’ with at least 2,000 plant species with long day or short day crops.”
“You wouldn’t do that if it takes too long. That’s the reality,” he added.
Dr. Hickley had visited the IRRI (International Rice Research Institute) in UP Los Banos in Laguna province earlier this week and found the facility there very efficient.
On the application of AI (Artificial Intelligence in plant breeding, Dr. Hickley said “We’ve got a lot more to do.”
The ARC Training Center in Predictive Breeding is also developing short courses and upgrading skills across sectors and training next generation of breeders.
Among the participants are the DOST-PTRI, UP Los Banos, PRRI, and East-West Company.
Dr. Suresh B. Kadaru tackled gene editing, standardized data analytics, and optimized breeding framework.
Dr. Kadaru has previously joined the IRRI for four years.
“Rice is not the cause of diabetes in my opinion,” he said.
Dr. Kadaru noted that “a large portion of the population is eating rice and we are also facing climate crisis.”
“We are now celebrating IRRI’s 65th Year, with 65 years of IRRI’s breeding and developing varieties,” he said.
“Our job is not easy. The target is changing. The market is changing,” Dr. Kadaru added.
IRRI has 78 partner countries across regions in the world.
Dr. Ajay Kumar, from Hyderabad, India via online, discussed genomic selection with the conventional breeding process.
India is 4,500 kilometers or 2,500 miles away from the Philippines.
JTR Reports 06260225–MHE
