Can the co-cultivation of rice and fish help sustain rice production?
Citations Over TimeTop 10% of 2016 papers
Abstract
Because rice feeds half of the world's population, a secure global food supply depends on sustainable rice production. Here we test whether the co-cultivation of rice and fish into one "rice-fish system" (RFS; fish refers to aquatic animals in this article) could help sustain rice production. We examined intensive and traditional RFSs that have been widely practiced in China. We found that rice yields did not decrease when fish yield was below a threshold value in each intensive RFS. Below the thresholds, moreover, fish yields in intensive RFSs can be substantially higher than those in traditional RFS without reducing rice yield. Relative to rice monoculture, the use of fertilizer-nitrogen and pesticides decreased, and the farmers' net income increased in RFSs. The results suggest that RFSs can help sustain rice production, and suggest that development of co-culture technologies (i.e. proper field configuration for fish and rice) is necessary to achieve the sustainability.
Related Papers
- → Mechanism of Accumulation of Methylmercury in Rice (Oryza sativa L.) in a Mercury Mining Area(2018)46 cited
- → A Novel miRNA in Rice Associated with the Low Seed Setting Rate Symptom of Rice Stripe Virus(2023)4 cited
- → Analysis of Rice Proteins of Transgenic Rice Resistant to Rice Stripe Virus.(1998)
- → Practical studies on the injuries of Cool Weather in rice plants (VII)(1954)
- ANALYSIS OF THE EXPRESSION OF RICE CATALASE (CatA) GENE USING TRANSGENIC RICE PLANTS(1999)