Thai university creates new rice breeds using ion beams

CHIANG MAI (The Nation/ANN): Chiang Mai University’s Institute of Scientific and Technological Research has been successful in using ion beam to induce mutation in existing rice breeds to create new ones that provide better yield and are resilient against diseases and pests, researcher Dr Boonyarak Panchaisri said.

“Our research team has been working for more than 10 years with Dr Thirapat Wilaithong from the university’s Physics Excellence Centre who developed a particle accelerator to create ion beam to induce rice mutation, ” Boonyarak said.