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Plant scientist Rashmi Sasidharan (Biology) has received a large STW grant of 800,000 Euros to identify new possibilities for sustainable management of the aggressive rice weed Cyperus rotundus. In cooperation with the International Rice Research Institute (Philippines), AfricaRice (Tanzania) and Utrecht ľ¹Ï¸£ÀûÓ°ÊÓ colleagues Rens Voesenek and Ronald Pierik, Sasidharan will study the evolution of flooding tolerance in the rice weed and competitive traits in rice, which can help fight rice weeds.

Rice is the staple food for millions of people worldwide. Weeds can be very damaging to rice cultivation, causing major losses in yield. Sasidharan’s project addresses the recent increase in yield losses of rice which were caused by the emergence of a flooding tolerant ecotype of C. rotundus, a major rice weed. The researchers will look for weed management solutions based on weakening weed performance and providing competitive advantage to the crop.

The crop and the weed

In the 4-year project, called ‘Towards sustainable weed management solutions for the aggressive rice weed Cyperus rotundus: a crop-weed perspective’, two PhD candidates and a Postdoctoral researcher will collaborate with the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) using a two-pronged approach to new weed management options. First, the researchers will work towards a molecular understanding of the evolved flooding tolerance of the weed to identify flooding regimes that can suppress its growth. Second, the researchers will attempt to identify weed competitive traits in rice to improve its shading ability, leading to reduced weed growth.

Future Food Utrecht

This research falls under Utrecht ľ¹Ï¸£ÀûÓ°ÊÓ’s interdisciplinary research theme Future Food Utrecht. In this programme, we work to find solutions for a sustainable, healthy, acceptable and accessible food supply for the global population. To this end, we focus on solutions based on an understanding of the fundamental mechanisms and on integrating the insights and ideas from all food-related fields of study. Future Food Utrecht combines the efforts of biologists, pharmaceutical researchers, social scientists, urban geographers, medical and veterinary researchers, ethicists and economists. More information: