Author ST25 retired but still lives with rice

The golden period for passion for research

In early June, we had the opportunity to visit Dr. Tran Tan Phuong, one of the three "fathers" of the ST25 rice variety , which produces the best rice in the world . Although he officially retired in April this year, he is still working in the fields to research and develop new rice varieties.

"Without this retirement time, it would be difficult to realize the dream. If we don't evaluate in time, the entire seed group will just be in the refrigerator," Dr. Phuong shared.

Even though he is retired, Dr. Phuong still spends time selecting and researching rice varieties. Photo: Phuong Anh

Although retired, Dr. Phuong - the author of the ST25 rice variety - still spends time selecting and creating rice varieties. Photo: Phuong Anh

Currently, he and his team are focusing all their efforts on evaluating more than 3,000 rice varieties collected from all over the world and more than 10,000 hybrid combinations that they have made over the past 20 years. Each crop, the team surveys several hundred to thousands of combinations. It is expected to take 2-3 years to complete. He believes that among them, there will be outstanding varieties.

"We dream of creating rice varieties that make farmers as happy as taking care of flowers. When going to the fields, seeing beauty, seeing fragrance, feeling proud - that is the ultimate goal of agricultural scientists," said Dr. Phuong.

Dr. Phuong said that to realize that dream, the research team always starts from the actual needs of farmers and production conditions in the fields. New varieties are only put into mass production when they are truly superior to the control varieties currently being used by farmers.

Happiness comes from the rice fields

Dr. Phuong said that since 2003, he and his team have started their crossbreeding journey. From simple combinations of only 2-3 parents, they have created varieties such as ST11, ST12. Later, each combination has up to a dozen parents to integrate fragrance, softness, resistance to pests and diseases and beautiful seed shape. Thanks to that, the ST24 and ST25 varieties were born one after another.

"We have to overcome a huge barrier. The goal is to make fragrant rice grow 2-3 crops per year, with high yield and especially resistance to pests and planthoppers," said Dr. Phuong.

Dr. Phuong said that the ST25 rice variety won the title of "World's Best Rice" in 2019 and continued to be honored in 2023 as the result of a decades-long research and evaluation process.

"This process could not have been successful without the support of Labor Hero, engineer Ho Quang Cua - who played an important role in connecting with the market and feedback from actual production," Dr. Phuong affirmed.

Dr. Phuong next to the refrigerator containing rice varieties that he and his research team have collected over many years. Photo: Phuong Anh

Dr. Phuong always remembers the story of a humorous farmer who said: "Dr. Phuong made me lazy. In the past, rice yield was low and susceptible to disease. Now that ST25 has a high price and is resistant to pests and diseases, I don't need to work so hard anymore."

"Our biggest goal is not the award but to be accepted by farmers and consumers. When they appreciate the rice varieties we create, that is the greatest happiness," Dr. Phuong expressed.

Source: https://laodong.vn/cong-doan/tac-gia-st25-ve-huu-van-song-tron-cung-lua-1520193.ldo