IR8 was the eighth of 38 crossbred rice varieties in a 1962 experiment by IRRI.[1] It was a cross of Peta, a high yield rice variety fromIndonesia, and Dee-geo-woo-gen (DGWG), a dwarf variety fromTaiwan.[2][1][3] Thesemidwarf-1 gene (sd-1 or Os01g0883800), which encodes anenzyme in the production of the hormonegibberellin, which affects plant height; this improved its yield.[4][5][6][1] IR8 was well suited to the places it was first introduced. However, it “did not fit most rice-growing situations,” which involve heavymonsoons or deep flooding.[7][8]
In November 1966, IR8 was introduced in thePhilippines and India.[1] Promoters such as the IRRI and farmer benefactors of IR8 have called it 'miracle rice', and celebrate it for fighting famine.[3][9][7][8] IR8 dramatically increased the yields of Asian rice from 1 or 2 ton per hectare to 4 or 5 tons per hectare.[10] It played a significant part in theGreen Revolution.
^"Genetic Diversity in Rice".Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations Corporate Document Repository. Proceedings of the 20th Session of the International Rice Commission. Agriculture and Consumer Protection. 23–26 July 2002.
^abBeyond IR8: IRRI's second decade. International Rice Research Institute. April 1980.
^abFarmer, B. H. (1977). "1. Technology and Change in Rice-growing Areas".Green Revolution? Technology and Change in Rice-growing Areas of Tamil Nadu and Sri Lanka. Westview Press, Boulder, Colorado. pp. 1–6.ISBN0-89158-709-8.
