The biggest difficulty for any breeding program is the variation in plants across breeding sites, she said. That's why we test for several years over several conditions in various locations. The breeders started with a Rosemont cross rice to increase the new breed's yield potential. For disease resistance, McClung's team brought in genes from Vista and Lebonnet rices. They make Jefferson more resistant to both rice blast and sheath blight, two of the most common diseases in the region.
Breeding is a compromise of many traits.
Of course, milling yield goes right to the producer's bottom line, but Jefferson appears to have yield potential comparable to other long-grain varieties. Tests showed Jefferson's milling yield to be similar or better than other major varieties like Gulfmont or Lagrue, but slightly less than Cypress or Kaybonnet. However, its other qualities could make it a mainstay for the Texas industry. Because one of the major initiatives in the Texas rice industry is to reduce production costs, greater disease resistance means costly fungicide applications can be rendered unnecessary, McClung said. In addition, Jefferson matures about one to two weeks faster than dominant Texas varieties.