Clemson University

Awards Issued Prior to January 20, 2025, Were Funded Under Previous Administrations and May Not Reflect the Priorities and Policies of the Current Administration. Saltwater Is a Threat to Sustainable Organic Rice Production in Coastal Regions. Climate Change Effects Are Seen in Rising Sea Level, Increasing Salinity in Tidal Rivers, and Flooding of Cultivable Lands With Saltwater. This PROJECT'S Long-term Goal Is to Increase Organic Rice Production of Coastal South Carolina (SC) by Bringing Salt-intruded Lands to Cultivation. We Will Accomplish This Goal by Completing the Following Objectives: (1) Evaluating the Impact of Saltwater and Native Weed Pressure on Plant Vigor Among Diverse Rice Cultivars/germplasm in Greenhouse. (2) Validating Salt Tolerance and Performance of Select Cultivar in Organic-plot-trials. (3) Evaluating Agronomic Performance of Salt-tolerant Cultivar in Salt-affected, Organic Farms in Coastal SC. (4) Developing Enterprise Budgets for Organic Rice Production. (5) Evaluating Soil and Water Quality Improvements Under Organic Rice Production. (6) Developing Salt-tolerant Pre-breeding Lines With 'CAROLINA GOLD' Typetraits. Salt-tolerant Cultivar Selections Will Be Trialed On-farm to Determine Productivity and Grain Quality. New, Salt-tolerant Cultivars Will Be Introduced, Expanding Potential for Organic Rice Production in Salt-intruded Lands. Economics of Organic Rice Production Detailed, Enabling Growers to Make Informed Decisions. Ultimately, New Cultivars Will Expand Acreage Under Organic Rice Production, While Ensuring the Economic Stability of Producers and Enhancing Ecosystem Services. This Project Will Address Priority Areas (1) Effects of Organic Practices on Soil Quality and Fertility and Understanding of Weeds, (2) Technologies to Document the Mitigation Ability of Organic Crops, and (3) Cultural Practices and Cultivars to Remove Nop-cited Substances and Evaluate Efficacy Based on Resulting Productivity.