koshihikari
{{Short description|Cultivar of japonica rice}}
{{Infobox cultivar
| name = Koshihikari
| image = Koshihikari.jpg
| hybrid ='Nourin No.1' × 'Nourin No.22'
| cultivar = Nourin No.100 (Etsunan No.17)
| marketing_names = Koshihikari
| subspecies = O. s. subsp. japonica
| group = temperate japonica
| origin = Japan, 1956
}}
{{Nihongo|Koshihikari|コシヒカリ, 越光|Koshihikari|lead=yes}} is a popular cultivar of Japonica rice cultivated in Japan as well as Australia and the United States.
Koshihikari was first created in 1956 by combining 2 different strains of Nourin No.1 and Nourin No.22 at the Fukui Prefectural Agricultural Research Facility. It is one of the most highly grown varieties of rice in Japan{{cite book|title=Rice is Life: Scientific Perspectives for the 21st Century|first1=Ken'ichi|last1=Ohtsubo|first2=Tomoya|last2=Okunishi|first3=Koitaro|last3=Suzuki|chapter=Processed novel foodstuffs from pregerminated brown rice|editor1-first=K|editor1-last=Toriyama|editor2-first=KL|editor2-last=Heong|editor3-first=B|editor3-last=Hardy|date=2005|publisher=International Rice Research Institute|isbn=9789712202049}} and is exported to other countries as a premium product.{{cite news|url=https://asia.nikkei.com/Economy/Japan-s-China-bound-rice-exports-set-to-soar|title=Japan's China-bound rice exports set to soar|work=Nikkei Asian Review|first=Hisao|last=Kodachi|date=2018-10-16|access-date=2019-01-24}}
As of 2008, Koshihikari BL accounted for 97% of Koshihikari production in Niigata Prefecture, the largest rice-growing region in Japan.
Etymology
The character for {{nihongo||越|koshi}} is used to represent the old Koshi Province, which stretched from present-day Fukui to Yamagata. Koshihikari can be translated as "the light of Koshi".{{cite web|url=https://www.pref.niigata.lg.jp/sec/nosanengei/1249848539743.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221003183108/https://www.pref.niigata.lg.jp/sec/nosanengei/1249848539743.html|script-title=ja:コシヒカリの名前の由来をおしえてください|language=ja|publisher=Niigata Prefecture|date=21 May 2021|archive-date=3 October 2022}}
Koshihikari BL (Blast resistance Lines)
Niigata Prefecture has developed a series of Koshihikari varieties with blast disease resistance genes introduced through backcrossing, and by crossing these varieties, the Koshihikari BL group was created with dramatically improved resistance to blast disease. Compared with the original Koshihikari, Koshihikari BL reduces the incidence of rice blast to one-tenth and the use of agricultural chemicals by 25%.{{cite web|url=https://www.affrc.maff.go.jp/docs/report/pdf/no25.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220628012440/https://www.affrc.maff.go.jp/docs/report/pdf/no25.pdf|script-title=ja:農業を支える基盤リソース－遺伝資源－|page=9|language=ja|publisher=Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (Japan)|archive-date=28 June 2022}}
Niigata Prefecture began developing a group of varieties that improved Koshihikari for rice blast resistance in 1986, and registered Koshihikari Niigata BL No. 1 to No. 3 in 2000 and Koshihikari Niigata BL No. 4 in 2002, with production starting in 2005.{{cite web|url=https://www.pref.niigata.lg.jp/sec/nosanengei/1215712851879.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200927232234/https://www.pref.niigata.lg.jp/sec/nosanengei/1215712851879.html|script-title=ja:コシヒカリBLの導入のねらい|language=ja|publisher=Niigata Prefecture|date=22 March 2020|archive-date=27 September 2020}} Under the Plant Variety Protection and Seed Act (ja), these varieties and seed names are registered as Koshihikari Niigata BL, but as milled product names they are marketed simply as Koshihikari.{{cite web|url=https://www.pref.niigata.lg.jp/sec/nosanengei/1221175992244.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200928000222/https://www.pref.niigata.lg.jp/sec/nosanengei/1221175992244.html|script-title=ja:コシヒカリBLの品種名に係る法律上の規定|language=ja|publisher=Niigata Prefecture|date=22 March 2020|archive-date=28 September 2020}}
As of 2023, Niigata Prefecture has registered Koshihikari Niigata BL Nos. 1 to 6 and 9 to 13 under the Plant Variety Protection and Seed Act, with BL Nos. 4 and 13 each accounting for 35% of production, BL No. 2 accounting for 20%, and BL No. 1 accounting for 10%.{{cite web|url=https://www.pref.niigata.lg.jp/sec/nosanengei/1215712857692.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230312144235/https://www.pref.niigata.lg.jp/sec/nosanengei/1215712857692.html|script-title=ja:コシヒカリＢＬの開発状況と特性|language=ja|publisher=Niigata Prefecture|archive-date=12 March 2023}}
Related varieties
Other rice varieties close to its strains, such as Akitakomachi (ja), Hitomebore (ja), and Hinohikari (ja) were subsequently created by cross-breeding Koshihikari with other Japanese varieties of rice.{{cite web|url=https://www.yamatane.co.jp/kome/story/brand.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220901185004/https://www.yamatane.co.jp/kome/story/brand.html|script-title=ja:お米の品種|language=ja|publisher=Yamatane Corporation|archive-date=1 September 2022}}
Characteristics
- Highly susceptible to blast disease
- Its stem collapses easily when mature
See also
References
{{reflist}}
Refekin
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20110209024505/http://www.ja-uonuma.or.jp/ JA Uonuma Minami (Japanese)] JA branch in South of Uonuma area in Japan
{{Varieties of rice}}