Innovative scientifically formulated alternative rice cultivation system precisely addresses the weed control challenges as farmers practice direct-seeded rice cultivation
BASF and Anhui Winall High-Tech Seed Co., Ltd. jointly launched the Provisia® Herbicide-Tolerant Rice System in China. This system consists of two core components: herbicide Provisia (300g/L quizalofop-p-ethyl) developed by BASF, and two quizalofop-p-ethyl-tolerant rice varieties, Quanyou 822 and Huiliangyou 898, bred by Winall. BASF’s Provisia is the first quizalofop-p-ethyl chemistry to obtain registration on herbicide-tolerant rice varieties in China. This scientific combination precisely addresses the weed control challenges of farmers as they practice direct-seeded rice cultivation. The implementation of Provisia rice system will significantly reduce labor costs, and injects efficient and carbon-reducing impetus into large-scale wet paddy rice farmers to consider the alternate solution of dry-direct seeded rice cultivation.
In China, direct-seeding is widely favored by rice growers due to its labor-saving and high-efficiency advantages. However, weedy rice often grows synchronously with cultivated rice and competes fiercely for nutrients and growing space. Manual weeding is costly, while traditional herbicides cannot distinguish between the two gramineous crops. Therefore, there is an urgent market demand for a weed control method that balances efficacy and rice crop safety. As a chemistry, quizalofop‑p‑ethyl is a highly effective post-emergence foliar herbicide that controls gramineous weeds in broad‑leaf crop fields, but it cannot be applied in cultivated rice fields. However, BASF’s Provisia Rice System enables the herbicide to be safely applied to the fields of the Huiliangyou 898 and Quanyou 822 rice varieties, as the hybrid seeds are designed to be herbicide-tolerant and remain unaffected by the herbicide application while target weeds are controlled.
Huiliangyou 898 and Quanyou 822 are nationally registered, high-quality hybrid rice varieties developed by Winall in collaboration with Anhui Academy of Agricultural Sciences and Anhui Wannong Seed Industry respectively. These nationally certified varieties possess excellent traits such as high lodging resistance, strong resistance, high yield, good rice quality, and wide adaptability, and have been promoted in the market for over a decade. This upgrade of these varieties retains their original superior characteristics while adding quizalofop-p-ethyl tolerance, better meeting the needs of farmers.
Provisia has a short residual period, ensuring safety for subsequent crops and surrounding broad-leaved crops, which is conducive to rice field rotation. Additionally, the system supports direct seeding, reducing water consumption and significantly lowering carbon dioxide emissions when compared to wet paddy cultivation.
“The launch of Provisia Herbicide-Tolerant Rice System effectively addresses the core challenge of weed control in rice growing. Coupled with the water-saving and emission-reduction benefits brought by direct-seeding, this rice system perfectly aligns with the development needs of green agriculture. As a leading enterprise in China’s seed industry, we will leverage Winall’s domestic seed industry network to rapidly deploy this efficient and green solution to farmlands, supporting the green upgrading and sustainable development of China’s rice industry,” said Ms. Qin Zhang, Vice Chairman and General Manager of Winall.
Following the launch of Provisia Rice Systems, BASF will collaborate with more partners to expand and deepen the availability of its herbicide-tolerant rice system as this will allow BASF to actively transform the rice growing landscape and support China’s sustainable agriculture ambitions.
