“I’m actually amazed because they are big, happy, bushy plants,” she says, warning me not to fall over when we step into the calf-deep water.<\/p>\n
She points out her favourites. “This is Estrella from Colombia, the best one so far,” she says. “But I’m least impressed with this,” she says, gesturing to a Japanese rice that has not flowered.<\/p>\n
This experiment is the brainchild of the UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology (UKCEH), in partnership with Craig and Sarah Taylor.<\/p>\n
Dozens of plants were planted in four mini paddy fields dug out and flooded on the Taylors’ farm a few miles north of Ely in Cambridgeshire.<\/p>\n
We often think of rice as a tropical plant, but it does grow in colder climates.<\/p>\n
Nine varieties are growing, including from Brazil, Colombia, Italy and the Philippines. They include the stars of the rice world – risotto, basmati and sushi.<\/p>\n
The plants did well in the hot, sunny summer, which the Met Office says was the hottest in the UK since records began in 1884.<\/p>\n
“Nobody has tried this before, but with climate change, we have crops that, 10 years ago, we wouldn’t have thought would be viable. In 10 years time, rice could be a completely perfect crop for us,” Nadine says.<\/p>\n
This is the very edge of where rice can grow at the moment and it would be a risky crop for farmers to plant commercially, says Prof Richard Pywell who is leading the project for UKCEH.<\/p>\n