Rice cultivation in Italy under the threat of climatic change: Trends, technologies and research gaps

Italy is the largest rice-producing country in the European Union: more than two-thirds of Europe's rice with about 60% of the national production exported, mainly to Mediterranean countries and Eastern Europe. Rice production started around the middle of the fifteenth century, influencing Italian distinguished cuisine. Specialized cultivation is higly skilled and accounts for 70–80% of the global rice farming surface. The crop is grown from April to October and extends over about 240 000 ha (1.4% of the total arable area of the country). The expected production is approximately 1.4 million tonnes (MT) of paddy rice; average yield is about 6 t ha‾¹, 85% of the surface being cropped with Japonica-type varieties, the rest with Thaibonnet. In last 20 years, the cultivation area has increased by about 20%, making Italy an important rice exporting Country, as the volume of exports reached 5% of total rice traded in the world and domestic consumption hardly exceeds 40% of total production. The main constraints in Italy are low temperature (at sowing and flowering time), diseases, weeds and red rice. Recent research has proved that the possibility exists to increase potential yield by means of varietal improvement, with emphasis on disease and lodging resistance, and better low-temperature and dry-conditions adaptability.