A new soft glutinous rice cultivar "Fuwarimochi" that does not easily become hard when used for making 'mochi' (Japanese rice cake) has been developed by CARC/NARO. A late maturing cultivar, it can be harvested 2 weeks later than "Koshihikari" which is usually harvested in mid September providing enough time labor allocation of labor. With Hiroshima as target area for cultivation, this fast-growing cultivar can be harvested much earlier than the main variety "Hinohikari". It has strong resistance to lodging, as well as rice blast and leaf-blight diseases, and gives 10% higher yield than the "Mochiminori" variety which is widely grown in western Japan. Press release is available here(Japanese only)
