a new way to grow rice?

[a_steep_hill]

This Cornell prof has a technique for growing rice that he says can double (or more) yields while using alot less water and less seed. Pretty cool, if it works. I am a bit skeptical: humans have been growing rice for an awfully long time, and if improvements of this order were available, you would think that someone would have figured it out in

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Another interesting technique

[dawn_pillsbury]

This guy says he can grow food and biofuel on desert using salt water, enough to prevent catastrophic flooding from sea level rise. Amazing, if it can be done sustainably.

[mindstalk]

Well, peasants are often said to be really, really, conservative about messing with their food supply.

Makes me wonder why flooding in the first place. I'd assume rice was some semi-aquatic plant that grew better that way. Now it sounds like it's just resistant to flooding, unlike weeds, but grows better with aerated soils like most other things.

Seawater/halophyte agriculture sounds exciting.