In 2026, India approved the first NGT rice for commercial production (Solanki et al., 2026). The combination of small changes in regulatory units of the rice genome resulted in higher yields, altered architecture and early flowering in the NGT plants. The specific pheno- and genotype are new to the environment. However, the number and type of genetic changes that are necessary to generate this trait are within the proposed EU threshold for fast-track release and market approval.

If the NGT rice is grown in the fields, hybridisation with weedy rice found in all regions where rice is grown commercially is highly likely. It is also known that (hybrid) weedy rice can back-cross into fields where conventionally bred varieties are grown (Bauer-Panskus et al., 2013). In this case, the traits ‘higher yield’ and ‘early flowering’ are likely to increase the potential of (hybrid) weedy rice to spread in and around the fields, to lower yields and increase herbicide applications.

Publication date / last update

February 2026

Further information:

Bauer-Panskus et al. (2013): Cultivation-independent establishment of genetically
engineered plants in natural populations: current evidence and implications for EU
regulation. Environ Sci Eur, 25: 34.

Solanki et al. (2026): KAMALA, a genome edited rice variety with improved yield by
finetuning cytokinin oxidase activity released in India. bioRxiv preprint.