Advice on Wild Rice (Zizania aquatica) in Argentina
Answered by: Conrad Richter
Question from: Melisa Barrilli
Posted on: October 24, 2003

My father who lives in South America (Argentina) wants to purchase a sample (250g) of Zizania Aquatica seeds, a species not native from the region where he lives (check the map at http://www.kumelenpatagonia.com.ar/mapaarg.htm). But first he wants to know if you think these seeds will be suitable for growing in a region that has the following features:

1. Located at 200 meters above sea level.

2. Climate: mild humid with well defined seasons. Cold and rainy winters (2° C) with some snow. Dry summers (24°/36° C) with long and sunny days. Pleasant temperatures in Autumm and Spring.

3. Lakes and rivers.

Also, he wants to know about the regrowth capacity of the seed.

Wild rice (Zizania aquatica) a native of wetlands and shallow lakes. It is adaptable to a wide variety of conditions and grows throughout much of the eastern half of North America, from Canada in the north to Florida in the south, and as far west as Texas.

As long as your father’s area has enough precipitation to keep water levels at fairly constant levels, I would expect that wild rice will succeed. One can never predict with certainty whether a plant will survive in a new area, but wild rice’s unusually large tolerance range of temperatures and latitudes suggests that the probability it will thrive in southern Argentina is good.

For more information, please see the Richters InfoSheet on wild rice at http://www.richters.com/show.cgi?page=InfoSheets/d8620.html.

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