Spotted: Rice is an essential crop for nearly half of the world’s population. Traditional rice cultivation involves planting seedlings in flooded fields, which presents many environmental challenges, such as methane emissions and water scarcity. Direct Dry Seeded Rice (DDSR) is a more sustainable practice where rice seeds are implanted directly into the soil rather than being grown as seedlings and transferred to flooded fields. But it comes with challenges such as increased weed management and reduced crop performance. But now, startup BioLumic believes that ultraviolet (UV) light could make DDSR more viable.

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