When talking about nuclear radiation, gamma rays and mutations, chances are your mind will quickly think of The Incredible Hulk or various other fictional mutant characters. But did you know that this radiation technology is being used to help produce a food source that can mature faster?
It has been reported that the Malaysian Nuclear Agency has produced a cassava strain that has the potential to grow and be harvested in just six months, compared to 11-12 months for regular cassava.
Research Officer of the Malaysian Nuclear Agency’s Agrotechnology and Bioscience Division Norazlina Noordin said that this new cassava strain is the result of the agency’s research since 2021 in collaboration with the Malaysian Department of Agriculture and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to produce a cassava strain that can mature and be harvested faster.
Both departments and agencies have assisted the Malaysian Nuclear Agency by providing planting areas after the screening process of plant materials after going through the application of nuclear technology and also a RM100 thousand grant that has been utilized since 2021.
Norazlina said that cassava stem cuttings were first exposed to gamma radiation before being planted and screened to identify changes that produce the desired characteristics. It was then planted, and this process was repeated until cassava that presented a faster maturation process was produced, from generation to generation over the past 5-6 years.
In the meantime, she also said that more than 1000 screening plants were planted during the screening process at one time to obtain the desired breed (fast growth). This gamma radiation process can also be used to produce various other breeds, such as those that are more resistant to disease attacks, pest attacks and weather changes.
Speaking about radiation concerns, Norazlina also said that since gamma rays are used for this process, the radiation atoms will pass through the physical material of the cassava, and will not expose it to any radioactive waste during the irradiation activity.
Norazlina said that with the current rate of research being conducted, she expects that this cassava wood variety with a faster ripening and harvesting process could be commercialized on a large scale within two years.
