Rice introduction and germplasm development

Rice, a crop native to the Orient, was introduced to the eastern United States as early as 1609. The earliest recorded experimental plantings in California were near Butte Creek in the Sacramento Valley in 1909. By 1912, rice was established here as a commercial crop. The most successful early introductions generally were from similar high-latitude areas of the Far East. For example, the variety Caloro was first selected in 1913 from the Japanese variety Early Watari-bune, and Colusa was selected in 1911 from the variety Chinese (from China via Italy).