A young Thai farmer was delighted to successfully grow pink rice plants after three years.
Agriculture graduate Chaturong Chompusa, 31, quit his office job to help on his family's farm in Phitsanulok, northeastern Thailand.
He bought Riceberry seeds from Kanchanaburi province in 2013 but in 2016 there was a pink mutation, which caused the normally-green rice plant stems to turn pink.
Local officials told Chaturong to destroy the plant but he defied their instructions and set about using the seeds to develop more pink rice through selective reproduction each season.
He mixed the pink Riceberry plant with standard rice until he had successfully cultivated pink rice plants over three years.
The farmer now has an entire field of pink rice plants and has nicknamed the strain 'Pink Lady', which takes around 120 days to grow.
He will harvest the crops later this year and the rice can sell for around 80 Baht per kilogram.
Chaturong said last Tuesday (Jan 7) that the field is monitored by his family and since details of their new strain of rice emerged, they have been welcoming a steady stream of visitors who want to see the pink rice.
He said: "We are only a small family with a relatively small plot of land but it has been very busy with people viewing the rice.
"We would like to welcome everyone to see the field but they must be careful with the rice because it is very fragile.
''The rice is actually very tasty. It's very high quality so I will continue growing more.''
