A little thing I previously brought up in my last post on the AHC/PC: Could New Guinea believably be the most populous island on Earth? thread (which I would've liked to hear back from @Jared about, but c'est la vie)- there are 19 recognized species of rice in the Orzya genus, of which 6 (including Orzya rufipogon, the closest evolutionary relation and likeliest progenitor of Oryza sativa), are native to New Guinea.
And whilst the dominant New Guinean rice species may also be the most divergent from Oryza sativa (to the extent where crosses between it and them are near-impossible to accomplish), the species of the Oryza ridleyi complex (constituted of the O. longiglumis and O. ridleyi species, both of which are indigenous to New Guinea, along with the other islands east of the Weber Line) offer higher yields and larger grains even in their wild, uncultivated state than Oryza barthii (the progenitor of African rice, Oryza glaberrima), without O. barthii's tendency for its seedheads to shatter, and being similarly hardier, more pest-resistant and low-labour than Asian rice.
And both these species are also relatively unique, among those members of the rice family which produce edible grains in relative abundance, in so far as they prefer moderate to deep shade; growing readily in the understoreys of peat swamp forests and flooded freshwater rainforest thickets. This is in stark contrast to the two species of rice which were historically cultivated IOTL, O. sativa and O. barthii; both of which require at least six to eight hours of full sunlight per day, which necessitated the labor and maintenance-intensive practice of clearing forests to create suitably open rice paddies, and still renders make them incapable of providing decent harvests any more than 45 degrees north or south of the equator, as is the case with African and Asian cultivated species of rice).
So then, let's say that ITTL, Oryza ridleyi, aka 'Papuan rice' gets domesticated and starts being grown (either on New Guinea, or one of the Moluccas/'Spice Islands'- where its characteristics would have allowed it to be readily grown and harvested even in the shade of the nutmeg and clove trees) c.3,000 years ago; coinciding with the Austronesian peoples' migration through Maritime Southeast Asia to settle in the area, and their introduction of pigs and dogs, as well as the first domestication of O. barthii/'African rice' in the inland delta of the Upper Niger River in present-day Mali.
How much larger a population might the region be able to support as a result, and how might the balance of power be altered? And if/when this third domesticated rice species does inevitably spread beyond this region ITTL, as a domesticated rice species which requires no more sunlight than cabbages, spinach, broccoli, carrots or beets do (thus theoretically allowing it to be grown in far cloudier and more overcast environments, as well as those farther from the equator, provided they're sufficiently warm and wet), how much of an impact might its potential introduction, adoption, and cultivation have across the world?
And whilst the dominant New Guinean rice species may also be the most divergent from Oryza sativa (to the extent where crosses between it and them are near-impossible to accomplish), the species of the Oryza ridleyi complex (constituted of the O. longiglumis and O. ridleyi species, both of which are indigenous to New Guinea, along with the other islands east of the Weber Line) offer higher yields and larger grains even in their wild, uncultivated state than Oryza barthii (the progenitor of African rice, Oryza glaberrima), without O. barthii's tendency for its seedheads to shatter, and being similarly hardier, more pest-resistant and low-labour than Asian rice.
And both these species are also relatively unique, among those members of the rice family which produce edible grains in relative abundance, in so far as they prefer moderate to deep shade; growing readily in the understoreys of peat swamp forests and flooded freshwater rainforest thickets. This is in stark contrast to the two species of rice which were historically cultivated IOTL, O. sativa and O. barthii; both of which require at least six to eight hours of full sunlight per day, which necessitated the labor and maintenance-intensive practice of clearing forests to create suitably open rice paddies, and still renders make them incapable of providing decent harvests any more than 45 degrees north or south of the equator, as is the case with African and Asian cultivated species of rice).
So then, let's say that ITTL, Oryza ridleyi, aka 'Papuan rice' gets domesticated and starts being grown (either on New Guinea, or one of the Moluccas/'Spice Islands'- where its characteristics would have allowed it to be readily grown and harvested even in the shade of the nutmeg and clove trees) c.3,000 years ago; coinciding with the Austronesian peoples' migration through Maritime Southeast Asia to settle in the area, and their introduction of pigs and dogs, as well as the first domestication of O. barthii/'African rice' in the inland delta of the Upper Niger River in present-day Mali.
How much larger a population might the region be able to support as a result, and how might the balance of power be altered? And if/when this third domesticated rice species does inevitably spread beyond this region ITTL, as a domesticated rice species which requires no more sunlight than cabbages, spinach, broccoli, carrots or beets do (thus theoretically allowing it to be grown in far cloudier and more overcast environments, as well as those farther from the equator, provided they're sufficiently warm and wet), how much of an impact might its potential introduction, adoption, and cultivation have across the world?