Rice production in the Riverina is currently grown in a permanent water (flooded) irrigation system which requires a large amount of water. However, availability of water has become limited and one way to overcome the limitation is to grow rice with intermittent irrigation without flooding so that water productivity (WP, grain yield/amount of water applied) will be increased. The intermittent irrigation system however, exposes rice plants to the problem of cold temperatures that occur in the middle of growing season, as there is no ‘water blanket’ to insulate the crop from the cold night-time temperatures. Hence, this project aims to achieve improvement in water productivity (WP) in rice production, via significant genetic improvement in cold tolerance and other plant characteristics that are important under intermittent irrigation systems. In order to develop varieties that are most suitable for intermittent irrigation, varieties with characteristics considered important will be determined (such as deep root, cold and heat tolerance). Previously developed molecular tools will be utilised to combine cold tolerance and rooting depth characteristics into elite Australian germplasm. Furthermore, various forms of intermittent irrigation including drip irrigation will be tested in the fields with different soil types to enable identification of suitable varieties to increase water productivity.  In combination with improved understanding of nitrogen and water requirements under intermittent irrigation, the outputs of this project will accelerate the genetic gains in cold tolerance and enable faster development  of appropriate cold tolerant high yielding, high grain quality, adapted varieties through Rice Breeding Australia (RBA). While the well-established relationships between UQ, Rice Research Australia Pty Ltd (RRAPL) and Rice Breeding Australia will enable outputs to be delivered within a four year time frame.