Many varieties of rice were tested for sensitivity and tolerance to cold weather, to discover which would be suitable for growing in Wisconsin.
Rice seedlings underwent testing before and after germination, then later at the seedling stage and during growth. Naturally occurring weather variations were mimicked in the laboratory at the biology department at Marquette University to ensure that the selected rice could withstand the sometimes unseasonably cool and inconsistent weather patterns found in the Midwest. Some strains of rice were not able to grow, others did not continue to grow, and a select few survived the temperature variations.
At the end of the study, the Krasnodarskij 3352 variety from Southern Russia was the frontrunner selected and suitable for the climate in Wisconsin.