Rice

Some Quick Facts

Conditions  of Growth	High Heat and High humidity
Rainfall	100 – 200cms of Rainfall.
Type of soil needed	Grown on variety of soils – acidic / alkaline (Fields must retain water)
Regions	Throughout India – except higher parts of Himalayas and desert areas
Additional Info	In North, only one crop per annum as winters are too cold there, In south and Eastern Areas two – three crops in a year.
Production/ Trade	India Second largest producer and consumer States: West Bengal, Punjab, UP and AP

Rice is obtained from the monocot plants also known as Oryza sativa. It is also known as Asian rice in other words African rice. Rice is considered to be a cereal grain and is widely consumed for a major part of the human population in the world more specifically in the region of Asia as a staple food. Rice is second in terms of production when compared with corn as the data gathered in 2010.

It is widely known rice is considered to be an important grain when the question of caloric intake and human nutrition arises. This is why, rice is able to provide more than 1/5th of the calories which is consumed by humans worldwide.

With Genetic evidences, it has been shown that rice emerged from a lone domestication in the Pearl River valley region of China. It was from archaeological evidence that we came to know that rice was adapted in China in the Yangtze River valley region. Rice cultivation spread its wings to Southeast and South Asia from East Asia. It was through Western Asia that in Europe rice was introduced and also to America via the European colonization.

Rice Production in India

In India, rice is considered to be an important part of the national economy. India is regarded as the world's largest producers of brown and white rice thereby accounting for 20% of the whole world’s rice production. In a country like India, rice is considered to be an unsurpassed crop. The reason for this is that rice is considered to be the staple food of the people of eastern and southern parts of the country.

Rice is a major grain of India. India is said to have one of the largest area under rice cultivation. This is because in India rice is considered to be a principal food crop. Rice is a tropical plant and it is able to grow well in a hot and humid climate. It requires quite a big amount of rainfall and that is why, it is grown in rain fed areas. These areas are able to receive a heavy annual rainfall. Rice is also known as a kharif crop in India. Rice needs a suitable temperature of 25 degree Celsius. It also requires rainfall of more than 100 cm. It is possible to grow rice via irrigation in those areas which receive less rainfall comparatively. The total rice production in India was 89.13 million tonnes in 2009-10. This record was very less when compared with the production of the previous year which amounted to 99.18 million tonnes.

Methods of Growing Rice

With the help of many methods, one can grow rice. However, in a country like India, the people still grow rice in the traditional methods. First of all, the fields are ploughed. It is after that fertilizer is applied. This fertilizer is made up of cow dung. After that, the field is smoothed. It is by hand that the rice seeds are transplanted. After this with proper irrigation, it is possible to cultivate the seeds. It is very easy to grow rice on many different types of soils such as loams, silts and gravels. Rice is such a crop that it can also tolerate alkaline and acid soils. From all of these oils, clayey loam is best suited for the cultivation of rice. The reason for this is that it is possible to convert the clayey soil into mud and it is in this mud that it is possible to easily transplant the rice seedlings. It is necessary to take proper care since rice is able to thrive well if the soil remains wet and it is also under water during its earlier period. The rice fields should be leveled and there should be low mud walls so that the crop of rice is able to retain water. If the area is plain, the excess rainwater should be allowed to inundate the rice fields and flow slowly. It can safely be said that rice that is grown in areas which are hilly is also referred to as upland or dry rice. Interestingly, the per hectare yield of upland rice is very less when compared with that of the wet rice.

Rice Growing States in India & Best Season

Rice is grown in two different strips of land: the western coastal strip and the eastern coastal strip. These strips of land cover all of the primary deltas, foothills and Terai region along the Himalayas, Assam plains and surrounding low hills and also the states of Bihar, West Bengal, eastern Madhya Pradesh, eastern Uttar Pradesh, Orissa and northern Andhra Pradesh. India is considered to be a land of eternal growing season. On the other hand, the deltas of the Krishna River, Kaveri River, Mahanadi River and Godavari River have a thick set-up of canal irrigation. Here, it permits the farmers to raise two and in most of the pockets, even three crops a year. With proper irrigation, one can also grow even three crops a year possible. In spite of having a baked climate irrigation has made it feasible even for Punjab and Haryana to grow rice. Surplus rice so produced is exported to other states. The Indian states of Haryana and Punjab grow rice mainly for export purposes. The region from Assam to Kashmir which is known as the hilly terraced fields are ideally suited for rice farming. However, they still practice the age-old hill irrigational conveniences. Enhanced planting methods, high yielding kinds, promised irrigation water supply and also increasing use of fertilizers have all led to beneficial and quick results.

In many of the states such as Assam, West Bengal, Bihar and Orissa, two crops of rice are raised in a year. In north western India, the winter season is extremely cold for rice. It is in coastal India and in some regions comprising of eastern India that rice is said to be the master crop of where even during summer, monsoon and the rainy season that the high temperature and heavy rainfall is able to provide ideal conditions for the cultivation of rice. Rice can be easily grown in all parts of India during the summer season provided that the water is available. In this way, it is also possible to grow rice even in those parts of Punjab, western Uttar Pradesh and Haryana where low level areas are waterlogged during the summer monsoon rainy season.

Top Rice Brands in India

• Lal Qilla
• Double Diamond
• Hanuman
• Resham
• Pari
• Daawat
• Kohinoor
• Blue Label and Lal Haveli
• Doon
• Amira
• Neesa
• Dunar
• Himalayan Crown
• India Salaam
• Indian Star
• Saffola Arise
• Tirupati
• Jagat

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