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Agrotechnology of rice
1. Agrotechnology of Rice
Prepared By-
Dr. Sangeeta Das
Assistant Professor
Department of Botany
Bahona College, Jorhat, Assam, India
2. Origin
Rice originates from a single domestication 8,200-13,500 years ago, in the Pearl
River valley region of China.
Archaeological evidences show that rice was domesticated in the Yangtze River
Valley region in China.
From East Asia, rice, spread to south east and south Asia.
It was introduced in Europe through Western Asia and to America through
European colonization.
3. Cultivation process of Rice
Rice is the most important food crop of India covering about one-fourth of the
total cropped area and providing food to about half of the Indian population.
It is the staple food of the people living in the eastern and the southern parts of
the country, particularly in the areas having over 150 cm annual rainfall.
There are about 10,000 varieties of rice in the world out of which about 4,000
are grown in India.
4. Rice is grown under varying climatic conditions in India from 8° to 25° N latitude
and from sea level to about 2,500 metre altitude.
It is a tropical plant and requires high heat and high humidity for its successful
growth.
The temperature should be fairly high at mean monthly of 24°C. It should be 20°-
22°C at the time of sowing, 23°-25°C during growth and 25°-30°C at the
harvesting time.
The average annual rainfall required by rice is 150 cm.
Cultivation process of Rice-Conditions of Growth
5. There are four methods of rice cultivation practiced in India:
Broadcasting method Drilling method Transplantation method
Japanese method
Methods of Rice Cultivation in India
6. In this method, the seeds are sown broadcast by hand.
This method is practised in those areas which are comparatively dry and less
fertile and do not have much labour to work in the fields.
It is the easiest method requiring minimum input but its yields are also
minimum.
Broadcasting method
7. Drilling method
In this method, ploughing of land and sowing of seeds is done by two
persons.
This method is mostly confined to peninsular India.
8. Transplantation method
This method is practiced in areas of fertile soil, abundant rainfall and plentiful
supply of labour.
The seeds are at first sown in nursery and seedlings are prepared. After 4-5
weeks the seedlings are uprooted and planted in the field which has already been
prepared for the purpose.
The entire process is done by hand. It involves rigorous labour but at the same
time it gives highest yields.
9. This method includes the use of high yielding varieties of seeds, sowing the
seeds in a raised nursery-bed and transplanting the seedlings in rows so as to
make weeding and fertilizing easy.
It also involves the use of a heavy dose of fertilizers so as to obtain high yields.
In India, this Japanese method of rice cultivation has been successfully adopted
in the main rice producing regions.
Japanese method
10. Cultivation process of Rice is not much suited to mechanisation and is called
‘hoe-culture’.
Most of the work in this process involves in preparing the rice seed-bed, in
broadcasting of rice seeds, or in transplantation of plants from nurseries to the
fields.
Finally, at maturity harvesting and winnowing operations are done by human
hand. Thus it is a labour intensive cultivation and requires large supply of cheap
labour for its successful cultivation.
Cultivation process of Rice
11. Thus, rice is primarily cultivated in areas of high population density which
provide abundant labour and at the same time, offer ready market for its
consumption.
In most rice producing states in India, labour is locally available but in
Punjab and Haryana, rice cultivation mainly depends upon the migrant
labourers from Bihar and eastern U.P.
India is the second largest producer and consumer of rice in the world
after China and accounts for 21 per cent of the world’s total rice
production.
Cultivation process of Rice
12. Rice is a staple food in India. But it does not contain all of the essential amino
acids in sufficient quantity for good health and should be combined with other
sources of proteins like nuts, beans, pulses, fish etc.
Table: Nutrient value per 100 gm of rice is:
Nutritional value of Rice
Energy 1,527 kJ (365 Kcal)
Carbohydrates 80 gm
Sugar 0.12 gm
Dietary fiber 1.3 gm
Fat 0.66 gm
Proteins 7.13 gm
Water 11.61 gm
14. Rice (Oryza sativa) is commonly known as paddy crop and is used as major staple
food and as a source of carbohydrate.
The flattened parboiled rice is known as flaked rice. It is also used for preparing
different types of food items.
Broken rice is used in brewing, distilling, and in the manufacture of starch and
rice flour.
‘Sake’ is an important alcoholic beverage prepared by fermentation of rice in
Japan. Such types of alcoholic beverages called ‘Apong’ and ‘Photika’ are also
prepared by fermenting rice in Assam, India.
Economic uses of rice
15. Bran is an important by-product of rice milling industry. It is also used a cattle
feed.
Oil is processed from the bran called ‘bran oil’. It is used as edible oil and also for
the preparstion of Vanaspati.
It is also used in textile industry, leather industry, etc.
Bran wax, an by-product of bran oil extraction is used in chocolate industry and
in the manufacture of lipsticks.
Hulls of rice are used for fuel, packing material, industrial grinding, fertilizer
manufacture, and in the manufacture of an industrial chemical called ‘furfural’.
Rice straw is used as cattle feed.
Economic uses of rice