Rice Cultivation

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.

This 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.

Rice is life for thousands of millions of people. In Asia alone, more than 2,000 million people obtain 60 to 70 per cent of their calories from rice and its products. Recognising the importance of this crop, the United Nations General Assembly declared 2004 as the “International Year of Rice” (IYR).

The theme of IYR—“Rice is life” reflects the importance of rice as a primary food source, and is drawn from an understanding that rice-based systems are essential for food security, poverty alleviation and improved livelihood.

Following methods of rice cultivation are practised in India.

1. Broadcasting method:

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.

2. Drilling method:

Ploughing of land and sowing of seeds is done by two persons. This method is mostly confined to peninsular India.

3. Transplantation method:

This method is practised in areas of fertile soil, abundant rainfall and plentiful supply of labour. To begin with, seeds are 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 is, therefore, a very difficult method and requires heavy inputs. But at the same time it gives some of the highest yields.

4. Japanese method:

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 that very high yields are obtained. The Japanese method of rice cultivation has been successfully adopted in the main rice producing regions of India.