Rice in Asia an

Rice in Asia and the food supply Resources: IPI, 2006 and FAO, 2008Rice is the main staple food in Asia, where approximately 90 percent of the world's rice is produced and absorbed. China is the world's biggest producer, growing one-third of Asia's total on 29 million ha (Table 1.1). India produces nearly a quarter on 43 million ha. Other top rice-producing countries in Asia are mentioned in table 1.1 too. Average yields in these states range from 2.6 to 6.5 t/ha*.* All tonnage terms within this publication are metric, unless otherwise indicated.Worldwide, around 79 million ha of rice has been grown under irrigated conditions. While this is just half of the entire rice area, it accounts for about 75% of the planet's yearly rice production. In Asia, almost 60% of the 138 million hectares devoted to rice production annually is irrigated, where rice is usually grown in monoculture with two to three crops annually based upon water availability. Other organic long grain brown rice stock ecosystems include the rainfed lowland (35% of total rice area), characterized by a lack of water management, together with floods and drought being potential problems, and the upland and deepwater ecosystems (5% of total rice area), in which yields are low and very changeable.Thailand is the world's major rice dealer, constituting an average of 8 million tons of rice each year (Figure 1.1). A favorable trade balance for rice was maintained by Asia, Australia and the USA. Latin America, Africa, and Europe, are net importers of rice.The demand for rice is expected to grow for several years to come largely because of population growth, particularly in Asia, where population is expected to increase 35% by 2025 (United Nations, 1999). An increase in overall rice production may come from an increase in the area planted, improved yields, and improved cropping intensity. On the other hand, the scope for growth of rice-growing areas is limited due to loss of agricultural land to urbanization, land conversion, and industrialization. Therefore, future growth in organic long grain white rice bulk supply has to come from increased yields and intensified cropping, especially in the irrigated rice ecosystem.There is substantial scope to increase current rice returns as farmers in Asia, normally, achieve only about 60% of the yield potentially achievable with existing varieties and climatic problems. The most important limitation to achieving higher yields and associated high profitability for rice farmers per unit of arable land is often the ineffective use of inputs (particularly nutrients, seed, and pesticide) in an environmentally sustainable fashion. In case the requirement for food is to be met, rice production will need to become more effective in the use of increasingly scarce all-natural resources. Better crop, pest, and water management practices, along with the use of germplasm with a greater return potential, are required in order for rice production to be lucrative for manufacturers and also to supply sufficient affordable staple food for consumers.1.2 HistoryMany historians believe that rice was grown as far back as 5000 B.C. Archaeologists excavating in India discovered rice, they had been convinced, could be dated to 4530 B.C. But, the earliest recorded mention originates from China at 2800 B.C. About 500 B.C. cultivation spread to parts of India, Iran, Iraq, Egypt and eventually to Japan. Though China, India or Thailand can't be identified as the house of the rice (really it might have been native to all), it is relatively obvious that rice was introduced to Europe and the Americas, by travellers who took with them the seeds of those crops that grew in their homes and in foreign lands.From the West, parts of America and certain areas of Europe, such as Italy and Spain, can provide the correct climate thereby giving rise to a flourishing rice market. The first cultivation in the U.S., along coastal areas in S. Carolina to Texas, began in 1685. Some historians believe that rice travelled to America in 1694, in a British ship bound for Madagascar.1.3 Plant descriptionRice plant is an yearly warm-season grass (monocot plant) with round culms, flat leaves and terminal panicles.Rice is generally grown as an yearly plant, although in tropical areas it can survive as a continuing and can generate a ratoon harvest around 20 decades. The rice plant can grow to 1--1.8 m tall, sometimes more, based upon the selection and soil fertility. The grass has long, slender leaves 50--100 cm long and 2--2.5 cm wide. The seed is a grain (caryopsis) 5--12 mm long and 2--3 mm thick.The grainThe single seed is fused with the wall, that's the pericarp of the ripened ovary forming the grain. Each rice panicle (that is a determinate inflorescence on the terminal shoot), when ripened, comprises on average 80-120 grains, based on varietal characteristics, ecological requirements and the degree of crop management. The floral organs have been modified shoots consisting of a panicle, on which are organized a variety of spikelets. Each spikelet bears a floret that, when fertilized, develops into a grain.Rice grain structureA kernel of rice consists of a hull and a cookie coating, each of which are removed on polishing"white" rice. In general, each rice kernel is composed of the following layers:Bran Coat (coating ): a very thin layer of differentiated tissues. The coating includes fiber, vitamin B, protein and fat. The most nutritious part of rice resides in this layer.Embryo: The innermost aspect of a rice grain is made up mainly of starch known as amylase and amylo pectin. The combination of both of these starches decides the cooking texture of rice.A crop producing on average 300 panicles per m2 and 100 spikelets per panicle, using an ordinary spikelet sterility of 15 percent at adulthood and a 1000-grain weight of 20 g is going to have an expected yield of 5.1 t/ha.Rice can grow in a wet (paddy) or a dry (area ) setting. (Rice fields are also known as paddy fields or rice paddies).About 75 percent of the global rice production comes from irrigated rice programs because most rice varieties express their full yield potential when water supply is sufficient.In cooler regions, throughout late spring, water functions also as a heat-holding medium and makes a considerably milder environment for rice growing.A pond could hold irrigation water to work with in the summer, when demand for water would be the best.The bulk of the rice in Asia is increased during the wet season starting in June-July, and reliance on rainfall is the most limiting production constraint for rain-fed culture. Rice regions in South and Southeast Asia may, generally speaking, be categorized into irrigated, rain-fed upland, rain-fed shallow water lowland and rain-fed hot water lowland locations.The growth of well-managed, irrigated rice is greatest, being in the range of 5-8 t/ha throughout the rainy season and 7-10 t/ha during the dry season if well managed, but the average is most frequently only in the range of 3-5 t/ha. The growth of rain-fed upland and deep water lowland rice, nevertheless, continues to be low and is static about 1.0 t/ha.You'll find over 40,000 varieties of cultivated rice (Oryza sativa L.), however the specific figure is unclear. More than 90,000 samples of wild and cultivated rice species have been saved at the International Rice Gene Bank and these are used by researchers all around the world.There are four main kinds of riceIndica, Japonica, aromatic, and glutinous. Rice seeds vary in shape, size, width, length, colour and aroma. There are several distinct types of rice: drought-resistant, pest-resistant, flood-resistant, saline-resistant, tall, short, aromatic, tacky, with red, purple, brownish, or dark; long and slender; or short and round grains.Extensive studies of the varieties have demonstrated that they had been independently derived from the wild rice species Oryza rufipogon. The domesticated varieties show much less variation (polymorphism) than the wild species.Rice cultivars (Oryza sativa L.) are divisible to the Indica and Japonica types, or subspecies indica and japonica, which vary in various morphophysiological traits. Both of these chief types of domesticated rice (Oryza sativa), 1 variety, O. sativa indica can be found in India and Southeast Asia whereas another, O. sativa japonica, is chiefly cultivated in Southern China.In general, the rice family could be broken down into three main categories:Extended Grain: Approx. 6-8 mm long, about 3-4 times longer than thick. The endosperm is tough and vitreous.Medium Grain: Approx. 5-6 mm long, but thicker than long grain rice. The endosperm is soft and chalky organic basmati brown rice quality. It releases about 15 percent starch into water through cooking. Medium grain rice is mainly grown in China, Egypt and Italy.Short Grain or Round Grain: Approx. 4-5 mm long, only 1.5-2 times longer than thick. The endosperm is soft and chalky.