Oryza Sativa, it is believed, is associated with wet, humid climate, though it is not a tropical plant. It is probably a descendent of wild grass that was most likely cultivated in the foothills of the far Eastern Himalayas. Another school of thought believes that the rice plant may have originated in southern India, then spread to the north of the country and then onwards to China. It then arrived in Korea, the Philippines (about 2000 B. C.) and then Japan and Indonesia (about 1000 B. C.).

Rice is grown in States like Punjab, Karnataka, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal. It is the staple food of the States in southern and eastern India. Soils suitable for rice production are those with a pH of around 6.0. This includes a wide variety of soils ranging from sandy loam to silty clay loam. The land should be ploughed at least four times to get a field with good tilth. Every third year, the farmer should apply lime @ 2t/ha around one to two weeks before the seeds are sown. While transplanting, puddling should be done around three to four times to rid the land of weeds and help the soil retain water.

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.

Types of Rice

– Traditional Basmati
– Pusa Basmati
– PR11 Basmati
– 2111 Basmati
– Sharbati Basmati
– Shabnam Basmati

Rice is one of the chief grains of India. Moreover, this country has the largest area under rice cultivation, as it is one of the principal food crops. It is in fact the dominant crop of the country. India is one of the leading producers of this crop. Rice is the basic food crop and being a tropical plant, it flourishes comfortably in hot and humid climate. Rice is mainly grown in rain fed areas that receive heavy annual rainfall. That is why it is fundamentally a kharif crop in India. It demands temperature of around 25 degree Celsius and above and rainfall of more than 100 cm. Rice is also grown through irrigation in those areas that receives comparatively less rainfall. Rice is the staple food of eastern and southern parts of India. In 2009-10, total rice production in India amounted to 89.13 million tonnes, which was much less than production of previous year, 99.18 million tones

Rice can be cultivated by different methods based on the type of region. But in India, the traditional methods are still in use for harvesting rice. The fields are initially ploughed and then fertilizer is applied which typically consists of cow dung and then the field is smoothed. The seeds are transplanted by hand and then through proper irrigation, the seeds are cultivated. Rice grows on a variety of soils like silts, loams and gravels. It can also tolerate alkaline as well as acid soils. However, clayey loam is well suited to the raising of this crop. Actually the clayey soil can be easily converted into mud in which rice seedlings can be transplanted easily. Proper care has to be taken as this crop thrives if the soil remains wet and is under water during its growing years. Rice fields should be level and should have low mud walls for retaining water. In the plain areas, excess rain water is allowed to inundate the rice fields and flow slowly. Rice raised in the well watered lowland areas is known as lowland or wet rice. In the hilly areas, slopes are cut into terraces for the cultivation of rice. Thus, the rice grown in the hilly areas is known as dry or upland rice. Interestingly, per hectare yield of upland rice is comparatively less than that of the wet rice.

Rice can be grown on a variety of soils including silts, loams and gravels and can tolerate acidic as well as alkaline soils. However, deep fertile clayey or loamy soils which can be easily puddled into mud and develop cracks on drying are considered ideal for raising this crop.

There are around 2,00,000 varieties of rice in India of which around 4,000 are cultivated. The type of rice grown in different parts of India depends on the weather, soil, structure, characteristics and purposes. India has the world’s largest harvesting area for rice. Rice cultivation is found all over India with West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Odisha and Bihar being the chief rice producing States. Since 1965, around 600 improved varieties of Indica rice have been released for cultivation.

The period of maturity for rice varies between 130 to 160 days depending on the kind of rice and the area in which it is grown. RCPL1-28 and RCPL1-29 are two varieties of rice that are grown in altitudes of 800 to 1,300 meters above sea level and are resistant to blast. RCPL1-87-8 is a variety of rice grown at medium altitudes which is tolerant to iron toxicity. Certain types of rice are grown in specific regions. For example, Basmati Rice is grown in the foothills of the Himalayas, Sona Masuri in Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh, Molakolukulu in Andhra Pradesh, Patna Rice in Bihar and AmbeMohor in Maharashtra. Other popular varieties of rice are Emergency, Champa rice, 1034, IR64, Ponni Rice, Sujatha and Raja Hansa.