Rice in Asia and the food supply Rice

Rice in Asia and the food supply Rice is the principal staple food in Asia, where about 90 percent of the world's rice is produced and consumed. China is the world's biggest producer, increasing one-third of Asia's complete on 29 million ha (Table 1.1). India produces almost a quarter on 43 million ha. Other leading rice-producing countries in Asia are mentioned in table 1.1 too. Average yields in these countries range from 2.6 to 6.5 t/ha*.* All of tonnage conditions in this publication are metric, unless otherwise indicated.Worldwide, around 79 million ha of organic basmati brown rice bulk is grown under irrigated conditions. While this is just half of the entire rice area, it accounts for roughly 75 percent of the world's annual rice production. In Asia, almost 60 percent of the 138 million hectares devoted to rice production annually is irrigated, in which rice is usually grown in monoculture with two to three crops annually depending upon water availability. Other organic basmati white rice quality ecosystems incorporate the rainfed lowland (35% of total rice area), characterized by an absence of water management, together with flooding and drought being potential problems, and the upland and deepwater ecosystems (5 percent of total rice area), where yields are low and very changeable.Thailand is the world's leading rice dealer, constituting an average of 8 million tons of rice annually (Figure 1.1). A favorable trade balance for rice has been preserved by Asia, Australia and the United States. Latin America, Africa, and Europe, are net importers of rice.The demand for rice is expected to grow for many years to come mostly because of population growth, particularly in Asia, where population is expected to grow 35 percent by 2025 (United Nations, 1999). An increase in overall rice production can come in an increase in the area planted, improved yields, and increased cropping intensity. On the other hand, the scope for growth of rice-growing areas is limited because of loss of agricultural land to urbanization, land conversion, and industrialization. Therefore, future increase in rice distribution must come from increased yields and intensified cropping, particularly in the irrigated rice ecosystem.There is substantial scope to increase current Organic Arborio White Rice quality yields as farmers in Asia, normally, achieve only about 60% of the return possibly achievable with present varieties and climatic problems. The most important limit to achieving higher yields and associated higher profitability for rice farmers each unit of arable land is frequently the ineffective use of inputs (especially nutrients, seed( and pesticide) in an environmentally sustainable fashion. If the requirement for meals is to be fulfilled, rice production will have to be effective in the use of increasingly scarce all-natural resources. Better harvest, nutrient, pestcontrol, and water management methods, along with the use of germplasm with a greater return potential, are needed in order for rice production to be profitable for manufacturers and also to supply sufficient cheap staple food for customers.1.2 HistoryMany historians believe that rice has been grown as far back as 5000 B.C.Archaeologists excavating in India discovered rice, which they had been convinced, may be obsolete to 4530 B.C. However, the earliest recorded mention originates from China in 2800 B.C. About 500 B.C. cultivation spread into parts of India, Iran, Iraq, Egypt and finally to Japan. Though China, India or Thailand can't be recognized as the home of the rice plant (indeed it might have been indigenous to all), it is relatively obvious that rice has been introduced to Europe and the Americas, by travelers who took with them the seeds of the crops that grew in their houses and in foreign lands.In the West, portions of America and certain regions of Europe, including Italy and Spain, can present the right climate thereby giving rise to a flourishing rice market. The first cultivation in the U.S., along coastal areas in S. Carolina to Texas, started in 1685. Some historians think that rice travelled to America in 1694, at a British ship bound for Madagascar.1.3 Plant descriptionRice plant is an annual warm-season grass (monocot plant) with round culms, flat leaves and terminal panicles.Rice is normally grown as an annual plant, although in tropical regions it may survive as a continuing and may generate a ratoon crop up to 20 years. The rice can grow to 1--1.8 m tall, occasionally more, based on the selection and soil fertility. The grass has long, slender leaves 50--100 cm long and 2--2.5 cm broad. The edible seed is a grain (caryopsis) 5--12 mm long and 2--3 mm thick.The grainThe only seed is fused with the wall, that's that the pericarp of the ripened ovary forming the grain. Each rice panicle (that can be a determinate inflorescence on the terminal shoot), when ripened, contains on average 80-120 grains, based on varietal characteristics, environmental conditions and the degree of crop management. The floral organs have been altered shoots consisting of a panicle, where can be arranged a variety of spikelets. Every spikelet bears a floret which, when fertilized, develops to some grain.Rice grain arrangementA kernel of rice is made up of hull and a cookie coating, both of which can be removed on shining"white" rice. Generally, every rice kernel is composed of the following layers:Rice shell, hull or husk: encloses the bran coat, the embryo and the endosperm.Bran Coat (layer): a very thin layer of cells that are distinguished. The coating contains fiber, vitamin B, vitamin B, fat and protein. The most nutritious portion of rice resides within this layer.Embryo: The innermost aspect of a rice grain is made up mainly of starch known as amylase and amylo pectin. The mixture of these two starches determines the cooking feel of rice.A harvest producing on typical 300 panicles per m2 and 100 spikelets per panicle, using an ordinary spikelet sterility of 15 percent at maturity and a 1000-grain burden of 20 g will have an expected yield of 5.1 t/ha.1.6 IrrigationRice can grow in either a wet (paddy) or a dry (field) setting. (Rice fields are also called paddy fields or rice paddies).About 75% of the global rice production comes from irrigated rice systems since most rice varieties say their full yield potential when water supply is adequate.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 maintain irrigation water to use in the summertime, when demand for water is the best.The bulk of the rice in Asia is grown during the rainy season beginning in June-July, and dependence on rainfall is the most limiting production constraint for rain-fed culture. Rice regions in South and Southeast Asia can, in general, be categorized into irrigated, rain-fed upland, rain-fed shallow water lowland and rain-fed deep water lowland areas.The productivity of well-managed, irrigated rice is greatest, being in the range of 5-8 t/ha during the rainy period and 7-10 t/ha during the dry season if well managed, but the average is most frequently only in the variety of 3-5 t/ha. The productivity of rain-fed upland and deep water lowland rice, nevertheless, has been reduced and is dormant about 1.0 t/ha.1.7 VarietiesThere are more than 40,000 varieties of cultivated rice (Oryza sativa L.), however the exact amount is uncertain. Over 90,000 samples of wild and cultivated rice species have been stored at the International Rice Gene Bank and these are used by researchers all over the world.There are four key kinds of rice: Indica, Japonica, aromatic, and glutinous. Rice seeds change in size, shape, width, length, colour and aroma. There are many distinct types of rice: drought-resistant, pest-resistant, flood-resistant, saline-resistant, tall, short, aromatic, sticky, with red, violet, brown, or black; long and slender; or brief and round grains. Extensive studies of these varieties have demonstrated that they were individually derived from the wild rice species Oryza rufipogon. The varieties show much less variation (polymorphism) compared to wild species.Rice cultivars (Oryza sativa L.) are divisible into the Indica and Japonica types, or subspecies indica and japonica, which differ in various morphophysiological traits. These two main varieties of domesticated rice (Oryza sativa), one variety, O. sativa indica can be found in India and Southeast Asia while the other, O. sativa japonica, is mostly cultivated in Southern China.In general, the rice family could be broken down into three Chief categories:Long 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 tender and chalky. It releases roughly 15% starch into water during cooking. Medium grain rice is mainly grown in China, Egypt and Italy.Short Grain or Round Grain: Approx. 4-5 mm long, just 1.5-2 times longer than thick. The endosperm is soft and chalky. This variety is grown in suburban areas like California, Egypt, Italy, Japan, Korea, Spain and Portugal.