Saraswati Taraori

History of Rice

Rice plants have been traced back to 5000 BC, but the practice of rice growing is believed to have originated in areas of China, and southern and eastern Asia, in about 2000 BC.

 

History of Rice Cultivation

 

There are many unproven mythological tales related to origin of rice, though historians hold little or no stock in any. Rice cultivation is considered to have begun simultaneously in many countries over 6500 years ago. Rice has been cultivated in China since ancient times. Chinese records of rice cultivation go back 4000 years. Most believe the roots of rice come from 3000 BC India, where natives discovered the plant growing in the wild and began to experiment with it. Cultivation and cooking methods are thought to have spread to the west rapidly and by medieval times, southern Europe saw the introduction of rice as a hearty grain. In several Asian languages the words for rice and food are identical.

 

African rice has been cultivated for 3500 years. In the Middle East and Mediterranean Europe, it started around 800 BC. Rice spread throughout Italy and then France, after the middle of the 15th century, later propagating to all the continents during the great age of European exploration. In 1694, rice arrived in South Carolina, probably originating from Madagascar. The Spanish brought rice to South America at the beginning of the 18th century.

 

Rice cultivation has been carried into all regions having the necessary warmth and abundant moisture favorable to its growth, mainly subtropical rather than hot or cold.

 

Extended Use of Rice

Rice has potential in a wide range of food categories. Besides having nutritional and medicinal benefits, the by-products of rice are equally important and beneficial. By-products from growing rice create many valuable and worthwhile products. The unedible parts, that are discarded through the milling process, and the edible part could be transformed into some of the following suggested products.

 

Rice By-Products

•Rice Husks

•Rice Bran

•Broken Rice

•Rice Flour

•Rice Milk

•Rice Pudding

•Rice Starch

•Rice Straw

•Rice used in Beverage Making

•Rice Paper

•Rice Glue

•Rice Cakes (mochi)

•Rice Vinegar

•Rice Soy Milk

•Red Yeast Rice

•Rice based food products

 

 

Types and Forms of Rice

Worldwide, there are more than 40,000 different varieties of rice. Often times, rice is categorized by its size as being either short grain, medium grain or long grain. Short grain, which has the highest starch content, makes the stickiest rice, while long grain is lighter and tends to remain separate when cooked. The qualities of medium grain fall between the other two types. Another way that rice is classified is according to the degree of milling that it undergoes. This is what makes a brown rice different than a white rice. Thus, the primary differences in different varieties of rice are their cooking characteristics, shapes and even colors and in some cases, a subtle flavor difference. The influx of convenience foods has brought consumers rice in bags, packets and cartons. Rice can be purchased cooked or uncooked, packed, dehydrated and also frozen. To meet the many special requirements of packaged foods, rice undergoes varying degrees of processing, including regular-milled, parboiled, precooked, and brown.

 

Accordingly, we can divide types and forms of rice in the following categories:

Long Grain / All Purpose: Indica Rice

 

Medium Grain Rice: Javanica Rice

 

Short Grain Rice: Japonica Rice

 

Speciality/Aromatic Rice

 

 

 

Nutritional Facts about Rice

Rice remains a staple food for the majority of the world's population. Rice is very nutritious. This important carbohydrate is the staple food for more than two-thirds of the world's population who rely on the nutritional benefits of rice.

 

Rice has the following nutritional benefits:

•Excellent source of carbohydrates: Rice is a great source of complex carbohydrates, which is an important source of the fuel our bodies need.

•Good energy source: Carbohydrates are broken down to glucose, most of which is used as energy for exercise and as essential fuel for the brain.

•Low fat, Low salt, No cholesterol: Rice is healthful for what it does not contain. Rice has no fat, no cholesterol and is sodium free. Rice is an excellent food to include in a balanced diet.

•A good source of vitamins and minerals such as thiamine, niacin, iron, riboflavin, vitamin D, calcium, and fiber.

•Low sugar

•No gluten: Rice is gluten free. All rice is gluten free, making rice the essential choice for people with gluten free dietary requirements.

•No additives and preservatives: Rice contains no additives or preservatives, making it an excellent inclusion in a healthy and balanced diet.

•Contains resistant starch: Rice also contains resistant starch, which is the starch that reaches the bowel undigested. This encourages the growth of beneficial bacteria, keeping the bowel healthy.

•Non-allergenic

•Cancer prevention and diet: Whole grains (such as brown rice) contain high amounts of insoluble fiber-the type of fiber some scientists believe may help protect against a variety of cancers.

•Rice is a low-sodium food for those with hypertension.

•It is a fair source of protein containing all eight amino acids.

 

Interesting Facts about Rice

SOME INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT RICE

•More than 90 percent of the world's rice is grown and consumed in Asia, where people typically eat rice two or three times a daily. Rice is the staple diet of half the world's population.

•Rice farming has been traced back to around 5,000 BC.

•Hundreds of millions of the poor spend half to three fourths of their incomes on rice and only rice.

•To plow 1 hectare of land in the traditional way, a farmer and his water buffalo must walk 80 km.

•It takes 5,000 liters of water to produce 1 kg of irrigated rice.

•More than 140,000 varieties of cultivated rice (the grass family Oryza sativa) are thought to exist but the exact number remains a mystery.

•Three of the world's four most populous nations are rice-based societies: People's Republic of China, India, and Indonesia. Together, they have nearly 2.5 billion people almost half of the world's population.

•The average Asian consumer eats 150 kg of rice annually compared to the average European who eats 5 kg.

•Every year, 50 million people are added to Asia's soaring population of 3.5 billion.

•Improved varieties are planted on three fourths of Asia's rice land and are responsible for producing most of the continent's rice.

•Asia is home to 250 million rice farms. Most are less than 1 hectare.

•In several Asian languages the words for 'food' and 'rice' are identical.

•Rice is thrown on newly married couples as a symbol of fertility, luck and wealth.

•65 kilos of rice are milled annually for every person on earth.

Basmati Rice in India

Basmati Rice, a variety of long grain rice with a fine texture, is the world's best rice that one can use for cooking and the leading aromatic fine quality rice in the world trade. Basmati rice means the "queen of fragrance" or the perfumed one. This type of rice has been grown in the foothills of the Himalayas for thousands of years. In India, Basmati rice is characterized by extra long, superfine slender grains having a length to breadth ratio of more than 3.5, sweet taste, soft texture, delicate curvature and an extra elongation with least breadth-wise swelling on cooking. This highly aromatic rice is India's gift to the whole world.

 

Find out everything you could possibly know about Basmati rice in India under the following heads:

History of Basmati Rice

 

Characteristics of Basmati Rice

 

Agronomic Features of Basmati Rice

 

Areas Producing Basmati Rice in India

 

The Basmati Patent

 

Production of Basmati Rice in India

 

Export of Basmati Rice from India

 

Basmati Rice Brands of India

 

Varieties of Basmati Rice

 

India in World Basmati Rice Industry

 

 

Rice in India

Rice is grown in many regions across India. For about 65% of the people living in India, rice is a staple food for them. Rice is essential to life in India. It is a part of nearly every meal, and it is grown on a majority of the rural farms.

 

Some important facts about rice in Indian Scenario are as:

•Agriculture is the main source of income for families in India. Farms cover over half the land and almost three-quarters of that land is used to grow the two major grains: rice and wheat.

•India is the second leading producer of rice in the entire world, preceded only by China.

•India's annual rice production is around 85-90 million tons. Annual consumption, is around 85 million tons.

•In India, Rice is cultivated in both seasons - Winter and Summer.

•West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, Bihar, Orissa, Assam, Karnataka and Haryana are the major producing states. More than 50% of total production comes from the first four states.

•Food Corporation of India purchases around 20 to 25% of the total rice production in the country both under levy from the rice mills and directly in the form of paddy from the farmers at Minimum Support Prices announced by the Govt.

•More than 4000 varieties of rice are grown in India.

•India is the world's largest exporter of Basmati rice to Saudi Arabia and other Middle East Countries, Europe, and the United States.

•India has the potential to export one million tons of Basmati rice.

•Major destinations for Indian non-basmati, white/parboiled rice are Bangladesh, Indonesia, Philippines, Nigeria, South Africa, Ivory Coast, and other African countries.

Rice Processing

Harvesting is the process of collecting the mature rice crop from the field. Harvesting at the right time and in the right way maximizes grain yield and minimizes grain losses and quality deterioration. The post-harvesting operations of paddy crop and the storage of grains are as much important as producing the crop, because post-harvesting technology affects the quantity and quality of paddy and the finished product, that is, rice. Generally, losses in paddy and rice during the post-harvest operations amount to about 10% of field production. It is, therefore, necessary to adopt proper technology after harvesting the crop for the improvement of the quantity and quality of paddy and rice.

 

Post production includes all operations starting from harvesting up to grading and the stages are interdependent.

 

The various steps involved are as folllows :

Cleaning and Hulling

Drying

Quality and Grading

 

Harvesting or Cutting

Milling

Storage

 

Threshing

 

Rice Varieties in All India

Rice forms an integral part of the life of all Indians. The harvesting area of rice in India is the largest in the world. Rice cultivation is found in all the states of India.

 

Let us browse though the wide varieties of rice available in all parts of the country with their characteristics.

ASD-16 Rice

ASD-17 Rice

Gauri Rice

 

Gayatri Rice

Hari Rice

Heera Rice

 

HKR-120 Rice

IET-10222 Rice

IET-8548 Rice

 

Jaya Rice

Kalyani-II Rice

Kanak Rice

 

Karna Rice

Kshira Rice

Lalat Rice

 

Mahaveera Rice

MDU-3 Rice

Moti Rice

 

Narendra Dhan-118 Rice

Padmini Rice

Panvel-2 Rice

 

Pathara Rice

Prasanna Rice

Ratnagiri-1 Rice

 

Ratnagiri-2 Rice

Seshu Rice

Sonasali Rice

 

Sravani Rice

Srinivas Rice

Tara Rice

 

Vanaprabha Rice

Vikas Rice

Vikramarya Rice

 

Vivek Dhan-62 Rice

VL Dhan-163 Rice

 

Development of Hybrid Rice in India

During the last few years, hybrid rice technology in the tropics has entered the commercialization phase in India, Vietnam, the Philippines, Bangladesh, and Indonesia. Research to develop hybrid rice was initiated in India way back in 1970s but with no success. It was only in the year 1989, the research programme was accelerated and intensified and within a period of 5 years, half a dozen rice hybrid rice varieties were developed from public and private sectors in India. By the end of 2001, a total of 19 hybrid rice varieties were released.

 

However, farmer adoption of hybrid rice has been much slower than expected because of several constraints. Improving grain and cooking quality characteristics of hybrids, incorporating resistance to some major pests and diseases, increasing average seed yields on a large scale to reduce seed costs are the research priorities. Policy interventions by the government for increased support, aggressive popularization of hybrids, and assured procurement of hybrid rice at a minimum support price are needed. If these problems can be solved, hybrid rice could be cultivated on 3-4 million hectares in India during the next decade to partially sustain food security. The government has intended to popularize hybrids on a priority basis during the tenth five-year plan period (2002-07).

 

Steps to Develop Hybrid Rice

•Use new seeds every season and follow recommended seeding rate

•Raise healthy seedlings

•Prepare the land early and properly

•Transplant seedlings then replant empty hills

•Apply the right kind and amount of fertilizer at the right time

•Maintain the right amount of water

•Manage the pests

Harvest on timeteps to Improve Production of Rice

The following strategies may be adopted to increase the productivity of rice in various states:

•Emphasis may be given on a cropping system approach rather than a single crop development approach..

•Propagation of location specific crop production technologies in different agro-climatic zones.

•Replacement of low potential/pest susceptible old varieties by new high yielding varieties with promising yield potential.

•To encourage cultivation of hybrid rice through demonstrations and making seed available to the farmers.

•Motivating the farmers to provide life saving irrigation to the crop wherever possible during long dry spells.

•Improving soil fertility.

•Emphasis on balanced use of plant nutrients along with the popularization of integrated plant management system.

•Use of bio-fertilizer.

•Popularization of line sowing in upland rice areas through suitable seeding devices establishment of desired level of plant population, easy in weed control and the application of other management techniques.

•Encouraging the use of machines as well as bullock drawn and hand operated implements.

•Effective control of pests and diseases by emphasizing the need based application of pesticides.

•More emphasis on the adoption of non-monetary inputs like timely sowing, maintaining optimum plant population, timely irrigation, efficient use of fertilizers, plant protection measures and timely harvesting of crop etc.

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Medicinal Uses of Rice

Rice is believed by some to have medicinal properties. Although, this is not scientifically proven effective, it has been used in many countries for medicinal purpose. For example:

•Philippines: Rice polishings-the bran-is extracted and used as an excellent source of Vitamin B to prevent and cure beri-beri.

•Malaysia: In the Medicinal Book of Malayan Medicine, it is prescribed that boiled rice "greens" can be used as an eye lotion and for use with acute inflammation of the inner body tissues. The book also recommends applying a mixture of dried, powdered rice on certain skin ailments.

•Cambodia: The hulls (husk) of mature rice plants are considered useful for treating dysentery. The hulls of a three-month old rice plant are thought to be diuretic.

•China: The Chinese believe rice strengthens the spleen, as well as "weak stomach," increases appetite, and cures indigestion. Dried sprouted rice grains were once used as an external medicine to aid in digestion, give tone to muscles, and expel gas from the stomach and intestines.

India: Rice water is prescribed by the Pharmacopoeia of India as an ointment to counteract inflamed surface. Factors Influencing the Price of Rice

Factors that affect Rice Prices are as follows:

•Weather: Role of weather in rice production is immense. Temperature, rainfall and soil moisture are the important parameters that determine the crop condition. Further, natural calamities can also affect crops. Markets keep watch of these developments.

•Minimum Support Price: Changes in the minimum support prices (MSP) by the government also have immense impact on the price of rice.

•Government policies: Exchange rates, Fiscal policies, Export incentives and export promotion also influence price.

•Substitute Product: Availability of substitute products at cheaper rate may lead to weakness in demand. This situation happens especially when the main products price tends to become higher.

•Consumption: Rice consumption depends on two factors - population and income. Lets take for example Asia. Rice is the staple food of Asia. Low-income groups consume more rice according to the per capita income increase. But as the income increases, there arrives a point when the consumption starts to dip. Income growth and reduction in population result in a low consumption of rice.

•Seasonal cycles: Seasonal cycles are present in rice cultivation. Price tends to be lower as harvesting progresses and produce starts coming into the market. At the time of sowing and before harvesting price tends to rise in view of tight supply situation.

•Demand: Import demands as well as domestic demand.

•Breakthrough in the technology may increase the productivity and would lead to more supply. This may bring some softness in the price.

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