Maclean et al. - 2002 - Rice almanac source book for the most important e

175, Giza 176, Giza 181, Giza 177, Giza 178,
Sakha 101, and Sakha 102; the transfer of
appropriate technology to the farming community
to improve crop management; and the improvement
of productivity in the saline areas in the
North Delta.
The development of the rice economy has
been influenced by several policy changes
resulting from the implementation of the
economic reform program. This program is
principally based on liberalization of crop
production through cancellation of area
allotments and phasing out of input subsidies.
Despite large, optimistic land reclamation
projects, the potential for increasing the area
planted to crops is limited. The main limitation is
the availability of irrigation water, as rice is one
of the most water-consuming crops.
In Turkey, rice is grown mainly in seven
geographical regions: Marmara-Thrace, Black
Sea, Central Anatolia, Southeastern Anatolia,
Mediterranean, East Anatolia, and the Aegean.
The largest production areas are in the provinces
of Edirne and Samsun.
Rice is cultivated under continuous flooding
conditions. Planting is carried out using pregerminated
seed (about 200 kg/ha) broadcast by hand
on flooded soil. Fertilization is usually done with
nitrogen and phosphorus fertilizers at 100–150
and 80 kg/ha, respectively. Potassium is normally
not supplied because of the high availability of
this nutrient in Turkish soils.
Harvesting is from mid-September to the end
of October and is commonly carried out when
rice grains reach 20–24% water content. Rice is
harvested by hand and then treshed with tresher
equipment or with a combine harvester.
The rice land areas and yields in Egypt and
Turkey and the other non-European Union
countries producing rice are shown in Table 1.
More information on European and
Mediterranean rice-growing countries can be
found in the individual country sections.
Med-Rice is the FAO Inter-Regional
Cooperative Research Network on Rice in the
Mediterranean Climate Areas. It was created in
Table 1. Rice lands and yields in non-European Union
countries, 2000.
Country Area (ha) Yield (t/ha)
Egypt 660,000 9.1
Turkey 60,000 5.6
Morocco 5,600 4.5
Romania 1,500 2.5
Russia 175,800 2.5
Bulgaria 3,000 2.3
Hungary 3,088 2.3
Source: FAOSTAT.
1990 as one of the interregional and regional
networks on rice and field projects, supported by
the International Rice Commission (IRC) and the
Rice Development Programme (RDP). The
objective of Med-Rice is to promote scientific
exchanges among rice scientists working in the
Mediterranean area and in the other regions with
a Mediterranean climate.
The network began as a response to the need
to collaborate and coordinate research on rice in
view of its increasing cultivation and
consumption in Europe. Some of the important
subjects are quality and competitiveness of
European rice; resistance to blast, stem borers,
and diseases; control of red rice, a weed that
competes with cultivated rice; cataloguing of rice
genetic resources in the region; and a databank of
knowledge on all aspects of rice cultivation for
the purpose of improved management and rice
yields. These are all being investigated through
cooperative research programs among member
institutions of the network.
Twelve countries participate in Med-Rice:
Egypt, France, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Morocco,
Portugal, Romania, Russia, Spain, Turkey, and
the United Kingdom. Activities of Med-Rice
include scientific meetings, cooperative research
programs, and publications ranging from reports
and proceedings to a newsletter (Medoryzae).
Scientific activities fall under five working
groups, on agronomy, biotechnology, economy,
selection, and technology. The network has its
own Web site (http://medrice.agraria.unito.it).
Rice around the world 71