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

level because of the low quality of indica rice, of
which a substantial surplus is produced in Punjab
and Andhra Pradesh. Although there is a large
unmet demand for staple food grains in the
poverty-stricken states of eastern India because of
a lack of purchasing capacity of low-income
households, the disposal of the surplus rice
procured by the government has become a major
concern for India.
Rice environments
Rice environments in India are extremely diverse.
India has the largest area under rice in the world.
Of the 45 million ha of harvested rice area, about
28% are rainfed lowland, 46% irrigated, 12%
rainfed upland, and 14% flood-prone. In some
traditional wheat-growing states, such as Punjab,
Haryana, and Uttar Pradesh, rice production has
increased substantially since the late 1960s with
the introduction of modern high-yielding rice
varieties that induced farmers to undertake
commercial cultivation of rice. In Punjab, for
example, rice production increased from 0.9 to
13.1 million t, and in Uttar Pradesh from 4.4 to
19.4 million t from 1968 to 1999. This rapid
expansion was possible because of the favorable
irrigation infrastructure.
Production constraints
Since the major portion (55%) of the area under
rice in India is rainfed, production is strongly tied
to the distribution of rainfall. In some states,
erratic rainfall leads to drought during the
vegetative period, but later the crop may be
damaged by submergence caused by high rainfall.
In the eastern states, damage from flash floods is
quite high.
Other constraints relate to the land and soil.
Soil acidity is a problem in southern and eastern
India, whereas, in northern India, soil salinity and
alkalinity are the problem. Low soil fertility and P
and Zn deficiency are widespread.
Nearly all of the rainfed area suffers from a
lack of infrastructure. Moreover, most farmers
cannot afford the inputs necessary for full
exploitation of the yield potential of modern
varieties. Crop residues are used as livestock feed
and for thatching of roofs of houses; animal dung
is used for fuel, and is not available to
compensate for the loss of nutrients in the
cultivation of modern varieties.
Stem borers, brown planthopper, gundhi bug,
leaffolders, green leafhopper, and gall midge are
major insect pests causing large yield losses.
Bacterial blight, blast, sheath blight, and brown
spot are important diseases. With increases in
wage rates, weeds are becoming a major factor
constraining productivity and profitability in rice
farming.
Production opportunities
Much of India’s agricultural growth, particularly
in major cereals, can be traced to an agricultural
strategy adopted in the late 1960s. The strategy
included
• provision of a package of inputs consisting
of short-duration, high-yielding modern
varieties, fertilizers, and improved
agricultural practices in areas of assured
water supply;
• supply of credit from public institutions to
finance working capital needs of farmers;
and
• declaration of a minimum price before
planting at which surplus grains are to be
procured by the government.
To extend the production package to less
favored areas in order to achieve more balanced
regional growth, agroclimatic zonal planning is
applied. India has been divided into 21 agroclimatic
regions based on homogeneity in rainfall,
temperature, soil, topography, and water
resources. Rice research priorities have shifted
from the irrigated ecosystem in the northwest and
southern region to the predominantly rainfed
ecosystem in eastern and northeastern India.
Strategic research to increase the productivity of
rice is being done in collaboration with the
International Fund for Agricultural Development
and the International Rice Research Institute in
six states in eastern India that account for twothirds
of the total rice area. The Rice-Wheat
Consortium for the Indo-Gangetic Plains is
studying the problem of sustainability of high
yields in rice and wheat by examining systemlevel
issues.
92 Rice almanac