Rice

Rice (Paddy)

There are many uses for rice and its by-products.

• Oil can be made from rice bran
• Cement can be made from de-oiled rice bran
• Margarine can be made from the oil of rice bran after thickening
• Biscuits can be made from the waste of milled rice
• Rice starch can be dehydrated for household and industrial use
• Alcohol can be made from rice
• etc.

There are many varieties of rice, both domesticated and wild.

The major seasonal varieties grown in India are:

• áus paddy, an early variety
• áman paddy, an autumn or pre-winter variety
• boro paddy, a summer variety.

These take 4 months or approximately 120 days to mature.

The straw also has some utility value according to the season:

• áman paddy: the straw is long and useful as animal fodder
• áus paddy: the straw is shorter and less useful
• boro paddy: the straw is very long and animals dislike it

Rice requires suitable soil and climatic conditions.

The soil must be clay. Four tillings are necessary.

The right amount of water as per the season must also be present.

• Boro paddy needs always 1 inch of water in the field until flowering starts.
• Aman paddy needs always 9 inches of water
• Aus paddy needs the soil to always be wet.

If these conditions are not met, the crop may fail and people may go hungry.

The traditional method of planting involves a rotation of these 3 varieties.

Usually, it also involves the sowing of at least one “pigeon crop”.

The “pigeon crop” is sown after the rice has already grown and is standing in the field. The soil is not tilled.

The “pigeon crop”, which is usually a pulse like cow pea (aŕahar) or an oil seed like mustard (rái variety), is simply thrown into the field and comes up on its own.

When the rice is harvested, the tops of the “pigeon crop” are also cut. This increases the yield of the “pigeon crop”, which continues to grow in the field until it reaches maturity.

If the production of rice can be increased by a better method, it will be a great benefit to the people of rice growing countries.

Ánanda Nagar is demonstrating a new system of rice production where 4 rice crops can be reaped per year instead of 1-3.

• This system has no time for the “pigeon crops” because the field is constantly engaged in rice production.

However, mixed crops can be grown such as:

• radish
• big onion (big piaz)
• small hot onion (small piaz)
• small sweet onion (sachi piaz)

These are sown at the time of paddy transplant.

There cannot be mixed crops with áman because there is too much water in the field. Mixed crops grow best with boro paddy.

The system of growing four rice crops in a year requires that the rice seedlings are kept in a nursery for the first month to six weeks of their growth. This is because each rice crop takes four months to mature.

Traditionally, the seeds are sown in a small plot at random, then transplanted in a more systematic manner.

With the new system, the seeds should be grown in a nursery for the first month, and then transplanted in the field.

The seedlings should always be transplanted after 1 month, or 1.5 months at the most in some rare cases. If the seedlings are kept in the nursery longer, the production will decline.

Thus, in the 2.5-3 months of their main growth period, the transplanted rice seedlings will remain in the field. The best paddy land will be utilized for the main period of rice production.

The 4 rice crops which can best be grown with this system are:

• áus
• áman
• early boro
• late boro.

The production of these crops varies:

• áman produces the maximum amount of rice
• boro a medium amount
• áus the minimum.

Áus remains in the field for the period of late Vaeshákha, Jyaeśt́ha, Aśádha and the first half of Shrávańa.

Áus should be used as a transplanted crop, not as a sown crop.

Plant early áus seedlings in the month of Caetra, and late áus seedlings in the month of Aśádha.

Áus paddy does not require waterlogging the field. Along with the áus paddy seedlings, radish seedlings can also be planted. The radish seedlings should be 15 days old when they are planted.

Áman remains in the field for the period of late Shrávańa, Bhádra, Áshvina and the first half of Kárttika. Áman paddy requires waterlogging.

As the water level rises, the plant grows taller, but the tip should always remain above the water or the plant will die. If the water is higher than four inches, the plant will be healthy but the crop will be poor.

Áman paddy requires profuse watering and water accumulation. No mixed crop can be planted with áman. At this time the big onion seeds are not ready and small onion cannot be planted as it is too small and will go under water.

Thus, no mixed crops should be sown along with áman paddy, but pisciculture can be practised.

Early boro remains in the field for the period of late Kárttika, Agraháyańa, Paoś and early Mágha. In the early boro field, big onions can be transplanted (sprouted chachi piaú of the preceding period).

Big onion is planted with early boro and small sweet onion (sachi piaz) is planted with late boro. Special care should be taken to obtain a big onion type which is a winter crop, as it requires less water.

The big onion variety can be planted in the early boro field, but care should be taken that the top of the big onion plant always remains above the water. 60 day green gram (śát́há moog) can also be grown with late boro, as gram does not need much water.

The green gram may be grown as a “pigeon crop” in the second two months of the transplanted áus, field, the second two months of the transplanted early boro field, and the second two months of the transplanted late boro field. If irrigation water is not available after the áman crop, instead of the boro crop, a “pigeon crop” can be grown.

Late boro remains in the field for the period of late Mágha, Phálguna, Caetra and early Vaeshákha.

If there is a sufficient supply of irrigation water available, only boro and no pigeon crop should be cultivated after the áman paddy. Otherwise, the field should be engaged for pulse cultivation. Along with late boro, onion may be transplanted in the same field for three months. Small sweet onion (sachi piaz) takes four to five months to grow and should be cultivated in the nursery for the first one or two months before being transplanted. Onions need water (and are 67% water themselves), so they may also be harvested in the month of Vaeshákha along with the late boro. The Saḿskrta word for onion is “sukarkanda,” in Hindi it is “piaz,” and in Bengali, “pianz.”

With late boro, instead of moog, onions may be planted. Bangladesh and the Arab countries are good markets for onions. Seeds from big onions are used for producing small onion (chachi piaz), and the kalik or onion tubers from small onion are used for producing big onions. If big onions are to be harvested for marketing, then the stalk should be twisted down while it is green and about to flower. If this is done, the onion will attain its maximum size.

In mid-Vaeshákha, when the boro paddy and onion are to be harvested, harvest the rice. If the stalk of the onion is also cut down at this time it is better. After that, dig out the onion bulbs, then prepare the field for transplantation in mid-Vaeshákha for áus paddy. And so the cycle continues.

With paddy, only the rái variety of mustard and yellow mustard can be grown, not red mustard. Yellow mustard can only be grown as a mixed crop, not as a “pigeon crop”.

To apply liquid manure to paddy, wait until one month after transplantation. At this time, weeding should also be done. The liquid manure should be applied after the weeding, and should always be non-poisonous so that it does not affect pisciculture.

Rice seeds of good quality should be collected from:

• Korea
• Japan
• mainland China
• Thailand.

Nunia paddy seeds from North Bengal are the best variety of paddy. But their production is very low.

The finest and most sweet scented plants are small. Research should be done to increase their yield.