Rice Production in India: Analysis of Trend, Constraints and Technologies

Abstract

Rice is the staple food for more than 50% of the population across the globe. As a labour-intensive crop, the rice cultivation provides livelihood and employment to millions of people. The Green Revolution enabled many countries across the globe to increase the production, and in India besides increasing production, the country entered into a new era of input use

The chapter was commissioned by Dr. Palanisami to add different angles to this book. The author would like to thank Dr. Palanisami for providing substantial inputs in preparing this chapter, without which, the chapter would not have taken the shape that it has now.

Appendix

States	Yield gap and its reasons	Constraints	Reasons	Impact of technologies	Ruling varieties/ recommended varieties	Strategies to increase the production of rice crop
Southern
Tamil Nadu	a. Maximum Attainable Yield is the rice yields of experimental/on-farm plots with no physical, biological and economic constraints and with the best-known management practices at a given time and ecology b. Farm-Level Yield is the average yield of farmers (southern) obtained in a given target area at given time and ecology	Saline, acidic soils and alkali soils Knowledge gaps Use of traditional varieties Poor and imbalanced use of fertilizers Poor adoption of crop production technologies	Difficulty in removal of salts in the coastal region Toxicity due to high pH and due to the presence of sodium either as carbonate or as bicarbonate in the alkali or saline–alkali soils. Highly dispersed soil under alkaline or saline–alkali situation and drainage is a problem Lack of awareness about high-yielding varieties and hybrid rice technology Continuous use of traditional varieties due to the non-availability of seeds and farmers lack of awareness about high-yielding varieties (upland, rainfed lowland and deep-water areas) Poor adoption of improved crop production technology due to economic backwardness of the farmers	Encouraging the use of soil ameliorants for improving saline, alkaline and acidic soils Potential of conservation agriculture including zero or minimum tillage, direct-seeded rice, precision agriculture, site-specific nutrient management	IR-64, CO-47, ADT-36, ADT-37, ADT-43, ADT-45, ADT-47, ADT-48, ASD-16, ASD-17, ASD-20	Adoption of SRI cultivation Creating awareness and motivating hybrid rice cultivation through demonstration Improving soil fertility through crop rotation Encouraging balanced use of fertilizers and plant nutrients Adoption of improved water management practices Creating awareness through demonstrations, farmer’s field school Attractive Market Price and Insurance coverage
Karnataka	Erratic rainfall Poor in adoption of modern varieties Global climatic changes Poor water management, use of imbalanced nutrition, sudden outbreak of pest and diseases in irrigated areas and moisture stress and poor nutrient uptake in rainfed areas			Integrated nutrient management (organic manures + biofertilizers + chemical fertilizers) Enhance water productivity through wider adoption of SRI Aerobic rice cultivation in water-limited areas like tail-end areas of the canal, tank-fed areas and borewell-irrigated areas if, the cultivation of rice is inevitable Aerobic rice cultivation A new mid-early, high-yielding variety MAS 946-1 is recently released by the University for Aerobic Cultivation	MAS 946-1 MAS 26, Rasi, Farmer grown locals Doddabairanelli	Transfer of recent technologies on rice production through proper extension methods like FLDs, Video conferencing, Rice Knowledge Management Portals and extension services supported by Mobile phone based MMSs and SMS Enhance water productivity through wider adoption of SRI, Aerobic and AWD method of cultivation in water-limited areas like tail-end areas of the canal, tank-fed areas and bore Well irrigated areas if, the cultivation of rice is inevitable
Andhra Pradesh	Though farmers adopt HYVs, often they ignore adoption of other crop production technologies and solving other related problems Cyclones and floods are the frequently occurring constraints which limit rice production in the state	Genetic improvement of rice yield and strengthening of quality seed production Promoting hybrid rice cultivation Stabilizing yield through molecular breeding Improving resource use of water Water-saving and yield-enhancing strategies			BPT-5204, Kavya MTU	Collection and maintenance of germplasm bank Identification of suitable areas for hybrid rice seed production in the state Ensuring proper transfer of technology Promotion of vermicompost, green manuring, application of gypsum, zinc sulphate etc. Educating the farmers through capacity building on improved crop management practices likeINM, IPM, Post harvest technology, Water management
Central
Maharashtra		Reduction in soil organic matter Widening NPK Ratio Micro-nutrient deficiencies Declining yield-fertilizer response in terms of grains/kg fertilizer Heavy metal pollution Low fertilizer use efficiency			Ratnagiri 24, Sahyadri—2, Sahyadri—3	Promotion of Integrated Nutrient Management Adoption of Conservation Agriculture Practices Optimal use fertilizers Evolution of high-yielding, semi-dwarf, fertilizer responsive rice varieties with different duration and grain types suitable for different ecosystem Developing nutrition-rich rice varieties Developing pest and disease resistant varieties
Madhya Pradesh		Poor adoption of hybrid rice Poor adoption of management practices led to only marginal increase in hybrid rice and significant variations across regions Higher seed cost Poor Non-availability of quality seeds in time and at reasonable price			Mahamaya, Ratnagiri 3	Creating awareness through campaigns and demonstration on SRI, aerobic rice etc. Promoting wider adoption of hybrid rice under SRI method and proper water management practices
Eastern
Bihar	Erratic and uneven distribution of rainfall	Suboptimal level of input use Poor extension services Severe weeds			PA 6444, PHB 71, Pusa RH 10, KRH 2, Rajlaxmi, Sahyadri, DRRH Rajashree, Sita, Rajendra Mahsuri, Prabhat	Promotion of optimal use of different inputs through development programmes and interventions KVKs may be encouraged to ensure proper transfer of technologies and adoption of various crop production technologies
Odisha	Erratic and uneven distribution of rainfall Non-availability of quality seeds and fertilizers in time and at reasonable prices	Poor marketing and credit facilities, poor adoption of modern rice production technologies			Rajalaxmi, KRH-2, PHB-71, PA 6201, PA 6444, PA 6129 and IR 64, IR 36, Pooja, CR 1018, Savitri, Ratna, Khitish, Annada, CR 1017, Lunishree, CR 1014	Soil amelioration by lime (7 lakh ha). Paper mill sludge for acidic soil treatment in Odisha Minikits of saline tolerant varieties More use of quality seeds Promoting farm mechanization wherever possible Developing propoer post-harvest technologies and infrastructure
West Bengal	Yield gap II is not able to manage by farmers	Major rice production constraints are floods and drought in addition to other biotic and abiotic constraints		Development of location-specific rice production technologies Evolving varieties for drought-tolerant/flood-tolerant/salt-tolerant high-yielding rice varieties for flood-prone upland, salinity affected coastal land and flood-prone lowland ecosystems, respectively Adoption of rain water harvesting structures Adopting IPNS technique Encouraging organic farming and biofertilizers application Page|	Khitish, Satabdi, Sabita, Shashi, Bipasa	Developing post-harvest technologies Promotion of public-private entrepreneurship Promoting Seed Village’ programme Adoption of low-cost, resource conserving eco-friendly technologies
Chhattisgarh	Poor and imbalanced use of fertilizers	Water stress and flooding, poor drainage Suboptimal use of fertilizers and plant nutrients Socio-economic Technological	Light texture of soil, shallow soil depth, un-bounded Sloppy and undulating topography Accumulation of water in lowland areas creates hurdles in adoption of management practices Poor and uneven distribution of rainfall Resource poor farmers Insecurity of land tenure Inequality in land ownership Labour scarcity, non-availability of inputs in time Poor adoption of improved crop production technologies Non-availability of high-quality seeds in time Lack of suitable rice varieties Lack of suitable machinery		IR 64, IR 36, Mahamaya, Kranti, Purnima, Swarna, MTU 1010, Danteswari, Bamleshwari	Adoption of improved crop production technologies and efficient water management technologies
Western
Gujarat		Blast, Grain Discoloration and Sheath Rot are the major diseases in the state. Whereas; Stem Borer, Brown Plant Hopper, WBPH, Leaf roller and Wire worm are the major insect pest in the Gujarat Salinity and drought are the major abiotic constraints in rice cultivation		SRI method may be encouraged to ensure higher rice yields	GR-4, GR-5, GR-7, GR-12, NAUR-1, IR-28	Assured canal water supply at the time of raising nurseries and during dry spell may be ensured Treatment of seedlings with biofertilizers prior to transplanting SRI and aerobic method of cultivation may be encouraged Water harvesting in rainfed rice Evolvingsuitable hybrid rice Creating awareness through circulation of print outs on different technologies, conducting demonstrations etc.
Northern
Punjab	Yield gap is due to various technical and socio-economic constraints	Major constraints for these ecosystems are (i) Submergence and droughts at seedling stage (ii) stem borer, brown plant hopper, leaf folder and green leafhopper as the major insects; (iii) bacterial leaf blight, brown spot and sheath rot as the major diseases and (iv) soil salinity and weeds as the other constraints Labour shortage			Basmati 217, Basmati 370, Basmati 385, Basmati 386, Punjab Basmati 1, Super Basmati	Adoption of improved land, crop water management practices
Haryana	Fluctuating water tables, salinity, declining soil health and low crop productivity				CSR 30 and CSR 27 Pusa Basmati 1, Pusa Sugandh 4, Pusa Sugandh 5 and HBC 19 Taroari Basmati	Adoption of improved crop production technologies
Uttar Pradesh		Problem soils Poor adoption of crop production technologies Erratic rainfall, water logging and floods	Suboptimal of input level of input use, unscientific crop rotation and poor use of organic manures poor adoption of modern technologies	Adoption of INM Effective technology transfer	Narendra Dhan 3112-1, Prakhar, NDR 2064, Narendra Usar Sankar Dhan 3	Encouraging optimal use of fertilizers and inputs Extension mechanism may be strengthened

1. Source Status paper on Rice for different states, Rice Knowledge Management Portal, Directorate of Rice Research, Rajendranagar, Hyderabad 500030. Field surveys
2. Visit Rice Knowledge Management Portal http://www.rkmp.co.in