Rice production in Bangladesh

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Rice production in Bangladesh is a crucial part of the national economy^[1]
The dominant food crop of Bangladesh is rice, accounting for about 75 percent of agricultural land use (and 28 percent of GDP).^[1] Rice production increased every year in the 1980s (through 1987) except FY 1981, but the annual increases have generally been modest, barely keeping pace with the population. Rice production exceeded 15 million tons for the first time in FY 1986. In the mid-1980s, Bangladesh was the fourth largest rice producer in the world, but its productivity was low compared with other Asian countries, such as Malaysia and Indonesia.^[1] It is currently the world's sixth-largest producer. Highyield varieties of seed, application of fertilizer, and irrigation have increased yields, although these inputs also raise the cost of production and chiefly benefit the richer cultivators.
The cultivation of rice in Bangladesh varies according to seasonal changes in the water supply. The largest harvest is aman, occurring in November and December and accounting for more than half of annual production. Some rice for the aman harvest is sown in the spring through the broadcast method, matures during the summer rains, and is harvested in the fall.^[1] The higher yielding method involves starting the seeds in special beds and transplanting during the summer monsoon. The second harvest is aus, involving traditional strains but more often including high-yielding, dwarf varieties. Rice for the aus harvest is sown in March or April, benefits from April and May rains, matures during in the summer rain, and is harvested during the summer. With the increasing use of irrigation, there has been a growing focus on another rice-growing season extending during the dry season from October to March. The production of this boro rice, including high-yield varieties, expanded rapidly until the mid-1980s, when production leveled off at just below 4 million tons.^[1] Where irrigation is feasible, it is normal for fields throughout Bangladesh to produce rice for two harvests annually. Between rice-growing seasons, farmers will do everything possible to prevent the land from lying fallow and will grow vegetables, peanuts, pulses, or oilseeds if water and fertilizer are available.^[1]

(RICE)Sayings

Sayings

(RICE)Sayings

• In the state of Andhra Pradesh, India, there is a saying in Telugu, "Annam Parabrahma Swaroopam" which means 'Rice (Food) is a form of God'.
• The expression for eating a meal in Burmese, "Htamin Sar" means to eat rice. It is similar in the Thai "gin kow". Vietnamese use the phrase "ăn cơm" in the same way, as do Bengali people use the phrase "bhat khaowa".
• Bengali people identify themselves as 'Bengali by rice and fish', alluding to their collective food habit.
• A proverbial saying in Japan states: "The farmer spends eighty-eight efforts on rice from planting to crop." This teaches the sense of mottainai and gratitude for the farmer and for rice itself.^[93]
• There is a Sri Lankan saying, 'deyyange haal kawila', meaning 'having eaten God's rice'. This is used to explain a crazy person or his actions in general with humour. The reasoning behind this is that when the rice harvest is collected, a small fraction of the best part is dedicated to the gods and that is sacred - if a person eats that, they will be afflicted with curses and lose mental stability/act crazy.
• The Korean term for meals is "bap 밥" which means rice. It is equivalent to the Japanese word "meshi めし" which also means rice. Both of which are also equivalent to the Chinese word "fan 飯" which also means rice.
• Hmong culture has a saying, "annokao bin biao", literally "grains of rice", which is a metaphor for great effort or exertion.
• In the Philippines and Malaysia there is an expression "One grain of rice equals one bead of sweat". This expression is meant to encourage appreciation of the high level of labour involved in the production of the rice and of food in general and to discourage wasting it.
• In Costa Rica there is a popular expression "arroz con mango", which literally means, "rice with mango", that it's used to denote an absurd or nonsensical situation. This, because in Costa Rican cuisine rice is a main dish and mango, being a sweet fruit (and often used as a dessert) are never supposed to mix or even mingle in any kind of dish.
• In Puerto rico there is a popular expression "Estás como el arroz blanco", which means "you are like white rice". White rice is most popular way of cooking rice in Puerto Rico. So it means that you are everywhere, popular, highly sought.
• In Indonesia there is a very famous saying which goes 'Like the life of rice, when full bends down; when empty, stands up'. This refers to empty-headed people who tend to talk a lot more compare to full-headed people.
• Among the Chin-Kuki-Mizo community of North East India the word "Rice" is equivalent with "Food".

(RICE)Biotechnology

Biotechnology

 High-yielding varieties

Main article: High-yielding variety

The High Yielding Varieties are a group of crops created intentionally during the Green Revolution to increase global food production. Rice, like corn and wheat, was genetically manipulated to increase its yield. This project enabled labor markets in Asia to shift away from agriculture, and into industrial sectors. The first "Rice Car", IR8 was produced in 1966 at the International Rice Research Institute which is based in the Philippines at the University of the Philippines' Los Baños site. IR8 was created through a cross between an Indonesian variety named "Peta" and a Chinese variety named "Dee Geo Woo Gen."^[87]
Scientists have identified and cloned many genes involved in the gibberellin signaling pathway, including GAI1 (Gibberellin Insensitive) and SLR1 (Slender Rice).^[88] Disruption of gibberellin signaling can lead to significantly reduced stem growth leading to a dwarf phenotype. Photosynthetic investment in the stem is reduced dramatically as the shorter plants are inherently more stable mechanically. Assimilates become redirected to grain production, amplifying in particular the effect of chemical fertilizers on commercial yield. In the presence of nitrogen fertilizers, and intensive crop management, these varieties increase their yield two to three times.

 Future potential

As the UN Millennium Development project seeks to spread global economic development to Africa, the "Green Revolution" is cited as the model for economic development. With the intent of replicating the successful Asian boom in agronomic productivity, groups like the Earth Institute are doing research on African agricultural systems, hoping to increase productivity. An important way this can happen is the production of "New Rices for Africa" (NERICA). These rices, selected to tolerate the low input and harsh growing conditions of African agriculture are produced by the African Rice Center, and billed as technology "from Africa, for Africa". The NERICA have appeared in The New York Times (October 10, 2007) and International Herald Tribune (October 9, 2007), trumpeted as miracle crops that will dramatically increase rice yield in Africa and enable an economic resurgence. Ongoing research in China to develop perennial rice could result in enhanced sustainability and food security.

 Golden rice

Main article: Golden rice

Rice kernels do not contain vitamin A, so people who obtain most of their calories from rice are at risk of vitamin A deficiency. German and Swiss researchers have genetically engineered rice to produce beta-carotene, the precursor to vitamin A, in the rice kernel. The beta-carotene turns the processed (white) rice a "gold" color, hence the name "golden rice". The beta-carotene is converted to vitamin A in humans who consume the rice.^[89] Although some rice strains produce beta-carotene in the hull, no non-genetically engineered strains have been found that produce beta-carotene in the kernel, despite the testing of thousands of strains. Additional efforts are being made to improve the quantity and quality of other nutrients in golden rice.^[90]

 Expression of human proteins

Ventria Bioscience has genetically modified rice to express lactoferrin, lysozyme, and human serum albumin which are proteins usually found in breast milk. These proteins have antiviral, antibacterial, and antifungal effects.^[91]
Rice containing these added proteins can be used as a component in oral rehydration solutions which are used to treat diarrheal diseases, thereby shortening their duration and reducing recurrence. Such supplements may also help reverse anemia.^[92]

(RICE)Cultivars

Cultivars

Main article: List of rice varieties

Rice seed collection from IRRI

While most rice is bred for crop quality and productivity, there are varieties selected for characteristics such as texture, smell, and firmness. Cultivars exist that are adapted to deep flooding, and these are generally called "floating rice".^[82]
There are four major categories of rice worldwide: Indica, japonica, aromatic and glutinous. The different varieties of rice are not considered interchangeable, either in food preparation or agriculture, so as a result, each major variety is a completely separate market from other varieties. It is common for one variety of rice to rise in price while another one drops in price.^[83]
The largest collection of rice cultivars is at the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) in the Philippines, with over 100,000 rice accessions^[84] held in the International Rice Genebank.^[85] Rice cultivars are often classified by their grain shapes and texture. For example, Thai Jasmine rice is long-grain and relatively less sticky, as long-grain rice contains less amylopectin than short-grain cultivars. Chinese restaurants often serve long-grain as plain unseasoned steamed rice though short-grain rice is common as well. Japanese mochi rice and Chinese sticky rice are short-grain. Chinese people use sticky rice which is properly known as "glutinous rice" (note: glutinous refer to the glue-like characteristic of rice; does not refer to "gluten") to make zongzi. The Japanese table rice is a sticky, short-grain rice. Japanese sake rice is another kind as well.
Indian rice cultivars include long-grained and aromatic Basmati (ਬਾਸਮਤੀ) (grown in the North), long and medium-grained Patna rice and short-grained Sona Masoori (also spelled Sona Masuri). In the state of Tamil Nadu, the most prized cultivar is ponni which is primarily grown in the delta regions of Kaveri River. Kaveri is also referred to as ponni in the South and the name reflects the geographic region where it is grown. In the Western Indian state of Maharashtra, a short grain variety called Ambemohar is very popular. This rice has a characteristic fragrance of Mango blossom.

Unpolished long-grain rice grains with bran

Polished Indian sona masuri rice grains

Aromatic rices have definite aromas and flavours; the most noted cultivars are Thai fragrant rice, Basmati, Patna rice, Vietnamese fragrant rice, and a hybrid cultivar from America sold under the trade name, Texmati. Both Basmati and Texmati have a mild popcorn-like aroma and flavour. In Indonesia there are also red and black cultivars.
High-yield cultivars of rice suitable for cultivation in Africa and other dry ecosystems called the new rice for Africa (NERICA) cultivars have been developed. It is hoped that their cultivation will improve food security in West Africa.
Draft genomes for the two most common rice cultivars, indica and japonica, were published in April 2002. Rice was chosen as a model organism for the biology of grasses because of its relatively small genome (~430 megabase pairs). Rice was the first crop with a complete genome sequence.^[86]
On December 16, 2002, the UN General Assembly declared the year 2004 the International Year of Rice. The declaration was sponsored by more than 40 countries.

(RICE) Pests and diseases

Pests and diseases

Main article: List of rice diseases

Rice pests are any organisms or microbes with the potential to reduce the yield or value of the rice crop (or of rice seeds).^[53] (Jahn et al. 2007) Rice pests include weeds, pathogens, insects, rodents, and birds. A variety of factors can contribute to pest outbreaks, including the overuse of pesticides and high rates of nitrogen fertilizer application.^[54] Weather conditions also contribute to pest outbreaks. For example, rice gall midge and army worm outbreaks tend to follow periods of high rainfall early in the wet season, while thrips outbreaks are associated with drought.^[55]
Crop protection scientists are trying to develop rice pest management techniques which are sustainable. In other words, to manage crop pests in such a manner that future crop production is not threatened.^[56] At present, rice pest management includes cultural techniques, pest-resistant rice varieties, and pesticides (which include insecticide). Increasingly, there is evidence that farmers' pesticide applications are often unnecessary, and even facilitate pest outbreaks.^{[57][58][59][60][61][62]} By reducing the populations of natural enemies of rice pests,^[63] misuse of insecticides can actually lead to pest outbreaks (Cohen et al. 1994). Botanicals, so-called "natural pesticides", are used by some farmers in an attempt to control rice pests. Botanicals include extracts of leaves, or a mulch of the leaves themselves. Some upland rice farmers in Cambodia spread chopped leaves of the bitter bush (Chromolaena odorata) over the surface of fields after planting. This practice probably helps the soil retain moisture and thereby facilitates seed germination. Farmers also claim the leaves are a natural fertilizer and helps suppress weed and insect infestations.^[64]
Among rice cultivars there are differences in the responses to, and recovery from, pest damage.^[65] Therefore, particular cultivars are recommended for areas prone to certain pest problems. The genetically based ability of a rice variety to withstand pest attacks is called resistance.^[66] Three main types of plant resistance to pests are recognized as nonpreference, antibiosis, and tolerance.^[67] Nonpreference (or antixenosis) describes host plants which insects prefer to avoid; antibiosis is where insect survival is reduced after the ingestion of host tissue; and tolerance is the capacity of a plant to produce high yield or retain high quality despite insect infestation.^[68] Over time, the use of pest resistant rice varieties selects for pests that are able to overcome these mechanisms of resistance. When a rice variety is no longer able to resist pest infestations, resistance is said to have broken down. Rice varieties that can be widely grown for many years in the presence of pests, and retain their ability to withstand the pests are said to have durable resistance. Mutants of popular rice varieties are regularly screened by plant breeders to discover new sources of durable resistance.^[69]
Major rice pests include the brown planthopper,^[70] the rice gall midge,^[71] the rice bug,^[72] the rice leafroller,^[73] rice weevils,^[74] stemborer,^[75] panicle rice mite, rats,^[76] and the weed Echinochloa crusgali.^[77]
Major rice diseases include Rice ragged stunt, Sheath Blight and tungro.^[78] Rice blast, caused by the fungus Magnaporthe grisea, is the most significant disease affecting rice cultivation. There is also an ascomycete fungus, Cochliobolus miyabeanus, that causes brown spot disease in rice.^[79][80]

Parasitic weeds

Rice is parasitized by the weed eudicot Striga hermonthica.^[81] This parasitic weed is a devastating pest on the crop.

(RICE)Environmental impacts

Environmental impacts

In many countries where rice is the main cereal crop, rice cultivation is responsible for most of the methane emissions.^[48] Rice requires slightly more water to produce than other grains.^[49]
As sea levels rise, rice will become more inclined to remain flooded for longer periods of time. The longer it stays in water, it cuts the soil off from atmospheric oxygen and causes fermentation of organic matter in the soil. During the wet season, rice cannot hold the carbon in anaerobic conditions. The microbes in the soil convert the carbon into methane which is then released through the respiration of the rice plant or through diffusion of water. Current contributions of methane from agriculture is ~15% of anthropogenic greenhouse gases, as estimated by the IPCC. A further rise in sea level of 10-85 centimeters would then stimulate the release of more methane into the air by rice plants. Methane is twenty times more potent a greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide.^[50]
A 2010 study found that, as a result of rising temperatures and decreasing solar radiation during the later years of the 20th century, the rice yield growth rate has decreased in many parts of Asia, compared to what would have been observed had the temperature and solar radiation trends not occurred.^[51][52] The yield growth rate had fallen 10-20% at some locations. The study was based on records from 227 farms in Thailand, Vietnam, India, China, Bangladesh and Pakistan. The mechanism of this falling yield was not clear but might involve increased respiration during warm nights, so expending energy without being able to photosynthesise.

(RICE) Price

Price

In late 2007 to May 2008, the price of grains rose greatly due to droughts in major producing countries (particularly Australia), increased use of grains for animal feed and US subsidies for bio-fuel production. Although there was no shortage of rice on world markets this general upward trend in grain prices led to panic buying by consumers, government rice export bans (in particular, by Vietnam) and inflated import orders by the Philippines marketing board, the National Food Authority. This caused significant rises in rice prices. In late April 2008, prices hit 24 US cents a pound, twice the price of seven months earlier.^[41]
On April 30, 2008, Thailand announced plans for the creation of the Organisation of Rice Exporting Countries (OREC) with the intention that this should develop into a price-fixing cartel for rice.^[42][43]

[edit] Worldwide consumption

Consumption of rice by country—2003/2004 (million metric ton)[44]
China	135
India	85.25
Indonesia	36.95
Bangladesh	26.4
Brazil	24
Vietnam	18
Thailand	10
Myanmar	10
Philippines	9.7
Japan	8.7
Mexico	7.3
Pakistan	6.0
South Korea	5.0
Egypt	3.9
United States	3.9
Source: United States Department of Agriculture

Between 1961 and 2002, per capita consumption of rice increased by 40%.
Rice is the most important crop in Asia. In Cambodia, for example, 90% of the total agricultural area is used for rice production.^[45]
U.S. rice consumption has risen sharply over the past 25 years, fueled in part by commercial applications such as beer production.^[46] Almost one in five adult Americans now report eating at least half a serving of white or brown rice per day.^[47]

(RICE)Production and commerce

Production and commerce

Worldwide rice production

Production of rice by country — 2007 (million metric ton)[38]
People's Republic of China	187
India	144
Indonesia	57
Pakistan	43
Vietnam	35
Thailand	32
Myanmar	31
Philippines	16
Brazil	11
Japan	10
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization

[edit] Production

World production of rice^{[39][dead link]} has risen steadily from about 200 million tonnes of paddy rice in 1960 to over 607.9 million tonnes in 2004, 634.5 million tonnes in 2005, and 685 million tonnes in 2008. In 2004, the top four producers were China (26% of world production), India (20%), Indonesia (9%) and Pakistan (5%).^{[citation needed]}

 

 

Harvesting, drying and milling

Unmilled rice, known as paddy (Indonesia and Malaysia: padi; Philippines, palay), is usually harvested when the grains have a moisture content of around 25 percent. In most Asian countries, where rice is almost entirely the product of smallholder agriculture, harvesting is carried out manually, although there is a growing interest in mechanical harvesting. Harvesting can be carried out by the farmers themselves, but is also frequently done by seasonal labour groups. Harvesting is followed by threshing, either immediately or within a day or two. Again, much threshing is still carried out by hand but there is an increasing use of mechanical threshers. Subsequently, paddy needs to be dried to bring down the moisture content to no more than 20 percent for milling. A familiar sight in several Asian countries is paddy laid out to dry along roads. However, in most countries the bulk of drying of marketed paddy takes place in mills, with village-level drying being used for paddy to be consumed by farm families. Mills either sun dry or use mechanical driers or both. Drying has to be carried out quickly to avoid the formation of moulds. Mills range from simple hullers, with a throughput of a couple of tons a day, that simply remove the outer husk, to enormous operations that can process 4,000 tons a day and produce highly polished rice. A good mill can achieve a paddy-to-rice conversion rate of up to 72 percent but smaller, inefficient mills often struggle to achieve 60 percent. These smaller mills often do not buy paddy and sell rice but only service farmers who want to mill their paddy for their own consumption.

Distribution

Because of the importance of rice to human nutrition and food security in Asia, the domestic rice markets tend to be subject to considerable state involvement. While the private sector plays a leading role in most countries, agencies such as BULOG in Indonesia, the NFA in the Philippines, VINAFOOD in Vietnam and the Food Corporation of India are all heavily involved in purchasing of paddy from farmers or rice from mills and in distributing rice to poorer people. BULOG and NFA monopolise rice imports into their countries while VINAFOOD controls all exports from Vietnam.^[40]

Trade

World trade figures are very different to those for production, as only about 5–6% of rice produced is traded internationally. The largest three exporting countries are Thailand, Vietnam, and the United States. Major importers usually include Bangladesh, the Philippines, Brazil and some African and Persian Gulf countries. Although China and India are the two largest producers of rice in the world, both countries consume the majority of the rice produced domestically, leaving little to be traded internationally.

(RICE) Australia

(RICE) Australia

Rice was one of the earliest crops planted in Australia by British settlers, who had experience with rice plantations in the Americas and the subcontinent.
Although attempts to grow rice in the well-watered north of Australia have been made for many years, they have consistently failed because of inherent iron and manganese toxicities in the soils and destruction by pests.
In the 1920s it was seen as a possible irrigation crop on soils within the Murray-Darling Basin that were too heavy for the cultivation of fruit and too infertile for wheat.^[36]
Because irrigation water, despite the extremely low runoff of temperate Australia, was (and remains) very cheap, the growing of rice was taken up by agricultural groups over the following decades. Californian varieties of rice were found suitable for the climate in the Riverina, and the first mill opened at Leeton in 1951.
Even before this Australia's rice production greatly exceeded local needs,^[36] and rice exports to Japan have become a major source of foreign currency. Above-average rainfall from the 1950s to the middle 1990s^[37] encouraged the expansion of the Riverina rice industry, but its prodigious water use in a practically waterless region began to attract the attention of environmental scientists. These became severely concerned with declining flow in the Snowy River and the lower Murray River.
Although rice growing in Australia is highly profitable due to the cheapness of land, several recent years of severe drought have led many to call for its elimination because of its effects on extremely fragile aquatic ecosystems. The Australian rice industry is somewhat opportunistic, with the area planted varying significantly from season to season depending on water allocations in the Murray and Murrumbidgee irrigation regions.

(RICE) United States

(RICE) United States

South Carolina rice plantation (Mansfield Plantation, Georgetown.)

In 1694, rice arrived in South Carolina, probably originating from Madagascar.^[27]
In the United States, colonial South Carolina and Georgia grew and amassed great wealth from the Slavery labor obtained from the Senegambia area of West Africa and from coastal Sierra Leone. At the port of Charleston, through which 40% of all American slave imports passed, slaves from this region of Africa brought the highest prices, in recognition of their prior knowledge of rice culture, which was put to use on the many rice plantations around Georgetown, Charleston, and Savannah. From the enslaved Africans, plantation owners learned how to dyke the marshes and periodically flood the fields. At first the rice was milled by hand with wooden paddles, then winnowed in sweetgrass baskets (the making of which was another skill brought by slaves from Africa). The invention of the rice mill increased profitability of the crop, and the addition of water power for the mills in 1787 by millwright Jonathan Lucas was another step forward. Rice culture in the southeastern U.S. became less profitable with the loss of slave labor after the American Civil War, and it finally died out just after the turn of the 20th century. Today, people can visit the only remaining rice plantation in South Carolina that still has the original winnowing barn and rice mill from the mid-19th century at the historic Mansfield Plantation in Georgetown, South Carolina. The predominant strain of rice in the Carolinas was from Africa and was known as "Carolina Gold." The cultivar has been preserved and there are current attempts to reintroduce it as a commercially grown crop.^[29]
In the southern United States, rice has been grown in southern Arkansas, Louisiana, and east Texas since the mid-19th century. Many Cajun farmers grew rice in wet marshes and low lying prairies where they could also farm crayfish when the fields were flooded.^[30] In recent years rice production has risen in North America, especially in the Mississippi River Delta areas in the states of Arkansas and Mississippi.
Rice cultivation began in California during the California Gold Rush, when an estimated 40,000 Chinese laborers immigrated to the state and grew small amounts of the grain for their own consumption. However, commercial production began only in 1912 in the town of Richvale in Butte County.^[31] By 2006, California produced the second largest rice crop in the United States,^[32] after Arkansas, with production concentrated in six counties north of Sacramento.^[33] Unlike the Mississippi Delta region, California's production is dominated by short- and medium-grain japonica varieties, including cultivars developed for the local climate such as Calrose, which makes up as much as 85% of the state's crop.^[34]
References to wild rice in the Americas are to the unrelated Zizania palustris
More than 100 varieties of rice are commercially produced primarily in six states (Arkansas, Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, and California) in the U.S.^[35] According to estimates for the 2006 crop year, rice production in the U.S. is valued at $1.88 billion, approximately half of which is expected to be exported. The U.S. provides about 12% of world rice trade.^[35] The majority of domestic utilization of U.S. rice is direct food use (58%), while 16% is used in each of processed foods and beer. The remaining 10% is found in pet food.^[35]

(RICE) Caribbean and Latin America

(RICE) Caribbean and Latin America

Rice is not native to the Americas but was introduced to Latin America and the Caribbean by European colonizers at an early date with Spanish colonizers introducing Asian rice to Mexico in the 1520s at Veracruz and the Portuguese and their African slaves introducing it at about the same time to Colonial Brazil.^[27] Recent scholarship suggests that African slaves played an active role in the establishment of rice in the New World and that African rice was an important crop from an early period.^[28] Varieties of rice and bean dishes that were a staple dish along the peoples of West Africa remained a staple among their descendants subjected to slavery in the Spanish New World colonies Brazil and elsewhere in the Americas.^[3]

(RICE) Europe

(RICE) Europe

The Moors brought Asiatic rice to the Iberian Peninsula in the 10th century. Records indicate it was grown in Valencia and Majorca. In Majorca, rice cultivation seems to have stopped after the Christian conquest, although historians are not certain.^[25]
Muslims also brought rice to Sicily, where it was an important crop^[25] long before it is noted in the plain of Pisa (1468) or in the Lombard plain (1475), where its cultivation was promoted by Ludovico Sforza, Duke of Milan, and demonstrated in his model farms.^[26]
After the 15th century, rice spread throughout Italy and then France, later propagating to all the continents during the age of European exploration.

(RICE)Middle East

(RICE)Middle East

According to Zohary and Hopf (2000, p. 91), O. sativa was introduced to the Middle East in Hellenistic times, and was familiar to both Greek and Roman writers. They report that a large sample of rice grains was recovered from a grave at Susa in Iran (dated to the 1st century AD) at one end of the ancient world, while at the same time rice was grown in the Po valley in Italy.
In Iraq rice was grown in some areas of southern Iraq. With the rise of Islam it moved north to Nisibin, the southern shores of the Caspian Sea and then beyond the Muslim world into the valley of Volga. In Israel, rice came to be grown in the Jordan Valley. Rice is also grown in Yemen.^[25]

African rice

Africa

Main article: Oryza glaberrima

African rice has been cultivated for 3500 years. Between 1500 and 800 BC, Oryza glaberrima propagated from its original centre, the Niger River delta, and extended to Senegal. However, it never developed far from its original region. Its cultivation even declined in favour of the Asian species, possibly brought to the African continent by Arabs coming from the east coast between the 6th and 11th centuries CE.

(RICE)Companion plant

One of the earliest known examples of companion planting is the growing of rice with Azolla, aka mosquito fern, which covers the top of a fresh rice paddy's water, blocking out any competing plants, as well as fixing nitrogen from the atmosphere for the rice to use. The rice is planted when it is tall enough to poke out above the azolla. This method has been used for at least a thousand years.

Rice in Asia

Asia

Terraced rice paddy on a hill slope in Indonesia.

The average Asian rice farmer owns a few hectares : Banaue Rice Terraces, N. Luzon, Philippines

Rice field under monsoon clouds in Pegu Division, Burma

Rice was first domesticated in the region of the Yangtze River valley.^[21][22] Morphological studies of rice phytoliths from the Diaotonghuan archaeological site clearly show the transition from the collection of wild rice to the cultivation of domesticated rice. The large number of wild rice phytoliths at the Diaotonghuan level dating from 12,000-11,000 BP indicates that wild rice collection was part of the local means of subsistence. Changes in the morphology of Diaotonghuan phytoliths dating from 10,000-8,000 BP show that rice had by this time been domesticated.^[23] Soon afterwards the two major varieties of indica and Japonica rice were being grown in Central China.^[22] In the late 3rd millennium bc there was a rapid expansion of rice cultivation into mainland Southeast Asia and westwards across India and Pakistan.^[22]
The earliest remains of cultivated rice in India have been found in the north and west and date from around 2000 BC. Perennial wild rices still grow in Assam and Nepal. It seems to have appeared around 1400 BC in southern India after its domestication in the northern plains.^{[citation needed]} It then spread to all the fertile alluvial plains watered by rivers. 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.
Rice is first mentioned in the Yajur Veda (c. 1500-800 BC) and then is frequently referred to in Sanskrit texts.^{[citation needed]} In India, there is a saying that grains of rice should be like two brothers, close but not stuck together.^{[citation needed]} Rice is often directly associated with prosperity and fertility, therefore there is the custom of throwing rice at weddings.^[24]
Today, the majority of all rice produced comes from China, Korea, India, Pakistan, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Vietnam, Thailand, Myanmar, Philippines, and Japan. Asian farmers still account for 92% of the world's total rice production.

Rice growing ecology

Rice can be grown in different environments, depending upon water availability.^[19]

1. Lowland, rainfed, which is drought prone, favors medium depth; waterlogged, submergence, and flood prone
2. Lowland, irrigated, grown in both the wet season and the dry season
3. Deep water or floating rice
4. Coastal Wetland
5. Upland rice, Upland rice is also known as 'Ghaiya rice', well known for its drought tolerance^[20]

(RICE)Cooking

 (RICE)Cooking
There are many varieties of rice; for many purposes the main distinction is between long- and medium-grain rice. The grains of long-grain rice (high amylose) tend to remain intact after cooking; medium-grain rice (high amylopectin) becomes more sticky. Medium-grain rice is used for sweet dishes, for risotto in Italy and many arrossos — as in arròs negre, etc. — in Spain.

Uncooked, polished, white long-grain rice grains

A Pakistani-style Chinese rice dish utilizing the Basmati variety

Rice served along with Indian curry. Note the yellowish tinge in the rice. It is due to the common practice of adding turmeric during cooking.

Unmilled to milled rice, from right to left, brown rice, rice with germ, white rice

Rice is cooked by boiling or steaming, and absorbs water during cooking. It can be cooked in just as much water as it absorbs (the absorption method), or in a large quantity of water which is drained before serving (the rapid-boil method).^[10] Electric rice cookers, popular in Asia and Latin America, simplify the process of cooking rice. Rice (or any other grain) is sometimes quickly fried in oil or fat before boiling (for example Saffron rice or Risotto); this makes the cooked rice less sticky, and is a cooking style commonly called pilaf by American chefs or biryani (Dam-pukhtak) in India and Iran.
In Arab cuisine rice is an ingredient of many soups and dishes with fish, poultry, and other types of meat. It is also used to stuff vegetables or is wrapped in grape leaves (Dolma). When combined with milk, sugar and honey, it is used to make desserts. In some regions, such as Tabaristan, bread is made using rice flour. Medieval Islamic texts spoke of medical uses for the plant.^[11]
Rice may also be made into rice porridge (also called congee, fawrclaab, okayu, jook, or rice gruel) by adding more water than usual, so that the cooked rice is saturated with water to the point that it becomes very soft, expanded, and fluffy. Rice porridge is commonly eaten as a breakfast food, and is also a traditional food for the sick.
Rice may be soaked prior to cooking, which saves fuel, decreases cooking time, minimizes exposure to high temperature and thus decreases the stickiness of the rice. For some varieties, soaking improves the texture of the cooked rice by increasing expansion of the grains.
Instant rice differs from parboiled rice in that it is milled, fully cooked and then dried. There is also a significant degradation in taste and texture.
A nutritionally superior method of preparing brown rice known as GABA Rice or GBR (Germinated Brown Rice)^[12] may be used. This involves soaking washed brown rice for 20 hours in warm water (38 °C or 100 °F) prior to cooking it. This process stimulates germination, which activates various enzymes in the rice. By this method, a result of research carried out for the United Nations International Year of Rice, it is possible to obtain a more complete amino acid profile, including GABA.
Cooked rice can contain Bacillus cereus spores, which produce an emetic toxin when left at 4–60 °C (39–140 °F) [6]. When storing cooked rice for use the next day, rapid cooling is advised to reduce the risk of toxin production.
Rice flour and starch often are used in batters and breadings to increase crispiness.

[edit] Synopsis of major staple foods

Synopsis[13] of Staple food ~composition:	Amaranth[14]	Wheat[15]	White rice[16]	Sweetcorn[17]	Potato[18]
Component (per 100g portion)	Amount	Amount	Amount	Amount	Amount
water (g)	11	11	12	76	82
energy (kJ)	1554	1506	1527	360	288
protein (g)	14	13	7	3	1.7
fat (g)	7	10	1	1	0.1
carbohydrates (g)	65	52	79	19	16
fiber (g)	7	13	1	3	2.4
sugars (g)	1.7	0.1	>0.1	3	1.2
iron (mg)	7.6	6.3	0.8	0.5	0.5
manganese (mg)	3.4	13.3	1.1	0.2	0.1
calcium (mg)	159	39	28	2	9
magnesium (mg)	248	239	25	37	21
phosphorus (mg)	557	842	115	89	62
potassium (mg)	508	892	115	270	407
zinc (mg)	2.9	12.3	1.1	0.5	0.3
panthothenic acid (mg)	1.5	0.1	1.0	0.7	0.3
vitB6 (mg)	0.6	1.3	0.2	0.1	0.2
folate (µg)	82	281	8	42	18
thiamin (mg)	0.1	1.9	0.1	0.2	0.1
riboflavin (mg)	0.2	0.5	>0.1	0.1	>0.1
niacin (mg)	0.9	6.8	1.6	1.8	1.1