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.