Question

Explain the method of cultivation of rice.

Answer 1

Hint:1. Rice is a staple crop in India and covers around one – fourth of the total area that is used for cropping.
2. There are around four methods of cultivating rice – broadcasting, drilling, transplantation and Japanese method.

Complete answer:
Rice is mostly grown throughout the year in hot and humid regions of the eastern & southern parts of India. In India the rice cropping seasons are – Kharif (Autumn) from May – to – June; Rabi (Winter) from June – to – July; and spring (summer) from November – to – December depending on the weather and land of the regions.
Rice is a regular food crop for more than half the Indian population, the methods of cultivations can be understood as under –
1. Broadcasting method – broadcasting is a method of seeding that involves scattering of seeds by hand over a relatively large area. In this method seeds are sown broadcast by hand and is practised in areas which are comparatively dry and less fertile in nature. It is useful in areas having less labour force to work the yields, it is the easiest method and requires minimum input and yields minimum level of output.
2. Drilling method – seed drill is used to sow seed by positioning them and burying them to a specific depth. In this method of cultivation the land is ploughed and the sowing of the seed is done by two people and is confined to peninsular India.
3. Transplantation method – in this method seeds are sown in a nursery and the seedlings are prepared there only. After 4 -5 weeks in the nursery the seedlings are uprooted and planted in the fields. It is a difficult method as everything is done by hand and requires heavy input. It is practised in areas having fertile soil, abundant rainfall and supply of labour. It also provides high (highest) yields.
4. Japanese method – this method has been adopted successfully by the main rice producing area and is used to obtain high yields. In this method high yielding variants of seeds are used and heavy does of fertilizers are also used. The seeds are sowed in a nursery and they are transplanted in rows so as to make weeding and fertilizing easy.

Note:1. There are about 10,000 varieties of rice in the world from which around 4,000 varieties are grown in India only.
2. In Asia more than 2,000 million people obtain 60 to 70 percent of their calories from rice and its products.
3. In hilly areas, the hill slopes are cut into terraces for the cultivation of rice.