ORGANIZING WHOLE PRODUCTION CYCLE
SEED QUALITY AND SELECTION
Choosing seed of a suitable variety of rice that suits the environment it will be grown in
and ensuring the seed chosen of that variety is of the highest possible quality
LAND PREPARATION
The soil is brought in the best physical condition for crop growth and the soil surface is leveled.
Tillage allows the seeds to be planted at the right depth, and also helps with weed control.
Hoes and other equipment can be used or they can be assisted by draft animals, such as buffalo, or tractors and other machinery.
Next, the land is leveled to reduce the amount of water wasted by uneven pockets of too-deep water or exposed soil
CROP ESTABLISHMENT
Transplanting: Pre- germinated seedlings are transferred from a seedbed to the wet field. It requires less seed and is an effective method to control weeds, but requires more labor. Seedlings may be transplanted by either machine or hand.
Direct seeding involves broadcasting dry seed or pre-germinated seeds and seedlings by hand or planting them by machine
WATER USE AND MANAGEMENT
Cultivated rice is extremely sensitive to water shortages. To ensure sufficient water, most rice farmers aim to maintain flooded conditions in their field. This is especially true for lowland rice. Good water management focuses on practices that conserve water while ensuring sufficient water for the crop.
In rainfed environments when optimal amounts of water may not be available for rice production, options includes sound land preparation and pre-planting activities followed by techniques such as saturated soil culture, alternate wetting and drying, raised beds, mulching, and use of aerobic rice that can cope with dryer conditions.
NUTRIENT MANAGEMENT
At each growth stage, the rice plant has specific nutrient needs. The farmers can tailor nutrient management to the specific conditions of their field to increase yields.
CROP HEALTH
The rice plant has a wide array of ‘enemies’ in the field. These include rodents, harmful insects, viruses, diseases, and weeds. Farmers manage weeds through water management and land preparation, by hand weeding, and in some cases herbicide application. Understanding the interactions among pests, natural enemies, host plants, other organisms, and the environment allows farmers to determine what if any pest management may be necessary.
HARVEST
Depending on the variety, a rice crop usually reaches maturity at around 105–150 days after crop establishment.
Harvesting activities include cutting, stacking, handling, threshing, cleaning, and hauling.
Manual harvesting is common across the world. It involves cutting the rice crop with simple hand tools like sickles and knives.
Mechanical harvesting using reapers or combine harvesters is the other option, but not so common due to the availability and cost of machinery.
STORAGE
- Bag storages
Rice grain are stored in 40−80 kg bags made from either jute or woven plastic.
• Bulk storage
Farm level bulk storage
The grain is stored in bulk in small outside granaries or in woven baskets or containers made from wood, metal or concrete, which are located under or inside the house. These storages vary in capacity from 200−1000 kg.
Commercial bulk storage
The large export mills and collection houses sometimes use metal or concrete silos. These silos range in size from 20−2,000 ton capacity. Silos have the advantage that they can be more easily sealed for fumigation and less grain is spilt or wasted.
Sealed or hermetic storage systems are a very effective means of controlling grain moisture content and insect activity for grain stored in tropical regions.
• Hermetic storage
By placing an airtight barrier between the grain and the outside atmosphere the moisture content of the stored grain will remain the same as when the storage was sealed. Biological activity inside the sealed container will consume the oxygen and as a result most insects will die. Hermetic storage provides moisture and insect control without pesticides.