12 Steps for Successful Rice Production

12StepsforSuccessfulRiceProduction

Contents
Step1:UseaCropCalendar Step2:Choosethebestvariety Step3:Usethebestqualityseed Step4:Prepareandlevelthefieldswell Step5:Plantontime Step6:Weedearly Step7:Fertilizertomaximizereturns Step8:Usewaterefficiency Step9:.Harvestontime Step10:Storesafely Step11:Millefficiently Step12:Understandthemarket

12 Steps for Successful Rice Production

Step1:UseaCropCalendar
A crop calendar is a picture of your rice growing season: crop production from the fallow, land preparation, crop establishment and maintenance though to harvest and storage. By using a crop calendar, farm activities are better planned, done at the right time and it is easier to organize labor and obtain inputs such as seed and fertilizer. Better planning will decreaseinputcostsandincreaseyields.

S e e d i n g T r n a s p a l n t i n g T l i e l r i n g n e I t r n o d e l n e o g a i t n o P n a i l c e i t n i a i t i o n F o l w r e i n g M a u t r t y i

Veget at v i e gr owt h s t age

Repr oduc t i ve

Ri p eni ng

Depends on v ar e i t y

35 day s

30 day s

Howtocreateacropcalendar
1. Determinethebestdatetoplant 2. Determine the time the variety takes from planting to harvest (short duration 100 120,medium120140,long160daysplus) 3. Mostvarietiestake5055daysfrompanicleinitiationtoharvest 4. Markonthecalendarthedateofplantingandwheneachotheroperationneedstobe done.(plowing,weeding,fertilizing,harvesting) 5. Pinthecalendarinaprominentplacetoremindyouwhenthingsneedtobedone

Usingacroppingcalendarimprovesthe timelinessandreducescosts

12StepsforSuccessfulRiceProduction

STEP2:Choosethebestvariety
The most suitable variety is the one that best meets the farmer and the consumers needs. It may not always give the highest yield and will be influenced by availability water, either from rain or irrigation, soil type, and field elevation and whether the rice willbesoldorconsumedathome Selectavarietythatsuitsyourgrowingconditions. Varieties should be selected that have good yield potential, resistance to disease, good eating qualities, high milling yield and are suitable for the market. When selecting a varietycheckonthe:

Cropduration
Long duration varieties (160 days plus) suitable for irrigated areas or flood proneareas Mediumdurationvarieties(120140days)suitableforbothrainfedandirrigated areas Short term varieties (less than 120days) suitable for drought prone areas or for doublecropping.

Cropheight
Tall varieties (1.4m plus) suitable for flood prone and unleveled fields, lodging may be a problem Medium height varieties (11.2m) and are suitable for most areas and are not as susceptibletolodgingwhenfertilizerisused. Short varieties best suited to level fields especially in irrigated areas. They are responsive to fertilizers and are normally less than1m. Grainquality Apremiumisoftenpaidforaromaticvarietiesbutyieldsarenormallylower Eatingqualitysuchassoftness,stickinessandcoloraftercookingareimportant

Highestyieldsdonotalwaysgivethehighestfinancialreturn

12StepsforSuccessfulRiceProduction

STEP3:Usethebestqualityseed

Goodqualityseedreducestherequiredseedingrate,producesstronghealthyseedlings whichresultsinamoreuniformcropandhigheryields. Goodseedis cleannostonesorsoil,weedseed, pureonlygrainsfromonevariety, healthyfullbiggrains,samecolor,nocracksor spotting

Goodqualityseedcanbeeitherboughtascertifiedseedor producedbythefarmer

Producegoodqualityseed
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. Selectalevelfieldwithwellmaintainedbundswhichiseasytoaccess. Useclean,pure,andhealthyseed. Doafloattestontheseedbeforeplantingandremoveanyseedsthatfloat. Usegoodmanagementpracticesbyplantingontime,applyfertilizer,start weedingbefore21daysafterestablishmentanddonotletweedsgotoseed; Roguethefieldsbyremovingallriceplantsthatclearlylookdifferentduring thevegetative,floweringandgrainfillingstages. Harvestatfullmaturitywhen8085%ofthegrainsarestrawcoloredorat21 22%moisture. Thresh,anddryquicklyafterharvest. Storesafelyandlabelcontainersorbagswithvarietynameanddateofharvest.

Plantpure,cleanandhealthyseeds

12StepsforSuccessfulRiceProduction

STEP4:Prepareandlevelthefieldswell
A well prepared and leveled field gives a uniform, healthy crop that can compete with weeds, useslesswaterandgiveshigheryieldsatalowercost. Awellpreparedfieldhas: Many small soil clods to give good seed soil contactclodsizeandseedsizearesimilar. Noweeds Harderlayerat10cmtostopwaterpenetrating Levelandsmoothsurfaceafterworking. Wellconstructedbunds

Topreparethefield
When possible plow immediately after the previous harvest especially if the soil is still moist. Firstorprimaryplowing.Useadiscormoldboardplowtokillweedsandincorporatetrash, preferably68weeksbeforeplantingmaximumdepthneeded10cm. Second plowing. Plow across the field with the disc or tine harrow at least twice to make small clod sizes. Second plowing should be 23 weeks before planting and the last harrowing 1 weekbeforeplantingmaximumdepth57.5cm. Repair bunds. Destroy rat burrows and repair any holes and cracks and recompact the bunds.Bundsshouldbeatleast0.5mhighand1mwide. Levelingthefieldwillgivebetterwatercoverage,bettercropestablishmentandbetterweed control. Soil Puddling should be done at least 12 days before seeding to allow the water to clear whendirectseeding.

Levelfieldsgivethebestyields

12StepsforSuccessfulRiceProduction

Step5:Plantontime
Planting the crop on time will help produce a fast growing, uniform crop that will have higher yields and will be better ablecompetewithweedsandpests.Thebesttimetoplant depends on the locality, variety, water availability and the best harvest time. Rice can be either transplanted from a nurseryordirectseededinthefield.Transplantedcropswill normally take less time in the production field but 1015 days longer for the total crop duration. In both cases a well preparedseedbedisneeded. 3. Apply and incorporate basal fertilizer Fortransplantedcrops: before the last plowing or at 10 days 1. Select a nursery site1/10 of the intended afterestablishment plantingarea 2. Prepare the nursery by plowing at least Wetdirectseeding twiceandharrowatleastonce. 1. Pregerminationseed.Soaktheseedfor 3. Levelthesoilsurfaceandputindrainage 24hrs and then drain for 24hours in the linesacrossthefield 4. Pre germination and sowing. Soak the shade before broadcasting evenly over thewatercoveredsoilsurface. seed for 24hrs and then drain for 2. Broadcast pregerminated seed at 24hours in the shade before broadcasting evenly over the water 100kg/ha 3. Allow surface water to drain or coveredsoilsurface. 5. Apply seed: 3040kg seed/transplanted percolatenaturallyintosoil 4. Keepsoilsurfacemoistbyaddingwater ha. 5. Addpermanentwaterat1015daysafter 6. Apply both chemical or animal fertilizerbeforethelastplowing. establishmentorat23leafstage 7. Transplanting age: shortmedium 6. Apply basal fertilizer after permanent duration varieties need 2030 days and waterisadded long duration varieties need 2040 days Drydirectseeding innurseryafterseeding. 1. Hand broadcast dry seed at 100kg/ha 8. Transplant in lines into puddled and andmachine watercoveredfields. 2. Machine drill seed at 80kg/ha and 9. Maintainwatercoverageinfield 20mmdepth Fordirectseeding: 3. Apply basal fertilizer with through the 1. Prepare the field by plowing at least seeddrill twiceandharrowingoncecompareseed 4. Cover broadcast seed and fertilizer sizeandclodsize withalightharrowing 2. Levelthesoilsurface 5. Flashflooduntil15daysafter emergenceor2leafstageandthenadd permanentwater. 12StepsforSuccessfulRiceProduction

Step6:Weedearly
Weeds compete directly with the rice plants and reduce rice yield. Each 1 kg dry matter of weeds is equivalent to 1kggrainloss.Weedscausemostyieldlosswithinthefirst 2050daysaftercropestablishment.Weedingafterpanicle initiation may also be important to prevent weeds sheddingseedsinfuturecrops.

Effectiveweedmanagement
Plowing and harrowing in fallow should be undertaken at least 1014 days apartorafterrain. Good land leveling reduces weed growth because most weeds have trouble germinatingunderwater Selectvarietieswhichhaveearlyvigor Usecleanriceseedwhichisfreeofweedseeds. Applypermanentwaterearlyweedscannotgerminateunderwater. First weeding begun within 23 weeks after establishment and the second in another23weeks.Weedbeforefertilizerapplication. Using herbicides. Identify the weed correctly and use the appropriate herbicideasrecommendedonthelabel. Spraywhentheweedsaresmall Preemergentherbicidesapplyafterplantingpriortoestablishment Postemergentherbicidesapplyafteremergencebeingcarefulofcropdamage Herbicides are poisonous; if they are not used properly they can cause health and environment problems. Label them clearly and keep them out of childrens reach.

Alwaysuseprotectiveclothingwhenspraying. Donotwearraincoatsasthisincreasessweating.

Oneyearsseedingequalssevenyearsweeding

12StepsforSuccessfulRiceProduction

Step7:Fertilizertomaximizereturns
Most soils provide only limited amount of nutrients to the crop, therefore fertilizers need to be applied to increase grain yield. In some cases fertilizers are also added to improve the soils physical condition. The amount and type of fertilizer applied are determined on the assumption that 1 ton of grain will remove 15kg nitrogen, 23kg phosphateand1520kgofpotash.Thesebaseratesneedtobemodifiedaccordingtothe soil type, the season, the crop condition and prevailing weather conditions and efficiencyofapplication.Forefficientfertilizeruse: Use organic fertilizer (manure, compost, straw, husk, plant leaves) whenever possibleespeciallyinnurseries. Apply fertilizer according to soil type and expected yield. As a guide, for a 2 t/ha yield on clay loam soil will requires 20kgN, 5kg P. Sandy soils may require another 1015kgK. Double these recommendationsfora3t/haexpectedyield Apply all P and K and 10% N evenly and incorporate just before seeding or transplanting. For direct seeded broadcast crops it is okay to apply 1014 days after establishmentwhenthereiswaterinthefields; ApplyremainingN(urea)in2equalportionsat30daysand5060days(panicle initiation)afteremergence In established crops apply chemical fertilizer only in standing water and evenly acrossthewholefield. Do not apply high rates of fertilizer for traditional varieties as they may have limitedresponseandlodge. Do not use chemical fertilizer if you need Dark green leaves and fast growth more than 5 kg paddy to pay for 1 kg Roots and tillers fertilizer. Healthy plants Inorganic fertilizers must be stored dry and cool. They are not very poisonous but keepthemoutofchildrensreach.

12StepsforSuccessfulRiceProduction

Step8:Usewaterefficiency
Water availability largely determines the potential crop yield. For a crop to continue to grow requires that water supply will need to be similar or a little above evaporation. In an efficient system, each 1 kg of grain produced will require a minimum of 2000 liters or2mofwater. Good water control increases crop yields and grain quality as well as improving the efficiency of other inputs such as fertilizer, weeds, herbicide, and pesticides. To maximizewateruseefficiency: Maintainthebunds Levelthefields Puddlethefieldswherepossible Usedirectseedingtechniques Useshortdurationcrops Harvestontime

Waterquality
Good quality water is necessary to maximize crop growth. The rice plant is susceptible to salinity especially at the seedling stage and during the panicle development stage from panicle initiation to booting. Symptoms of salinity include firing of leaves and reduceddrymatterproduction.Theeffectsofhighsalinityduringpanicledevelopment arelessobviousasthereislittleleafeffectbutfloretsandgrainnumbersperpanicleare reducedwhichgreatlyreducesyield.
Factor pH SalinityEcw(water) SalinityEce(soil) TDS Specificiontoxicity SodiumSAR Chloride Boron BicarbonateHCO32 nounits me/l mg/l me/l Units nounits dS/m=mmol/cm dS/m mg/l Noproblem 6..58.5 <2.0 <3.0 <450 <3 <4 <0.7 <4 0.73.0 >4 Slightmoderate problem <6.5;>8.5 2.02.6 3.03.8 4502,000 9 10 Severeproblems <6.5;>8.5 >2.6 >3.8 >2,000 >9 >10 >3.0 >4

Cropscannotgrowwithoutgoodqualitywater
12StepsforSuccessfulRiceProduction

STEP9.Harvestontime
Harvesting the crop on time is very important to maximize yields and grain quality. Crops harvested to early will have many unfilled and immature grains which will break easily when milled and not germinate if used for seed. If crops are harvested late, heavy losses will occur through shattering and bird attacks. Quality will also decrease due to grain weathering which alsoresultsinmorebreakagesanddowngradingthroughpoorgraincolor.

Cropsshouldbeharvestedwhen:
Grain moisture is between 2022% which is normally about30daysafterflowering. 8085%ofthegrainsarestrawcolored. Grains in the lower part of the panicle are hard, not soft. Grains are firm but not easily broken when squeezed betweentheteeth. Ensurethepaniclesdonottouchthegroundorlayinwater. Minimizing the time the cut panicles remain in large bundles in the fieldthresh within 24hrs.ofcutting. Drythegrainsassoonaspossibleafterthreshing. When sun drying turn or stir the grains at least once everyhourtoachieveuniformdrying. Sundryontarpaulinsorcleandryingpads Keepthethicknessofthegrainlayerat35cm, On hot days cover the grain during midday to prevent overheating,andcoverthegrainimmediately ifitstarts raining. Cleanthegrainbyrepeatedwinnowingafterdrying. Storethericeinacool,dry,andcleanareaforseedpreferablyinasealedcontainers.

Aftercuttingmaximizegrainqualityby:

Protectyourharvestthreshanddryquicklyaftercutting

12StepsforSuccessfulRiceProduction

STEP10:StoreSafely
Rice is best stored as paddy because the husk provides some protection against insects and helps prevent grain quality deterioration.A safe storage system will prevent the grain getting wetafterdryingandalsogiveprotectionfrominsects,rodentsandbirds. Ricecanbestoredforlongerperiodsif:

Moistureismaintainedatlessthan14%forgrainand12%forseed. Grainisprotectedfrominsects,rodentsandbirds Grainisprotectedfromrewettingbyrainorfromthesurroundingair.

A rule of thumb for seed is that the life of the seed will be halved for every 1% increase in moisturecontentora5oCincreaseinstoragetemperatureaboverecommendedlevels.

RiceStoragesystems Bagstoragesystem
Bagsshouldnotbestackedhigherthan4m. Bags should be stacked under a roof, in a shed or underwaterprooftarpaulins A one meter gap should be left between and around stacks Bagsshouldbestackedonpalletsoraboveground Bagsshouldbestackedsothatfumigationcanbeundertakenifnecessary.

Bulkstorage
Grain can be stored in bulk in containers made from wood, metal or concrete, located under or inside the house. While these storages vary in size they all need to be protected from insects,rodents,birdsattackaswellasmoistureuptake

HermeticSealedstorage
Sealedorhermeticstoragesystemsareaveryeffectivemeansof controllinggrainmoisturecontentandinsectactivityforseedor grainstoredintropicalregions.Sealedstoragecontainerscome inallshapesandsizes.Theymayrangefroma50kgsuperbag,a small25lplasticcontainers,200litreoildrumtothemorecostly sealedlargeplasticcommercialstorageunitsfrom1300tons.

12StepsforSuccessfulRiceProduction

STEP11:MillEfficiently
Millingricepaddyremovesthehuskandbranlayertoproducewhiterice.Riceisbestmilledat 1314%moistureandthebestresultsareattainedwhentheprocessiscompletedinanumberof stageandgraintemperaturesdonotexceed45Cduringtheprocess.Anefficientmillwill removethehusk(20%),thebranormeal(810%)andleave70%aswhiterice.Ricegrownin irrigatedsystemsshouldattain60%whitericeasheadrice(unbrokenwhitekernels)andrain fedsystems4050%asheadrice.Thereareanumberofdifferenttypesofricemillsand processingbeingused.Theseinclude: 1.

Handpoundingusingamortarwithapestleresultsinveryhighnumberofbroken
riceandleavesbrownrice(meallayerstillattached).Cleaningofthehuskisdoneby winnowing

2.

Aonestepmillingprocesswherethehuskandthebranareremovedinonepass
andwhitericeisproduceddirectlyfromthepaddy.Thesinglepassricemillisan adaptationoftheEnglebergcoffeehuller.Thisprocessresultsinmanybrokenkernels, lowwhitericerecoveryof5055%andheadriceyieldslessthan30%.Thefinebrokens areoftenmixedinwiththebranandthegroundricehusk.

3.

Atwostepprocesswherethehuskandthebranare
removedseparately.Thesemillsareoftencalledcompactrice millsandinmanycountrieshavesupersededtheEngleberg mill.Thetwostagemillhasseparatehullingandthepolishing processes.Rubberrollersremovethehuskandthebrownriceis thenpolishedwithasteelfrictionwhitener.Thesemillshavea capacityof0.5to1tonperhourpaddyinputandareoftenused forcustommillingintheruralareas.Themillingperformance ofthecompactricemillissuperiortothesinglepasshuller withmillingrecoveriesnormallyabove60%.

4.

Amultistageprocesswherericepassesthroughanumberofdifferentoperations
andmachinesfrompaddytowhiterice.Themillingprocessinlargercommercialmills combinesanumberofoperationsthatproduceshigherqualityandhigheryieldsof whitericefrompaddyrice.Theprocessinvolves: Precleaningthepaddypriortomilling Removingthehuskorouterlayerfromthepaddy Polishingorwhitingthebrownricetoremovethebranlayer Separatingthebrokengrainsfromthewholekernels Baggingthemilledrice Managingthebyproducts

Poorgrainqualityintothemillmeanspoorqualityriceout 12StepsforSuccessfulRiceProduction

STEP12:Understandthemarket
The value of milled rice in the market is determined by a number of physical and chemical characteristics which is determined by the consumer and will vary within and betweencountries.

Physicalcharacteristics
Milling degree or color. The degree of milling or amount of the brown rice removed affects the color of white rice and often the price. Under milled rice absorbs water poorly and doesnotcookwellandisnormallycheaper. Headricepercentageor%brokens.Headrice(wholekernels)alsoincludesbrokenkernels that are 7580% of the whole kernel. High head rice yield is one of the most important criteria for measuring milled rice quality. High quality rice normally has less than 5% brokens. Whiteness or translucency. This characteristic is a combination of varietal physical characteristics and the degree of milling. During milling, the whitening and polishing greatlyaffectthewhitenessofthegrainanditstransparency Chalkiness. Grain appearance is affected by the amount of chalkiness or white belly. Chalkiness is caused by interruption of final filling of the grain. Though chalkiness disappears upon cooking and has no direct effect on cooking and eating qualities, excessive chalkinessoftendowngradesthequalityandreducesmillingrecovery.

Chemicalcharacteristics
Gelatinization temperature or cooking time. Environmental conditions, such as temperature during ripening, influence gelatinization temperature. There is normally a preferenceforricewithintermediategelatinizationtemperature. Amylose contentor stickiness. The amylose content of rice usually ranges from 15 to 35%. High amylose ricehas high volume expansion and grains cook dry, are less tender and become hard upon cooling. Lowamylose rice cooks moist and sticky. Intermediate amylose rice(2124%)ispreferredinmostricegrowingareasoftheworld. Gel consistency measures the tendency of the cooked rice to harden on cooling. Varieties withasoftergelconsistencyarepreferredifconsumedaftercooling,andthecookedricehas ahigherdegreeoftenderness.

Eatingqualityisdeterminedbytheconsumer
12StepsforSuccessfulRiceProduction