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RICE is our third largest crop in terms of area after wheat and cotton. During 2005, rice was planted on over 6.47 million acres and the yield was about 5.5 million tones. Pakistan is famous for producing and exporting long- and extra- long grain aromatic basmati rice. In addition, it also exports a substantial quantity of coarse rice. Rice is the second important cash crop after cotton covering 11 per cent of total cropped area. It is a major export commodity after cotton. It earned $1.156 billion foreign exchange during 200506. Basmati is the premium rice which fetches $567 per ton as compared to $240 per ton of coarse rice in the international market. About 15per cent increase in export of basmati during 2005-06 resulted in an additional $350 million foreign exchange earning. The share of Pakistan in total world rice trade is around 11 per cent. The provincial shares of Punjab, Sindh, NWFP and Balochistan in the overall rice area is 69, 22, 3 and 6 per cent, and in production 58, 30, 3 and 9 per cent, respectively. The rice yield in the country is much lower than the potential yield under farm circumstances. The yield gap is due to several biological and socio-economic constraints in the adoption of technology. The production is beset by a number of problems. The major causes are the limited quantity of quality seed, low plant population, Zinc deficiency, imbalanced use of fertiliser, soil salinity, shortage of irrigation water, diseases and insect pest infestation and post harvest losses and socio-economic constraints. In order to boost rice production and to make the crop more profitable for the growers, rice production technology has been formulated with the following salient features:
Seed rate:
The recommended seed rate is essential to get sufficient number of seedlings per hill for optimum plant population. The recommended seed rate for nursery sowing of basmati varieties is 5-6 kg per acre while for coarse varieties is 8-10 kg per acre.
Dry method: It is usually practiced in Sindh and Balochistan. The plot is prepared
under dry conditions. Wheat husk or sugarcane trash is spread uniformly over the plot and burnt. Next day, the ash is mixed in the soil and soaked seed is broadcast followed by irrigation.
Land preparation:
Rice field should be well prepared and levelled to keep the standing water uniform in the field before transplanting of nursery. Two double ploughings in dry condition and two double ploughings in standing water are necessary.
Weed control:
Rice weeds may reduce yield by 15-20 per cent but in some cases, losses may go as high as 50 per cent. For good yield, weed control with any recommended herbicide at 3 - 5 days after transplanting is essential.
Use of fertiliser:
It is recommended that fertiliser should be applied on the basis of soil analysis. In case of coarse varieties full doses of P and K and half dose of N should be applied with the last ploughing and the remaining half dose of N is top dressed at 30-35 days after transplanting (DAT). For basmati varieties, full doses of P and K and 1/3rd of N should be applied with the last ploughing, 1/3rd of N at 25-30 DAT and remaining 1/3rd of N at 45-50 DAT. Use of potassium where tube-well is the only / main source of irrigation is also recommended.
Application of zinc:
The deficiency of zinc appears in all rice varieties. Therefore, it is imperative to apply zinc to get good yield.
Water management:
The water depth at the time of transplanting and one week later should be kept low (1-1.5 inch) and, thereafter, it should be gradually increased to about two inches for a period of 20 days. About 25-30 days after transplanting, the field should be kept at water saturated level but do not let it dry and then re-irrigate after the application of nitrogenous fertiliser. Watering should be stopped two weeks before harvesting the crop.
Management of diseases:
Air-borne diseases i.e., bacterial leaf blight and paddy blast can be controlled by copper based fungicides and blasticides when applied at proper time in proper dose. Seed born diseases can be controlled by seed dressing with recommended fungicide at the rate of 2g/kg paddy seed. Soil born disease i.e., stem rot can be controlled by cultural practices like destruction of rice stubbles and seclerotia deposited in the field corner at the time of puddling.