Hybrid rice was planted in an area of 1.3 m ha and additional rice production of 1.5 to 2.5 m t was added to the Indian food basket through this technology during the year 2010. More than 80 % of the total hybrid rice area is in eastern Indian states like Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, with some little area in states like Madhya Pradesh, Assam, Punjab and Haryana. Since hybrid rice technology is likely to play a key role in increasing the rice production in India, a  study was conducted in eastern Uttar Pradesh with the following objectives:

• To assess the impact of hybrid rice technology on productivity and income

·         To document the constraints in adoption of hybrid rice technology

In order to assess the impact of hybrid rice technology data were collected from 100 rice farmers of two districts viz., Ambedkarnagar and Bahraich districts of Uttar Pradesh. The economics of HYV and hybrid rice cultivation was assessed by using cost and returns concepts.   The income obtained from HYV and hybrid rice cultivation was compared. The relative importance of the constraints in hybrid rice cultivation as perceived by the farmers were prioritized by using Garrett’s ranking technique.

The results revealed that the yield hike due to hybrid rice cultivation was 26.43 per cent, on an average the price fetched by the hybrid rice was 11.62 per cent lesser than the HYV rice. The total returns obtained per hectare from hybrid rice cultivation were 12.66 percent higher than the HYV rice cultivation. The net benefit cost ratio was 0.83 and 0.94 for HYV and hybrid rice cultivation respectively. Higher seed cost and lower pricing ability were the major constraints in cultivation of hybrid rice as opined by the farmers in the study area.

Hybrid rice has the potential to contribute significantly to improve production and sustain food security. Hence, efforts are needed to promote large scale adoption of hybrids in India. Higher cost of seed was found to be a major deterrent for large scale adoption of hybrid rice technology and hence the cost of the hybrid seed should be reduced. This can be done by improving the hybrid seed yields.

Rice is the staple food for more than 65% of population in India. It is cultivated in several agroecological regions. Rice farming is highly widespread and practiced under diversified soil and climatic conditions; hence there are wide variations in variety, methods of cultivation and. soil and water management practices followed. Rice ecosystems in India can be grouped into following categories.

• Irrigated
• Rainfed Rice Eco System: (i) Upland
(ii) Low land
• Flood Prone Rice Eco System

Irrigated Rice Eco System:

The total area under irrigated rice in India is about 22 million hectares, which accounts about 49.5% of the total area under rice crop in the country. Irrigated rice is grown in bunded fields; Irrigation is the main source of water in the dry season and is used to supplement rainfall in the wet season. The major irrigated rice-cropping systems in India are rice-rice, rice-rice-rice, and rice-wheat. The average yield is 4–5 t ha-1. Major problems encountered in this production system are yield instability and environmental degradation due to and unbalanced nutrient use, inefficient irrigation water management.

Rain fed Rice Eco System:

Practiced in the areas with rain fall.>1000mm and scope of irrigation is limited. The rainfed rice area is about 24.4 million. The productivity is very low (< 0.98 tones/hectare), due to uncertainty of available water.

Rainfed Upland Rice Eco System

Upland rice area in India is about 6 million hectares which accounts13.5% of the total area under rice crop in the country. The areas lies in eastern zone comprising of Assam, Bihar, Eastern M.P., Orissa, Eastern U.P., West Bengal and North-Eastern Hill region. Upland rice is mostly grown as direct seeded. Fields are unbunded. This is almost a subsistence crop with minimum input. Productivity is very low (< 1ton/ Ha) and unstable due to drought, weeds, light textured and less fertile soil, nutritional imbalances, poor cultural practices, diseases, insects, and a lack of suitable varieties.

Rainfed Lowland Rice Eco System:

It is usually transplanted, and is grown in levelled, bunded fields that retain surface water, but the depth and duration of flooding of the soil varies greatly from year-to-year within a growing season. Depending upon the depth of water it can further classified to shallow water (<50 cm), semi deep water (50-100 cm) and deep water (>100 cm). The water supply is variable, and both drought and flooding may occur in the same season. Rainfed lowland rice system is also classified as favourable, drought-prone, submergence-prone, and drought- and submergence-prone Soil fertility is low and problem soils are common in this ecosystem. Most of the farmers are resource poor. In India, low land rice area is about 14.4 million hectares, which accounts 32.4 % of the total area under rice crop in the country. Production is highly variable.

Flood Prone Rice Eco System

Flood-prone rice is adapted to conditions of temporary submergence of 1-10 days, or long periods (1-5 months) of standing water ranging in depth from 50 cm to 400 cm or more, or daily tidal fluctuations that sometimes may also cause complete submergence. Flooding occurs during the wet season from June to November, and rice varieties are chosen for their level of tolerance to submersion. During the flooding period the land may be fallow or be used for alternative purposes, such as fish and shrimp farming. In India 11.4 % of total rice grown area is flood prone, yields is low (1.5 ton/ha) and variable.

*Corresponding author: Email – sangitamoha@gmail.com

The Angoumois grain moth is the most serious pest injurious to rice, both in the field and storage.

This moth also attacks other cereals like maize, wheat and sorghum.

The infestation may reach serious levels before the grains are transported to the storage godowns resulting in around 25 per cent loss in weight and seed viability.

Internal pest

The larva is an internal borer of the whole grain, feeding on the starchy part. Severely infested material emits an unpleasant smell and looks unhealthy in appearance.

Grains are often covered with scales shed by the moths. The grains are practically hollow and filled with larval excreta and other refuse making it unfit for consumption.

The adult is a small, straw coloured moth. The female can lay an average of 150 eggs on unhusked paddy grains.

They hatch in a week’s period. Newly hatched caterpillar is yellowish white in colour with a brown head capsule. It soon bores into the grain and feeds on its contents.

Larval stage lasts for about three weeks. Before pupation, the larva constructs a silken cocoon in the cavity made during feeding and turns into reddish brown pupa.

After a period of 4-7 days, the adult emerges. Entire life cycle is completed in 30-35 days.

Several generations are completed in a year. Adults are short-lived and can be seen flying about in large numbers in storage bags and on the surface of grains.

Management

— Drying the grains under sun for three days to reduce moisture content below 12 per cent is suggested.

— The jute bags to be used for storing grains have to be dipped in insecticidal solution of fenitrothion 50EC at 5ml/20 liters of water.

— Application of dichlorvos (DDVP) 76SC is recommended on the surface of stored jute bags by dissolving 7ml/lit. of water and the spray solution is sprayed at three lit/100 sq.m.

— Male moths can also be caught in sticky traps baited with female sex pheromone.

Reference :

(J. Jayaraj, Prof and R.K. Murali Baskaran, Professor and Head, Dept. of Agriculture Entomology, Agricultural College and Research Institute, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Madurai 625 104, email: muralibaskaran2007@rediffmail.com, mobile: 9655677669.)

A new high yielding medium maturing variety developed by DRR, Hyderabad

Identified for the states: Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal.

 

 
•  Select well filled high density seed of variety suitable to the location/season by
    treating in salt water solution of specific gravity 1.08 (20 lt per 5 kg seed) prepared by
    dissolving 80 g common salt in one litre of water.
•  Plough the nursery area (1000 m2 per ha. of main field) at optimum moisture to get  
    fine tilth and prepare raised seed beds of 1.0 to 1.5 m width and convenient length
    with provision for 30 cm wide irrigation/drainage channels in between.
•  In case of wet nurseries puddle the ploughed land twice to get a soft puddle, level
    and prepare seed beds of convenient size with provision for irrigation/ drainage
    facility.
•  In all the types of nurseries incorporate one tonne compost/FYM per 1000 m2 bed
    during last ploughing/puddling
•  Apply DAP @ 108 kg ha-1 to supply 20 and 50 kg ha-1 of nitrogen and phosphorus
    before sowing the seeds and incorporate. Apply muriate of potash (MOP)@ 85 kg ha-1
    to supply 50 kg ha-1 potassium.
•  In locations of low temperature regimes (15-25 oC) apply double the dose of
    phosphorus in two or three dressings.
•  For dry nurseries spray 0.5% solution of ferrous ammonium sulfate twice at weekly
    interval to prevent iron deficiency. Intermitant flooding of dry nurseries also prevents
    occurance of iron deficiency.
•  Top dress nitrogen as urea to supply 25 kg N/ha at 2-3 leaf stage.
•  Broadcast seed of location specific, high yielding and chosen variety @ 30-40 kg/ha in
    dry nursery or sprouted seed in wet or dapog nursery.
•  Protect against bird damage of seed by netting or taking colour ribbons. Seedlings at
    4-6 leaf stage should be uprooted and transplanted.

The bubble tray nursery is a good system to develop 12-15 day old seedlings with "root balls". The seedlings are raised on plastic trays of 59 cm by 34 cm with 434 embedded holes. You will need 750 trays per hectare of paddy.

1. Duration (days) - 120-125

Super fine grained aromatic hybrid with 40% yield advantage over Pusa Basmati 1; 125 days duration, being 15-20 days early, it escapes infestation of major pests and diseases. It is recommended as the first aromatic fine-grained hybrid identified in the country for areas where it has been evaluated viz., Haryana, Delhi and Uttaranchal.

 A fine-grained, 125-130 days duration, scented restorer line of WA cytoplasm, 17% yield advantage over Pusa Basmati I with desirable combination of quality features comparable to Taroari Basmati and Pusa Basmati I. It has moderate resistance to blast; released for traditional basmati growing areas of Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, Uttaranchal and western Uttar Pradesh.

A fine grained, 125-130 days duration, scented restorer line of WA cytoplasm, 11% yield advantage over Pusa Basmati 1 with desirable mix of quality features comparable to Taroari Basmati and Pusa Basmati 1, has moderate resistance to blast, released for traditional basmati growing areas of Punjab, Haryana and Delhi.

A long slender aromatic variety of 130 to 140 days duration, exhibits 14% yield advantage over Pusa Basmati 1, released for traditional basmati growing areas of Haryana, Punjab, Uttaranchal and western Uttar Pradesh; desirable basmati quality features and moderate resistance to leaf blast, brown spot, WBPH and resistance to gall midge 1 & 4.

First basmati variety identified for sodic  conditions, super fine grain, tall, aromatic variety, 150 days maturity combining all key quality features of traditional basmati type, suitable for normal as well as areas affected by sodi city/salinity; it records 28.5% higher yields over traditional basmati varieties even at 9.0 to 9.6 pH; tolerance to leaf blast, sheath rot, leaf folder and WBPH and released for traditional basmati growing areas of Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Punjab.