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Production
Estimates and Crop Assessment Division |
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Production
Estimates and Crop Assessment Division |
October 20, 2003
The spatial pattern of below average rainfall will affect both the area and yield of India's kharif rice crop. The Indian monsoon weakened after a relatively good start. The monsoon surged again in August, but rainfall mainly occurred in the central portion of the continent and left many rice areas with low soil moisture reserves. Dryness now affects a large portion of the country. The south-west monsoon is critical to the kharif or monsoon-season cropping patterns. Approximately 87 percent of total rice production is grown during the kharif season, and is dependent on the monsoon rains. Planting was delayed in some areas and a large portion of the now-grain-filling crop is experiencing moisture stress. Traditionally irrigated rice states--such as Punjab, Haryana and portions of Uttar Pradesh, where irrigation capacity is most available--face problems with lack of irrigation recharge. They also face higher plant water requirements from sunny conditions and accompanying above normal temperatures.
Analysis of rainfall distribution for the 2002 monsoon, as a function of rice productivity, reveals mixed conditions among the major states. The rice producing states of Orissa, West Bengal, and eastern Bihar received stabilizing rainfall amounts. These localized rains were not sufficient to offset yield losses in the major producing areas, such as Uttar Pradesh and western Bihar. Many non-rice producing areas of Gujarat, southern Rajasthan, Maharasthra, and western Madhya Pradesh received larger amounts of rain; however, in these locations rice is production is very limited.
Agronomic research studies of rice in India indicate rice yields
can only be sustained if sufficient soil moisture and recharging precipitation
is available in adequate amounts. The review of several studies indicates the
minimum monthly water requirement for rice is approximately 295 to 350+ mm.
This depends on weather, variety, soil, and other factors; however, 295 mm provides a conservative and minimum threshold amount. For the three months June 1 through August 31, 2002, nearly the
entire rice growing area received significantly less than the three-month
threshold amount of precipitation. The following map illustrates this
graphically. Blue areas received the minimum amount or greater of
precipitation; the red areas received less than the minimum needed to maintain
yield potential. Due to the dryness throughout the rainfed rice areas, yields are
expected to decline significantly this kharif season.
Rice is the single most important crop in Indian agriculture. It is produced in each state and is part of the staple diet of a very large portion of the Indian population. Rice is grown in three seasons in India, autumn and winter, or kharif, and summer or rabi. The autumn season accounts for 53 percent of total production. It is sown between March and August and harvested between June and December. Winter crop (33 percent) sowing takes place between June and October and is harvested between November and April. The rice crop is highly dependent on the south-west monsoon, which is occurs over the subcontinent from June through September. The remaining 12 percent is sown in the summer season.
Irrigation facilities cover about 43 percent of the rice growing area, with state-by-state distribution of irrigation highly variable. In Andhra Pradesh, Haryana, Punjab, and Tamil Nadu, over 95 percent of the area under rice is irrigated. In Bihar, Orissa, and Uttar Pradesh, only 30 to 45 percent of the rice cultivated area is irrigated.
Rice production has undergone a qualitative change in India over the years. Superior varieties of rice have replaced coarse varieties in several regions. Exports focus on basmati rice--a premium variety of the grain renowned for its long grain and fragrance. Basmati rice is produced only in Pakistan and India. In India, Basmati production is limited to the regions of Punjab, Haryana, and parts of Uttar Pradesh. Non-basmati rice is exported mostly to Bangladesh, Indonesia, and Kenya.
