Status Paper on Rice in Maharashtra

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RICE IN MAHARASHTRA

Status Paper on Rice in Maharashtra

B. L. Thaware*, R. L. Kunkerkar and H. A. Shivade.

*ADR,

Regional Agricultural Research Station,

Karjat-410201, Maharashtra, India

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RICE IN MAHARASHTRA

I. NAME OF THE STATE: MAHARASHTRA

II. INTRODUCTION :

Maharashtra is located in the western part of India along the Arabian Sea. It lies

between 15° 44’ to 22° 6’ N and 72° 36’ to 80° 54’ E. The total area of Maharashtra State

is 307,000 square kilometres, which is 9.36% of the country. Considering the area and

population, Maharashtra state is the third largest state in India. The population of the

state is 80 million which is 9.47% of the country’s total population

In Maharashtra rice is the second important crop of the people, which is grown over

an area of 14.99 lakh hectares with an annual rough rice production of 32.37 lakh tones.

The average productivity of the state is 2.01 t/ha. Maharashtra ranks 13th

place in rice

production in country. The average productivity of the Maharashtra state is low as

compared to other rice growing states viz. Panjab, Tamil Nadu, Haryana, Andhra Pradesh

etc.

The region wise area, production and productivity in the State are as below.

Sr.

No. Region

Area

(lakh ha)

Rice / Rough rice

production

(lakh tones)

Rice /Rough rice

productivity

(t/ha)

1. Konkan 4.136 10.42/15.10 2.56/3.65

2. Western Maharashtra (Rice

growing districts) 3.298 6.08/8.82 1.85/2.67

3. Marathwada (Non traditional

rice growing area) 0.242 0.10/0.14 0.42/0.59

4. Vidarbha 7.319 5.73/8.31 0.78/1.14

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Total 14.995 22.34/32.37 1.39/2.01

Ref : Maharashtra State Statistics Dept. Pune (2008-09).

The area (7.32 lakh ha) of rice crop is more in Vidarbha region. The highest productivity

was observed in Konkan region i.e. 2.56 t/ha (3.65 t/ha for rough rice). Marathwada

region is the non-traditional rice growing area. Due to the erratic and less rainfall in

Marathwada region, the average productivity of rice crop is lowest i.e. 0.41 t/ha (0.59

t/ha for rough rice).

III. RICE PRODUCTION SCENARIO IN THE STATE:

Rice is the second important crop after Jowar in Maharashtra State. The total area under

rice crop remained stable around 15 lakh ha and production around 24 lakh tones with 1.7 to 1.9

t/ha productivity during last 15 years in the state. The Agricultural Universities in the state has

released total 54 high yielding varieties, 4 rice hybrids and developed improved package of

practices for cultivation of rice crop since 1970. The decade wise progress in production of rice in

state indicated bellow.

Table: Means of Area, Production and Productivity of rice during the decades of Maharashtra

State

Particulars 1960-61 to

1969-70

1970-71 to

1979-80

1980-81 to

1989-90

1990-91 to

1999-2009

Area (‘000’ ha) 1334.70 1358.0 1490.50 1534.33

Production (‘000’ mt) 1314.70 1533.50 2173.40 2424.00

Productivity (t\ha) 0.99 1.13 1.46 1.94

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IV. GEOGRAPHICAL INDICATOR:

a. Climate:

Maharashtra has typical monsoon climate, with hot, rainy and cold weather

seasons. Tropical conditions prevail all over the state, and even the hill stations are

not that cold. Dew, frost, hail can also be happened sometimes according to the

seasonal weather.

Summer: March, April and May are the hottest months. During April and May

thunderstorms are common all over the state. Temperature varies between 22°C-

39°C during this season.

Rainy: Rainfall starts normally in the first week of June. July is the wettest month in

Maharashtra, while August too gets substantial rain. Monsoon starts its retreat with

the coming of September from the state.

Winter: Cool dry spell, with clear skies gentle breeze and pleasant weather prevails

from November to February. But the eastern part of Maharashtra sometimes

receives some rainfall. Temperature varies between 12°C-34°C during this season.

Maharashtra state is divided in to seven meteorological sub-divisions :

1) North Konkan: - The climate is warm and humid with more than 2500 mm of rain.

The maximum and minimum temperature are 300 to 31

0 C and 22

0 to 24

0 C

respectively. This sub-division consists of Thane, Raigad, Mumbai, Navi-Mumbai

districts. The general topography is hilly to undulating but mostly less than 300 m in

altitude.

2) South Konkan:- This sub-division consists of Sindhudurg and Ratnagiri districts. This

region receives very high rainfall ranging between 2,000 to 4,000 mm, 90% of it

during June to October (100-110 days). The relative humidity varies from 90-95% in

Kharif and 80-85% in Rabi season. The average rainfall received in district Ratnagiri

(3,713 mm) is relatively higher than in district Sindhugarh (3,564 mm). The mean,

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minimum and maximum temperature varies from 19.9 to 34.0 oC in Ratnagiri and

from 22.7 to 31.2 oC in district Sindhudurg.

3) North Madhya Maharashtra:- This meteorological sub-division covers Pune, Nasik,

Ahmednagar, Jalgaon, Dhule, Nandurbar districts.

4) South Madhya Maharashtra:- Satara, Sangli, Solapur, Kolhapur districts reckoned

under this meteorological sub-divisions.

5) Marathawada :- This division consists ofAurangabad, Jalna, Beed, Nanded,

Osmanabad, Latur, Parbhani, Hingoli districts.

6) West Vidarbha :- This met- subdivisions consists of Buldhana, Akola, Amravati,

Yavatmal, Washim districts.

7) East Vidarbha : - Nagpur, Wardha, Chandrapur, Bhandara,Gadchiroli, Gondia districts

comes under East Vidarbha meteorological sub-division.

b. Soil type

1. Black soils:

These are the most important soils covering the maximum area in the state. They

are derived from Deccan trap and are found in all districts except Ratnagiri district and

parts of Chandrapur district.

These soils have good potash content, fair to less than fair phosphates and a low

nitrogen and organic matter content. These are clayey soils and their clay content varies

from 30 to 60 per cent and above. The upper and lower parts of the profile do not

substantially differ in their clay content. The pore space varies from 40 to 60 per cent.

They are mildly alkaline in reaction with pH ranging from 7.2 to 8.5.

According to the topographical situation, they vary in depth from a few cm on

steeper slopes to more than 60 cm in valleys and can thus be classified as a) shallow

black soils found on the ridges, b) medium black soils as noticed in the intermediate

positions and c) deep black soils in lowlying situations.

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The shallow black soils are lighter or dull grayish black in colour and their depth is

about 30 cm. They are usually quite low in fertility. The medium black soils are more

clayey than the above and their depth is around a meter. The deep black soils are mainly

developed on alluvial material along the courses of big rivers like Tapi, Godavari, Bhima,

Krishna, etc. and are observed on low-lying or flat topography. These are highly fertile

soils.

2. Red soils:

In western Maharashtra, these soils are observed in the western portion of Pune

district and also in Thane and Raigad districts. These soils are formed from mixed parent

material such as granite, gneiss, schist, trap, etc.

On hill slopes, the slopes are coarse, sandy in nature while in valleys they are clay

loams. The soils of the hill slopes may be only 9 to 45 cm in depth while those of the flat

lands and valleys are deeper than 60 cm. Their pH is slightly on the acidic side. Paddy is

the main Kharif crop while in rabi season, crops like rabi jowar and pulses are taken on

deeper soils.

3. Lateritic soils:

Because of the forest vegetation and warm humid climate, the Deccan trap has

given rise to laterites and lateritic soils in the southern part of Raigad, most of Ratnagiri,

western parts of Satara, Sangli, Nasik and Kolhapur districts. Because of alkaline reaction

of the percolating water, the silica from the original rock disintegrates leaving a residue

of sesqui-oxides in the rock as well as in the soil. Intense leaching accompanied by high

rainfall removes all the bases from soil giving it a distinctly acidic character with a pH 5.0

to 6.0. The soils are usually loamy in texture, fairly deep and with low retention of

moisture. The clays are mostly of the keolinitic type.

The laterites have three varieties of soils, viz., reice soils, warkas (light) soils and

garden soils. The rice soils are generally found in lowlying areas which receive the eroded

soils from the upper reach and are usually rich in organic matter. The warkas soils which

are on hill slopes are shallow and eroded soils, coarse in texture and yellowish red in

colour. Nagli (Eleusine coracana) is the principal crop grown on these soils; it responds

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well to N and P fertilizers. The garden soils are light, easily workable, yellowish to

brownish in colour and mostly support areca nut and coconut plantations.

4. Alluvial soils:

These soils are of two types, a) alluviums along the main rivers like Tapi, Godavari,

Bhima, Krishna etc. b) Coastal alluvium as noticed on the coastal side of Thane and

Raigad districts. The former are more clayey and the latter more silty and sandy in

nature.

5. Forest and hill soils:

These soils are also derived from trap and occupy the mountainous terrain in the

west in the districts of Nashik, Ahmednagar, Pune, Satara, Sangli and Kolhapur and in the

east in Chandrapur district. As the rainfall in this region is comparatively high (1200 to

2000 mm), the soils are low in base status and neutral to slightly acidic in reaction.

These soils of the Western Ghats are known as kumris, and when terraced, they

can be put under paddy of hill millets. The soils of Chandrapur district are locally known

as bardi, retadi, etc. and thus indicate their coarseness. These soils are mainly put under

hill millets.

6. Saline alkali soils :

Depending upon the causes of their formation, these are also of two types viz., a)

coastal saline soil, and b) saline-alkaline soils of the inland region. The coastal saline soils

all along the west coast in the districts of Sindhudurg, Ratnagiri, Thane and Raigad. In the

immediate vicinity of the coast or creeks, the soil impregnated with salts (NaCl) from sea

to the extent of 0.2 per cent. In spite of the high rainfall to the extent of about 2000 mm

and above in these areas, they are suitable only for growing saline resistant rice varieties

which is the common crop of the region. These soils are locally known as khar or khajan

lands. Government has constituted a special kharland development board for reclaiming

these areas by putting up high embankments along the creeks to prevent the ingress of

sea water and subsequently by flooding and draining the soils.

The saline-alkaline soils of the inland areas are developed as a result of various

causes, such as 1) rise of subsoil water level due to indiscriminate irrigation over a long

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period of time, 2) use of subsoil water level due to indiscriminate irrigation over a long

period of time, 3) Occurrence of impervious subsoil 4) salt bearing subsoil strata.

c. Rainfall

Rainfall in Maharashtra differs from region to region. Thane, Raigad, Ratnagiri and

Sindhudurg districts, receive heavy rains of an average of 2,000 to 4,000 mm

annually. But the districts of Nasik, Pune, Ahmednagar, Dhule, Jalgaon, Satara, Sangli,

Solapur and parts of Kolhapur get rainfall less than 500 to 700 mm. Rainfall

particularly concentrates to the Konkan and Sahyadrian Maharashtra. Central

Maharashtra receives less rainfall. However, under the influence of the Bay of Bengal,

eastern Vidarbha receives good rainfall about 1100 to 1600 mm in July, August and

September.

d. Agro-climatic zones:

Zone-1 : Very high rainfall zone with lateritic soils (VRL)

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This zone includes the whole Shindhudurg and Ratnagiri districts, the western border

strip of Chandgad, Ajra, Gargoti, Radhanagari, Bawada and Shahuwadi talukas of

Kolhapur district and Mahad and Poladpur talukas of Raigad district.

The climate is warm and humid with more than 2500 mm of rain. The maximum and

minimum temperature are 300 to 31

0 C and 22

0 to 24

0 C respectively. The dense

vegetation of moist, deciduous forest and tree savannah has profound effect on the

formation of soils. The general topography is hilly to undulating and the soil depth varies

from less than 30 cm on hill slopes to about 100 to 150 cm in valleys.

The soils are derived from laterites which are developed on the top of besalts by the

process of laterization. The texture is sandy loam to clayey loam. Paddy, nagli (Eleusine

coracana) and hill millets like wari (Panicum miliaceum) and sawa (Panicum miliare) are

the main crops grown. In heavy soils, paddy is followed by wal (Dolichos lablab).

Zone-2 : Very high rainfall zone with, non-lateritic soils (VRN)

This zone comprises of the whole of Thane district, remaining parts of Raigad

districts and western parts of Igatpuri, Trimbak, Peint and Surgana talukas of Nasik

district.

The climate is slightly warmer and more humid than zone 1 and the mean

maximum and minimum temperatures are also higher. The general topography is hilly to

undulating but mostly less than 300 m in altitude.

Soils derived from the deccan trap are non-lateritic and are formed under

conditions of intense leaching. The depth varies from one to four feet. Crops grown are

about the same in Zone 1, but in heavy soils, rabi crops like wheat and gram are also

taken.

Zone -3 : Ghat zone (Gh)

It includes the unevenly narrow strip running from north to south along the crest

of the Sahyadri range having about 1,000 m altitude towards western i.e. seaward side

and up to 600 m towards the eastern slopes of these ranges. The area included under

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this Zone comprises of the hilly, high hilly terrain round about the ghats of Amboli, Fonda

and Amba in Kolhapur district, Koyana and Mahabaleshwar in Satara district, Lonavala

and Khandala in Pune district, Kalsoobai hills in Akola taluka of Ahmednagar district and

Igatpuri and Trimbak in Nasik district.

The high-lying hilly terrains have more than 5000 mm rainfall and are mostly

covered by deciduous to semi-deciduous forests. The maximum and minimum

temperatures are the lowest among all the zones.

The soils are warkas which grow inferior hill millets like wari , sawa and oilseed

corp like niger.

Zone 4: Transition -1 with red to reddish brown soils (TR1)

Immediately on the eastern side of the Sahyadri ranges, this zone is narrow north-

south strip running through the western hilly flank of Kolhapur district, western part of

Shirala taluka of Sangli district, central strip of Patan and Madha talukas of Satara district,

western part of Bhor, Welhe and Paund talukas, central part of Vadgaon and western

strip of Khed, Ambegaon and Junnar talukas in Pune district, western side of Akola taluka

in Ahmadnagar district and eastern part of Igatpuri taluka and central part of Trimbak,

Peint and western boundary of Dindori talukas and the whole of western half of Surgana

taluka of Nasik district.

The rainfall is between 1700 to 2500 mm. The soil are mainly red to brown with

vary in depth and texture. The main crops grown are paddy, Nagli and Niger.

Zone 5 : Transition 2 : with grayish black soils (TR2)

This comprises of eastern strip of Kolhapur district, Shirala taluka of Sangli district,

central strip of Satara district, central part of Bhor and eastern part of Paund taluka in

Pune district, central portion of Akola taluka in Ahmadnagar district, western boundary

of Sinner taluka, central portion of Nashik district, eastern part of Igatpuri taluka and

western part covering Akkalkua of Akrani taluka, western part of taloda, Nandurbar and

Sakari taluka in Dhulia district.

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The rainfall ranges from 700 mm to 1750 mm. Summers and winters are warm

than Zone 3 and Zone 4. Soil are grayish black in colour and of varying texture dependent

upon local topography.

Zone 6 : Scarcity Zone

The vast area in the mid eastern Maharashtra is traditionally known as famine

area of the state, it comprises of Jat, Kavthe mahankal and Atpadi talukas of Sangli,

Indapur, Daund, eastern part of Ambegaon talukas of Pune, Eastern part of Satara

district, Middle and eastern talukas of Ahmadnagar and whole of Solapur district

excluding eastern part of Barshi, Solapur and Akkalkot taluka. It is bounded by isohyte700

mm on both the sides. Soil is calcarious, grayish black in colour and varying depth and

textures.

Zone 7: Assured rainfall with mainly khirif cropping (ARK)

This zone includes the remaining parts of Solapur, Osmanabad, Bid, Aurangabad

and Jalgaon districts, Akola district, Amravati district excluding the eastern part of

Chandur and Morshi talukas, western half of Parbhani district and southern Nanded

district. The rainfall on western side is 700 mm and increases up to 900 mm on eastern

side. The cropping pattern is more of Kharif type and the yields are higher than those of

Zone-6. The soils are more or less similar to those of Zone- 6 and the topography is

almost flat to rolling plains. Under assured rainfall conditions, the clayey deep soils pose

a problem of temporary water-logging.

Zone 8: Moderate to moderately high rainfall with soils formed from trap (MR)

It includes the remaining parts of Nanded, Parbhani, Akola and Amravati district,

whole of Yeotmal and Wardha districts, whole of Nagpur district excluding the eastern

strip covering parts in Umred, Nagpur and Ramtek talukas and western part of

Chandrapur district.

This is predominantly a Kharif tract with a rainfall of 900 mm on the western side

increasing upon 1,250 mm on the eastern side. The soils are similar to those of Zone- 6

and Zone-7. The problem of temporary waterlogging also exists in this region. Kharif

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crops like cotton, sorghum, groundnut, tur, soyabean etc. and rabi crops like wheat, gram

and linseed are grown.

Zone 9: High rainfall with soils formed from mixed rocks (HRM)

The whole of Bhandara district and the remaining parts of Nagpur and

Chandrapur districts are included in this zone. It forms the extreme eastern part of the

state. It has higher rainfall than Zone-7 and Zone-8 and has warmer climate than these

two zones. The rainfall is above 1250 mm and is little beyond 1700 mm on the far eastern

side. The natural vegetation is of deciduous open forests with thickets.

The soils are derived chiefly from mixed parent rocks like granite, gneiss and

schist. They are yellowish brown to red in colour and coarse in texture. The predominant

crop is paddy in Kharif season and other crops like wheat, gram, linseed, rabi jowar and

lakh are also grown in rabi season.

V. RICE PRODUCTION SCENARIO

Maximum productivity is observed in Konkan region and it contributes 42.91 % of total

rice production in the state. Vidarbha region covers large area under rice cultivation than other

regions but it has low productivity than Konkan and Western Maharashtra regions.

There are major four regions of Maharashtra state where the rice crop is grown. The region wise

area, production and productivity in the State are as below.

Sr.

No. Region

Area

(lakh ha)

% Area in

the state

Rice / Rough rice

production

(lakh tones)

Rice /Rough rice

productivity

(t/ha)

1. Konkan 4.136 27.58 10.42/15.10 2.56/3.65

2. Western Maharashtra 3.298 21.99 6.08/8.82 1.85/2.67

3. Marathwada 0.242 1.61 0.10/0.14 0.42/0.59

4. Vidarbha 7.319 48.80 5.73/8.31 0.78/1.14

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Total 14.995 -- 22.34/32.37 1.39/2.01

Ref : Maharashtra State Statistics Dept. Pune (2008-09).

VI. DISTRICT WISE RICE ECOSYSTEMS OF THE MAHARASHTRA

Table: The different districts under these ecosystems and the predominant varieties under each

ecosystem are as follows.

Sr.

No. Ecosystem Districts

1. Rainfed lowland Sindhudurg, Ratnagiri, Raigad, Thane, Kolhapur

2. Rainfed upland

Bhandara, Chandrapur, Gadchiroli, Gondia and some

parts of Nagpur, Kolhapur & some part of Raigad,

Osmanabad, Nanded, Parbhani

3. Irrigated Nasik, Nagar, Pune, Satara, Sangli, Kolhapur,

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VII. CROPPING SYSTEM – ZONE-WISE

Rice base Cropping Systems followed in Maharashtra State:

Zones Following are the rice base Cropping Systems followed in

the state

North Konkan Coastal Zone Irrigated : Rice – Rice, Groundnut, Mustard, Maize,

Vegetable

Rainfed : Rice – Fallow, Dolichusbean, Horsegram,

Redgram, Greengram, Bengalgram,

Cowpea

South Konkan Coastal Zone Irrigated : Rice – Rice, Groundnut, Pulses, Vegetable

Rainfed : Rice – Fallow, Pulses

Western Ghat Zone Irrigated : Rice – Gram, lentil, peas, wheat, Mixed pulses,

Vegetable


Sub Mountain Zone Irrigated : Rice – Gram, Pulses, peas, wheat


Eastern Vidarbha Zone Irrigated : Rice – Rice, Pulses


VIII. RICE GROWING SEASONS AND REGIONS

In Maharashtra State, where the principal rice crop is cultivated under rainfed conditions

during Kharif, the rural poverty is very high and the economic condition of the farmers depends

on the rainfall during the monsoon season. In Marathwada region, area under rice comprises of

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90000 ha which is cultivated completely as a drilled and rainfed crop, In Konkan region, rice is

grown in rabi-summer season on a meager area i.e. 16000 ha which comes under Rajnala and

Kal project of Raigad district.

Rice growing regions are broadly divided in to two groups in the state.

Traditional rice growing region: In this region rice crop is cultivated under assured rainfall

condition. This region consists of 23 districts in the state as given below.

1) Konkan : Thane, Raigad, Ratnagiri & Sindhudurg

2) Vidarbha : Bhandara, Chandrapur, Gadchiroli, Gondia, Nagpur, Wardha, Washim

Amravati and Yavatmal

3.) Western Maharashtra: Kolhapur, Satara, Pune, Ahmednagar, Nashik & Nandurbar.

Dhule, Jalgaon, Solapur, Sangli

Non-traditional rice growing region:

In this region mostly rice crop is cultivated by drilling the seed in black soil under rainfed

or irrigated condition. There are six districts under this region viz., Osmanabad, Parbhani,

Nanded, Hingoli, Latur and Beed where rice is grown in some parts of the district.

Region wise rice varieties grown in Maharashtra State

Zone Districts Rice Varieties

Konkan Thane, Raigad, Ratnagiri,

Sindhudurg

Karjat-184, Karjat 2, Karjat –3

Karjat 4, Karjat-5, Karjat-6, Karjat-7

Palghar 1, Palghar 2, Panvel 1, Panvel 2

Panvel 3, Phondaghat 1, Ratnagiri 24, Ratnagiri 711,

Ratnagiri 73, Ratnagiri 1, Ratnagiri 2, Ratnagiri 3,

Ratna , Jaya, Mahsuri. Sahyadri,

Sahyadri – 2, Sahyadri – 3, Sahyadri-4, Proagro,

Suruchi, Swarna, Gujrat-11, Rupali

Vidharbha Bhandara, Chandrapur, SKL 6, SKL 7, PKV Ganesh,

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Gadchiroli, Gondia and some

parts of Nagpur

SYE 1, SYE 4, SYE 5, HMT Sona, Rupali,

PKV Makrand, PKV HMT , SYE 75, Chinoor

Western

Maharashtra

Nasik, Nagar, Pune, Satara,

Sangli, Kolhapur

Amb-157, Kolamba, Chibbur K-42, Waksal-207

Zinia-31, ACK 5, Indrayani, Pawana

Kundalika, VDN 12327, RDN-185-2

Phule Radha, Bhogawati, Jalgaon 5 , Sahyadri,

Sahyadri – 2, Sahyadri – 3, Sahyadri-4, Ratnagiri 24,

Ratnagiri -73, Ratnagiri-1.

Marathwada Parbhani, Osmanabad, Nanded Darana, Tulajapur-1, Prabhawati, Ambika

Sugandha, Terana , Parag,

a. Season-wise varieties/ hybrids

Season Varieties / Hybrid

Kharif Karjat-184, Karjat 2, Karjat –3, Karjat 4, Karjat-5, Karjat-6, Karjat-7,

Palghar 1, Palghar 2, Panvel 1, Panvel 2, Panvel 3, Phondaghat 1,

Ratnagiri 24, Ratnagiri 711, Ratnagiri 73, Ratnagiri 1, Ratnagiri 2,

Ratnagiri 3, Ratna , Jaya, Mahsuri. Walai, Bela, Patni, Damga,

Botwel, Sahyadri, Sahyadri – 2, Sahyadri – 3, Sahyadri-4, Proagro,

Suruchi, Swarna, Gujrat-11, Rupali, SKL 6, SKL 7, PKV Ganesh, SYE 1,

SYE 4, SYE 5, HMT Sona, Rupali, PKV Khamang, PKV Makrand, PKV

HMT , SYE 75, Chinoor, Amb-157, Kolamba, Chibbur K-42, Waksal-

207, Zinia-31, Satya, Suhasini, Surya, ACK 5, Indrayani, Pawana,

Kundalika, VDN 12327, RDN-185-2, Phule Radha, Bhogawati, Jalgaon

5 , Sahyadri, Sahyadri – 2, Sahyadri – 3, Sahyadri-4, Ratnagiri 24,

Ratnagiri -73, Ratnagiri-1, Darana, Tulajapur-1, Prabhawati, Ambika,

Sugandha, Terana, Parag.

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RICE IN MAHARASHTRA

Rabi Karjat-184, Karjat –3, Karjat 4, Karjat-7, Ratna , Jaya, Bela, Sahyadri

– 2, Sahyadri-4, SKL 6, SYE 1.

X. RECOMMENDED PACKAGE OF PRACTICES

a. Traditional

Cultivation Practices Region

Transplanting Konkan and Vidarbha region

Direct seeding Non-traditional rice growing area of Marathwada

and Western Maharashtra.

Dibbling In scarcity zone (Zone-6) of the state.

Rahu Used during natural calamities at the time of

sowing.

b. Modern Important agronomical practices recommended for rice cultivation in Maharashtra State.

Particulars Direct seeded Transplanted

Broad casting

(Rahu)

Drilling Dibbling Local HYVs Hybrids

Seed rate (Kg/ha) 80 60-65 30 80 30-35 15-20

Age of seedling - - - 25-30 21-30 10-25

Spacing (cm) - 25-30 25x10 Random 15x15

20x15

15x15

20x15

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No. of seedlings/ hill - - - - 3-4 1-2

Fertilizer dose (kg/ha) N 45 60-80 100 45 100 150

P2O5 15 40-50 50 15 50 50

K2O 15 40-50 50 15 50 50

Average grain yield (q/ha) 16-18 24-25 28-30 18-20 35-40 60-65

Four Point Agro Technique in Rice Crop

� Recycling of rice plant residues (Rice hull, Ash and straw)

� Application of rice hull ash to seedbed for growing rice seedlings

� @ 0.5 to 1.0 kg/m2 seedbed before sowing of rice seed

� Incorporation of rice straw into soil during ploughing

� @ 2.0 t/ha Glyricidia Green Manuring

� @ 2.0 t/ha Green leaf biomass

� Control planting of Rice Seedling

� Row to row 25 cm x 15 cm plant to plant

� Deep placement of Urea-Diammonium phosphate (Urea-DAP)

� Briquettes after controlled transplanting of rice seedlings

� @ 170 kg Urea- DAP briquettes per hectare

� Each briquette 2.5 gm

� Placement 7 to 10 cm in Soil

� @ 56 kg/N and 30 kg P2O5 per hectare dose

Benefits

Fertilizer use efficiency Increase up to 70%

Eco-friendly

Reduction in fertilizer use

� Increase in yield up to 20 %

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RICE IN MAHARASHTRA

Use of Biofertilizers :

1. Application of Blue Green Algae @ 20 kg/ha at 8-10 DAT.

2. Application of Azolla @ 4-5 q/ha at 10 DAT.

Drum seeder:

Drum seeder is equipment used for direct sowing of seed. Drum seeder is of 175cm long with

drum length of 30 cm which allows spacing between row to row 20 cm. The sprouted seeds can be used

in the drum. Drum seeder is made up of Plastic material so it is light in weight so two persons can draw

this seeder easily. Also the adjustment for seeding and spacing is possible. Drum seeder detachable so it

can be easily transported from plot to another plot. Price of Drum seeder is Rs.3500/- only.

c. Most popular rice varieties/hybrids of the state

List of popular rice varieties is presented in Table no. 3

Zone Popular varieties/ Hybrids

Konkan region Karjat-184, Karjat –3, Karjat-5, Karjat-7, Palghar 1, Panvel 1, Ratnagiri 24, Ratnagiri 1,

Ratna , Jaya, Mahsuri, Sahyadri, Sahyadri – 2, Sahyadri – 3, Sahyadri-4, Suruchi,

Swarna, Gujrat-11, Rupali

Vidharbha SKL 6, PKV Ganesh, SYE 1, HMT Sona, Rupali

Western

Maharashtra

Amb-157, Indrayani, Pawana, Bhogawati, Sahyadri, Sahyadri – 2, Sahyadri – 3,

Sahyadri-4, Ratnagiri 24, Ratnagiri -73, Ratnagiri-1.

Marathwada Terana , Parag

d. Post-harvest operations

Threshing:

The crop is harvested close to the ground when about 90 per cent of the grains in the

panicle are grey in colour ( Straw colour). Delayed harvesting causes considerable loss by

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RICE IN MAHARASHTRA

shattering of grains resulting in considerable loss in yield and increased percentage of broken

rice in hulling and due to damage by rats and birds. The right stage of harvesting is when the

ears are nearly ripe and the straw slightly green. The crop is generally cut with a sickle by

manual labour or with a mechanical reaper, self propelled harvester, etc. and dried in the field

for 3-4 days. The combine harvester is available for harvesting, threshing, winnowing and

cleaning of seeds. The crop is threshed by hand beating or by pedal thresher or by mechanical

thresher.

Drying: Seeds are dried up to 13% moisture

Storage: Paddy grains are stored in Kangi, Bags, Bin. Paddy straw is stored in heep.

IX. TRADITIONAL CULTIVARS/VARIETIES GROWN, IF ANY IN THE STATE

Traditional cultivars:

Botwel, Mhadi, Walai, Bela, Patni, Bhadas, Kalarata, Bhurarata, Kolamb, Kolpi,

Jiresal, Kala girga, Ghansal, Kothimbari Sal (Bodga), Champakali, Krishna Sal, Tambada

jog, Ambemohar, Kasbai, Thilsa, White Luchai, Chinoor, Halga, Zinia.

Indigenous technical knowledge (ITKs):

These traditional cultivars are cultivated in specific geographical area of the state,

the transplanting and dibbling are the popular methods for cultivation, the use of

fertilizers is very low. The area under traditional varieties is meager but specific features

like fine, scent and nutritional value. This cultivars are cultivated for the local market

home consumptions and religious occasions.

i) Rab :

Rab is an age-old practice followed in the Konkan region in which farmers burn the piece of land

where rice nursery is to be raised. It was found that 87.09 per cent farmers adopted the Rab

preparation method for raising rice seedlings. There was a variation in the material used for Rab

due to ecological aspects, vegetation, availability of material and location of the fields. It was

also found that the material like dry leaves, cow dung, dry grass, branches of trees, byre waste,

etc. were used for Rab. Rabbing is a practice which consists of burning cow-dung cakes, tree-

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RICE IN MAHARASHTRA

lopping, leaves, grass etc. by making layers on the paddy seed-bed area. Rabbing is a sort of

partial sterilization of the soil. It improves the physical structure of the soil and increases

availability of nutrients in the soil. The practice is, therefore beneficial in raising vigorous

seedlings but it involves wastage of valuable organic matter, which can preferably be used in

compost making. The system of rabbing is mostly confined to North Konkan and the Maval tract

of Maharashtra State. Attempts have been made since 1905 to substitute this wasteful method

by using manures, and chemical fertilizers. In the opinion of 97.40 per cent farmers, the Rab helps

control the weeds, while 74.61 and 73.10 per cent farmers opined that the Rab helps to better

germination of seed and is helpful in getting healthy seedlings, respectively. With regard to the

effect of Rab on the crop, majority (94.92 per cent) of the respondents expresses that the yield

per unit area increased due to the Rab preparation.

ii) Method of sowing/ Random transplanting :

Rice crop is traditionally grown as a transplanted crop. Farmers are transplanting rice at random

without following specific spacing. The opinion of farmers about line transplanting was not only

expensive but time consuming. Research was conducted in medium black soil to find out an

alternative to this method. The other methods used were drilling, dibbling and broadcasting of

sprouted seed. It was observed that rice crop raised by transplanting method produced

significantly higher grain yield over the remaining methods of cultivation. Now farmers are

convinced about higher yield performance by following line transplanting.

iii) Deep transplanting:

Generally farmers are transplanting rice very deep hence that affects the tillering ability and

ultimately total yield.

iv) Use of more number of seedlings per hills:

Farmers were using more than 5 seedlings/ hills, however 3-4 / hills are giving equal results

v) Ulkatni and Awatni :

Ulkatni and Awatni are two local practices followed in Khar lands of Thane and Raigad districts. In

Ulkatni the clods are turned upside down with the help of crobar in the months of April-May,

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RICE IN MAHARASHTRA

while Awatni is a practice of putting the rice seedlings in the field alongwith the mud ball from

the seedbed. It was observed that both the methods of preparatory tillage were effective.

Hence, instead of Ulkatni which was done manually, ploughing could be done after harvest of

Kharif rice in reclaimed Khar lands. Awatni was significantly superior to the regular practice of

transplanting provided the population is maintained in case of Awatni. Superficial planting in

Awatni avoids contact of tender seedlings with the salty portion of soil and thus avoids mortality

of seedlings.

Germplasm resources: The germplasm of local cultivars is maintained by the farmers and

Rice Research Stations of that region.

Medicinal value: Mhadi, Bela, Walai having the medicinal and rich nutritional value.

XII. BYPRODUCTS OF RICE SPECIFIC TO THE STATE

a. Usage:

Traditional byproducts of rice in the state are pej for children, Poha, Bhadang, Kurmura,

Papad, Mirgund, Laddu, Rice bran oil, Rice bran for poultry feed, Rice husk for brick kilns.

b. Market value:

The market value of rice is increasing day by day. The above traditional byproducts are

available at local as well as urban markets like malls. The value of product to product the poha is

ranging ranging from Rs. 30/- to 40/- per kg.

c. Milling industries:

The milling industries are located in Konkan, Vidarbha and Western Maharashtra regions.

Vidarbha and Western Maharashtra having large number of milling industries with improved

machineries. In Konkan region Raigad and Thane districts having the good quality milling

industries also having parched rice, beaten rice industries and in Sindhudurg district for parboiled

rice milling they uses hullers.

XIII. SPECIAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMMES IN RICE SECTOR OF THE STATE

1) Food Security Mission: For promotion area under rice cultivation, Food Security Mission

mandated six districts from Maharashtra state. It includes demonstrations, seed supply

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on subsidy, integrated pest management, integrated nutrient management, farmers

training and farm mechanization. The action plan of National Food Security Mission-Rice

is given below.

a. Demonstrations on System of Rice Intensification (SRI)

b. Demonstrations of Hybrid Rice Technology

c. Assistance for distribution of Hybrid Rice Seed

d. Assistance for distribution of HYVs Seed

e. Seed Minikits of HYVs of Rice

f. Incentives for Cono-weeders, Rotavators, Pump sets, Power weeders, Knapsack

sprayers and other implements

g. Assistance for Plant Protection chemicals and Bio-agents

h. Farmers training

i. Award for best performing districts.

2) Upland Paddy Research Scheme:

To increase the area under paddy cultivation in non-traditional region of Maharashtra

the “Upland Paddy Research Scheme” is implemented at Marathwada Agricultural

University, Parbhani. Under this scheme different breeding, agronomic and plant

protection experiments were carried out at Parbhani, Udgir, Tuljapur and Basmatnagar

locations of rainfed rice ecosystems.

XIV. STATUS OF RECENT METHODS/ TECHNOLOGIES

a. SRI

Need for SRI

i. Requires less seed rate (6 to 8 kg seed/ha)

ii. Nursery can be raised in small area 1.5 to 2 guntha for one hectare area, 12 to 15 days

old seedlings along with mud boll transplanted single seedling at 25 x 25 cm in kharif.

iii. Inter culture operation easily carried out with the help of cono weeder or rotary hoe.

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iv. Number of tillers increased/ plant.

v. Unavailable soil nutrients available due to good microbial activities.

vi. Each plant get sufficient light hence produced healthy crop.

vii. Low intensity of insect pest.

viii. Crop mature 8-10 days ahead.

Spread of SRI and date of Adoption

Major area is lowland and midland where rice is cultivated in the konkan region. Farmers are not

ready to adopt SRI due to heavy rainfall and use of 10-12 days old seedlings for transplanting. However,

from5-6 years SRI trials were conducted on university farm on upland & midland situation in kharif and

rabi season. However, on upland situation very few farmers egar to adopt SRI under guidance of NGO,

Agril. Deptt. & Agril. University extension workers (KVK).

Organizations (Public/Private/NGO’s/any other) working on SRI adoption and their approach and role

In Vidhrbh, Western maharashtra, Konkan region some of the organizations working for the

promotion of systems of Rice intensification (SRI) following organization starting to work on SRI i.e.

NABARD, Agril. Universities (KVK) NGO groups like.

i. Rural communes in Raigd, Ratnagiri, Thane districts.

ii. Sakav Gramin Vikas Sanstha, Raigad district.

iii. Jiwhala Gramin Vikas Sanstha, Raigad district.

iv. BAIF-MITRA Raigad, Thane, Ratnagiri districts.

v. Centre for Experimental learning (CEL) Ratnagiri district.

vi. Matrumandir- Ratnagiri district.

vii. Parivartan- Ratnagiri district.

viii. Syngenta Foundation- Thane district.

ix. Gomukh – Sindhudurg, Thane, Pune districts.

x. Chaitnya- Pune district.

xi. Gramin Yuva Pragatic Mandal- Bhandara district.

xii. Amhi Amachya Aarogyasathi - Gadchiroli, Chandrapur districts.

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xiii. Swayamsevi Janata Sahayak Mandal- Satara district.

Impact of SRI :

a. Increased yield over traditional farmer’s practice, i.e. random transplanting with 6-8

seedlings /hill.

b. More number of tillers (16-30 tillers/plant)

c. Matures 8-10 days ahead line transplanting (20 x 15cm)

d. Reduce the cost on purchase of seed.

e. Reduce the interculturing cost.

Modification of SRI (package of practices for SRI and its differences form standard transplanting) with

scientific data/ explanations

� Nursery raising Community nursery advised

� Age of seedlings Kharif 12-15 days old seedling

Rabi 15-20 old seedling

� Spacing (Unit population) 25 x 25 cm (6 to 8 kg/ha)

� Use of manures and fertilizers

• Only Organic

• Organic + Inorganic only

• Inorganic only

Organic + inorganic

� Use of cono weeders (No. of times) 2 to 4 times as per weed intensity

� Water management In high rainfall area good drainage facility on

upland

� Cost of cultivation (Benefit Cast ratio)

Any other modifacation specially suited for the In addition to chemical fertilizer or Urea-DAP

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location briquette 50 % org. manure application suggested.

Any scientific information and pooled data (one or

two tables with reference)

enclosed

b. Hybrid rice

Recommendations for cultivation of Sahyadri rice hybrid:

Particulars Package of practices

Seed rate 20 kg/ha

Age of seedling at transplanting 25 days old seedling with 5 to 6 leaf stage

Seedlings per hill 1 to 2 seedlings/hill

Organic manure (Basal) 10 t/ha FYM or Green manure

Fertilizer dose in three split 1. Basal 50+50+50 NPK in kg/ha

2. Tillering stage : 25 kg N/ha

3. Panicle immergence stage : 25 kg N/ha

Spacing 20 x 15 cm

Water requirement 90 to 130 cm

Harvesting 90 to 95 % maturity of grains and store at 12 to 14 %

moisture in grain.

Impact assessment of hybrid rice:

In Maharashtra, Konkan region cultivates the more hybrid rice than other regions about

45,000 ha area covered under hybrid rice in the state. The seed of hybrid rice mainly produced

and distributed by Mahabeej and other private companies in the state. Dr. B. S. Konkan Krishi

Vidyapeeth, Dapoli having the Public-Private partnership Memorandum of Understanding

(MOU) for seed production and distribution. The impact of hybrid rice technology was assessed

by Indian Institute of Management, Ahmadabad and The Society for management of Agriculture

Projects, Kanpur in the state of Maharashtra. The observations are as below.

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1. Net profit of Rs. 5000/- to 6000/- per hector by cultivation of hybrids in Maharashtra.

2. In hybrid rice seed production, net profit ranged from Rs.30,000/- to 40,000/- per hector

in the state.

3. Hybrid rice seed production generate additional employment of 65 person days per

hector and most of them are women.

4. There is no adverse impact of hybrid rice cultivation on environment.

5. In the process of development of hybrid rice more emphasis should be given for market

preference.

Thus hybrid rice technology is gaining popularity in the state of Maharashtra. The area

under hybrid rice is gradually increasing in the state. The hybrid rice technology is observed to

be an option for increase in rice productivity and economic upliftment of rice farmers. Some of

the bottle necks in wide spread of hybrid rice technology are small and fragmented land

holdings less barrowing capacity of farmers, varied agro ecological conditions and varied

preferences for grain qualities in the region, state and the country. In traditional rice growing

areas, the rice is the only crop of lively hood to the farmers. Some financial support is needed in

the form of inputs or supportive prices to the produce for wide spread of hybrid rice technology

and upliftment of poor rice farmers in the state and country.

c. Aerobic rice

Marathawada region having scanty ranfall distribution hence there is scope for cultivation of aerobic rice.

The research strategies for region needs to be straingthened.

d. Any other

Four Point Agro Technique in Rice Crop:

This technology is very useful to the farmers having marginal land holding and high rainfall area,

having heavy leaching losses of fertilizers. The most of the farmers are using this technology because of

its fertilizer use efficiency (70 %) and increasing in yield (20%).

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XV. INSTITUTES INVOLVED IN RICE DEVELOPMENT IN THE STATE AND THEIR CONTRIBUTION

Organisational set-up for research in Maharashtra

Rice breeding work was started in the former Bombay state at Karjat (now in Raigad district) in

1919. Soon afterwards, the Agricultural Research Station at Ratnagiri started to serve the south Konkan

region. The Igatpuri station was started in 1940 for work on fine grained scented rice varieties. The work

at Radhanagari started in 1941. The stations at Igatpuiri, Radhanagari and Vadagaon serve the Maval

tract where fine-grained scented varieties are commonly grown. The Station at Panvel was started in

1949 for improving salt resistant rice varieties of north Konkan coastal areas.

At present rice research is being carried out at 14 rice research stations under the four

agricultural universities of the state. The lead center for rice research in Maharashtra is Regional

Agricultural Research Station, Karjat, Dist. Raigad. It co-ordinates the research work carried out at

fourteen research stations under the control of four Agricultural Universities of the state.

Research centres working on rice in Maharashtra.

Name of the University Region Research centres working for rice

research

Dr. Balasaheb Sawant Konkan Krishi

Vidyapeeth, Dapoli, Dist. Ratnagiri

Konkan Karjat (Lead centre),Palghar, Panvel

(saline soils), Ratnagiri, Phondaghat

Mahatma Phule Krishi Vidyapeeth,

Rahuri, Dist. Ahmednagar

Western

Maharashtra

Radhanagari, Kolhapur, Karad, Vadgaon,

Igatpuri

Marathwada Krishi Vidyapeeth,

Parbhani

Marathwada Parbhani, Tuljapur (for rainfed &

irrigated black soil)

Dr. Punjabrao Krishi Vidyapeeth,

Akola

Vidharbha Sindewahi, Sakoli

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List of varieties / hybrids recommended for Maharashtra State.

Sr.

No.

Name of

Research

station

Variety Year of

release Grain Type

Yield

(t/ha)

Days to

maturity Recommended area

Dr. Balasaheb Sawant Konkan Krishi Vidyapeeth, Dapoli

1 Karjat Karjat-184 1971 Medium

Slender 3.0 to 3.5 100-105

Rice growing areas of

Maharashtra State

2 Karjat 14-7 1975 Long

Slender 4.0 to 4.5 140-145

Assured rainfall regions

of Maharashtra

3 Karjat- 1 1987 Short bold 3.0 to 3.5 105 -110

Bacterial blight

endemic pockets of the

Konkan region

4 Karjat –2 1994 Long

Slender 4.0 to 4.5 135-140

Assured rainfall regions

of Maharashtra

5 Karjat 3 1994 Short Bold 4.5 to 5.0 110-115 Rice growing areas of

Maharashtra State

6 Karjat 4 1994 Short

Slender 3.0 to 3.5 110-115

Konkan region

7 Karjat-5 2005 Long bold 4.5 to 5.5 125-130 Rice growing areas of

Maharashtra State

8 Karjat-6 2005 Short

Slender 3.5 to 4.0 130-135


Maharashtra State

9 Karjat 7 2007 Long

Slender 4.0 to 4.5

115 to

120


Maharashtra State

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10 Sahyadri

(Hybrid) 1998

Long

Slender 6.0 to 6.5 125-130


Maharashtra State

including Kharland

Sr.

No

Name of

Research

station

Variety Year of

release Grain Type

Yield

(t/ha)

Days to


11 Sahyadri-2

(Hybrid) 2004

Long

Slender 5.5 to 6.5 115-120


Maharashtra State

12 Sahyadri-3

(Hybrid) 2005

Long

Slender 6.5 to 7.5 125-130


Maharashtra State

13 Sahyadri-4

(Hybrid) 2006

Long

Slender 6.0 to 6.5 115-120


Maharashtra State.

Irrigated plains of

Hariyana and Punjab

West Bengal and Uttar

Pradesh in

transplanted

conditions

14 Palghar Palghar 1 1988 Medium

slender 4.0 to 4.5 120-125


Maharashtra State

15 Palghar 2 2002 Short

slender 3.0 to 3.5 125-130

Konkan Region

16 Panvel Panvel 1 1984 Short bold 3.5 to 4.00 125-130 Coastal saline soils of

Konkan region

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17 Panvel 2 1987 Long

Slender 3.3 to 4.1 110-115

Coastal saline soils of

Konkan region

18 Panvel 3 2000 Short bold 4.5 to 5.0 125-130 Coastal saline soils of

Konkan region

19 Ratnagiri Ratnagiri 24 1971 Short

slender 3.5 to 4.0 105


Maharashtra State

20 Ratnagiri

711 1978

Long

slender 4.0 to 4.5 115


Maharashtra State

Sr.

No

Name of

Research

station

Variety Year of

release Grain Type

Yield

(t/ha)

Days to


21 Ratnagiri

68-1 1975 Long bold

4.5 to

5.0 140-145


Maharashtra State

22

Ratnagiri

73-1 1979 Short bold 3.5 -4.0 98

23 Ratnagiri 1 1986 Long Bold 4.5 to

5.0 115

24 Ratnagiri 2 1986 Short bold 4.5 to

5.0 150

Assured rainfall

region of M.S. on

lowland of rice

growing areas 25 Ratnagiri 3 1994 Long Bold 4.5 to

5.0 140-145

26 Ratnagiri 4 2009 Long

4.9 125-130 Konkan and W.

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slender Maharshtra region.

27 Phondaghat Phondaghat

1 2000

Long

slender 4.5 to 5 115-120


Maharashtra State

28 Vadgaon Indrayani 1987 Long

slender 4 to 4.5 130-135


western Maharashtra

State

29 Pawana 1988 Long

slender

3.5 to

4.0

115-120

30

Kundalika 1988 Short

slender

3.5 to

4.0 125-130

31 Phule

Maval 1998 Long bold

4.0 to

4.5 125-130

32 Phule

Samruddhi 2007

Long

slender

4.0 to

4.5 125-130

Sr.

No.

Name of

Research

station

Variety Year of

release

Grain

Type

Yield

(t/ha)

Days to

maturity

Recommended

area

33 Radhanagari RDN-185-

2 1971

Short

slender

3.0 to

3.5 120-125

Western

Maharashtra

34 Phule

Radha 2004

Short

slender

3.5 to

4.0 110-115

Rice growing

areas of M.S.

35 Bhogawati 2004 Long 3.5 to

130-138 Rice growing

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slender 4.0 areas of M.S.

36 Igatpuri Darana 1980 Long

bold

3.5 to

4.0 130-135

Upland

37

College of

Agriculture

Kolhapur

ACK 5 1982 Short

bold 4 to 6 110-115

Suitable for rice

growing areas of

state

38 Sakoli SKL 6 1985 Long

slender 4 to 4.5 115-120

Bhandara &

Chandrapur

districts

39 SKL 7 1988 Long

slender 3.0 130

Eastern part of

Vidarbha

40 SKL 8 2000 Long

slender

4.0 to

4.5 140 - 145

Eastern part of

Vidarbha

41 PKV

Ganesh 2003

Medium

slender 4.5-5.0 126-128

Eastern part of

Vidarbha

42 Sindewahi SYE 1 1987 Short

bold

4.0 to

4.5 115-120

Paddy growing

areas of Vidarbha

43 SYE 4 1996 Short

slender

4.5 to

5.5 135-140

Paddy growing

areas of Vidarbha

44 SYE 5 1996 Short

bold 4.5to5.5 142-154

Paddy growing

tract of

Maharashtra

State

45 SYE 75 1985 Medium

slender 4 to 4.5 136-140

Paddy growing

areas of Vidarbha

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Sr.

No.

Name of

Research

Center

Variety Year of

release

Grain

Type

Yield

(t/ha)

Days to

maturity

Recommended

area

46 SYE 2001 2002 Short

bold

4.5 to

5.0 135 –137

Paddy growing

areas of Vidarbha

47 PKV

Makrand 2003

Medium

slender

3.5 to

4.0 135-140

East Vidarbha

48 PKV HMT 1998 Short

Slender

4.0 to

4.5 135-140

East Vidarbha

49 PKV

Khamang 2007

Short

Slender

3.5 to

4.0 130

East Vidarbha

50 Parbhani Prabhavati 1984 Medium

slender 3.0-3.5 115

Marathwada

region

51 Parag 1994 Long

slender 3.9 to 4 108-112

Upland areas

52 Tuljapur Ambika 1984 Long

slender 3.0 115

Marathwada

region

53 Terana 1989 Long

slender 3.5 80-90

Drilled rice area

of Marathwada

region

54 Avishkar Long

slender 3.5 82

Drilled rice area

of Marathwada

region

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XVI. CONSTRAINTS IN RICE PRODUCTION

a. Biotic stress.

Major Diseases and Insect pests occurred in M.S. :

Major Diseases:

Diseases Causing organism

Rice blast Pyricularia orizae

Bacterial Leaf Blight Helminthosporium oryzae

Sheath blight Rizocionia solani

False smut Ustilaginoides virens

Major Pest/Insects:

Pest/Insects Economic threshold level (ETL)

Yellow stem borer 5 % dead hearts during vegetative, 2 % white ears

Brown plant hopper (BPH) 5 - 10 hoppers / hill

Leaf folder 4 % folded leaves

Army worm 4 - 5 larvae m-1

crop row

Gall midge 5 % silver shoots

b. Abiotic stress

Agro climatic constraints:

� Agro climatic envisages both soil and atmosphere condition of region.

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� The soil of rice growing area in the state shows a lot of variation in respect of their physio-chemical

properties & hence in nutrient availability.

� The 65,000 ha area is under saline soils in coastal Konkan region and about 1 lakh ha in Marathwada

region is affected due to iron chlorosis.

� Agriculture in Konkan is characterized by the preponderance of extremely small sized holdings. The

average size of the holding is 2.30 hectares.

� Inadequate coverage under high yielding varieties, Poor soil fertility, Inadequate and poor water

management, Low fertilizer use and poor fertilizer use efficiency, Incidence of pests and diseases, Dry

spells at critical stages, Poor resource base of farmers.

� The eastern part of Vidarbha, suffers heavily due to nature and erratic rains during Kharif season.

� This is the major rice growing area under state having low productivity.

� Insufficient sunlight about 2-3 hr/day due to cloudy weather during crop growth period adversely

affects the productivity.

� Four districts of the Konkan region comprises 35% area of the state receives very heavy rainfall 250-

500 cm in short period, results in erosion of soil along with added nutrients as well as added

fertilizers.

� Heavy rains in Konkan region deplete plant nutrients.

� Scanty and erratic rains affect rice crop growth in Vidarbha region.

� Increase in salinity at critical crop growth period due to dry spells in coastal saline soils of Konkan

region

c. Institutional constraints

� Lack of well equipped rubber sheller mills and pearler rice mills.

XVII. STRATEGIES AND MODERN TECHNIQUES TO ENHANCE RICE PRODUCTION

Research:

� Collection and maintenance of rice Germplasm.

� Evolution of high yielding, semi dwarf, fertilizer responsive rice varieties with different duration

and grain types suitable for different ecosystem.

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� Evolution of photo insensitive rice varieties of different duration with good milling and cooking

qualities and resistant to different biotic and abiotic stresses.

� Development of New Ideotypes with higher harvest Index to enhance the yield levels of rice. New

plant type will be designed to have fewer tillers, none of which will be unproductive, long panicle,

each with 300-350 grains and more than 95% spikelet fertility, thicker, sturdier stems, thicker

dark green and errect leaves and a vigorous root system.

� Development of Basmati type, aromatic rice varieties preferably with short and long slender grain

type with good milling and cooking qualities.

� To develop nutrition rich rice varieties by using biotechnological approaches.

� Development of high yielding rice varieties with fine and coarse grain type and early duration for

Rabi / summer season.

� Development of rice varieties resistant to brown plant hopper, gall midge, stem borer, blast and

bacterial leaf blight through marker assisted selection.

� Evolution and evaluation of high yielding rice hybrids through Indica x Japonica crosses with good

milling and cooking qualities and resistant to different biotic and abiotic stresses

� Improvement in parental lines for developing new heterotic combinations

� Evolution and evaluation of new cytoplasmic genetic male sterile (CMS) lines with good milling

and cooking quality and desirable floral traits of different cytosterility sources. This will extend

broad genetic base of the cytoplasmic male sterile lines, so as to prevent any possible

catastrophe due to outbreak of biotic stresses like insect pests or diseases.

� Evolution of genotypes tolerant for submergence during early growth phase.

Seed production:

� Production of nucleus, breeder and foundation seed of released rice varieties.

� Identification of suitable areas for hybrid rice seed production in the state

� Production of nucleus, breeder and foundation seed of parental lines of released rice hybrids.

� The MOU with private seed business companies for large-scale seed production of high yielding

varieties and newly released rice hybrids.

Promotion:

� Transfer of rice technology from the research farm to farmers’ field is as important as developing

the varieties and hybrid. Hence demonstration and training programme will be arranged on farm

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RICE IN MAHARASHTRA

and farmers field for creation of awareness among farmers about the advantages of cultivation of

hybrid rice and hybrid seed production.

XVIII. CONCLUSION AND WAY FORWARD

Rice is not only a major staple food item but also a way of life for millions of the people. Over the

years study to increase rice production transformed the state from food deficit to net surplus. The rice

crop is overwhelmingly important for the food nutritional and livelihood security for half of the human

race. The total area under rice in the state is 14.99 lakh ha with an annual rice production of 22.34 (32.38

rough rice ) lakh tones and the average productivity is 1.39 (2.01 rough rice ) t/ha. The Agricultural

Universities in the state has released total 50 high yielding varieties, 4 rice hybrids and developed

improved package of practices for cultivation of rice crop since 1971. In order to break the present yield

ceiling new approach like heterotic breeding is adopted in breeding programmes. The hybrid rice

varieties could increase the yield by 20 to 25 % more over conventional best check varieties.

The varietal testing programme is the key component for many research and developmental

activities initiated to find viable solution to the region specific problems in rice cultivation. This

multidisciplinary, multilocation testing which also facilited to accomplished the principle objective of

identifying suitable breeding cultures for all rice growing regions of the state. The semi dwarf and high

yielding varieties was instrumental in phenomenally increasing the rice production in the state. These

varieties have greatly enhanced the production and productivity of the rice in the state.

Hence, breeding program of the state is based on following objectives.

1. To develop non-lodging, non-shattering, dwarf varieties responsive to nitrogen fertilizer. The Rice

varieties matures in 80 to 200 days;

2. To develop aromatic and non-aromatic long slender to medium slender fine grain varieties;

3. To develop varieties with broad-spectrum resistance to diseases and insect pests prevalent in

Maharashtra;

4. To develop salt tolerant varieties for 65,000 ha area for coastal saline soils;

5. To develop varieties resistant to iron chlorosis for rainfed and irrigated areas having black soils in

Marathwada region.

Table 1. Area of production and productivity of rice during a period of time. (Last 10 years)

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Year

Area

(lakh ha)

Production

(lakh tones)

Productivity

(t/ha)

1999-2000 14.9 24.7 1.66

2000-01 15.34 24.24 1.58

2001-02 15.10 25.20 1.67

2002-03 14.8 24.81 1.68

2003-04 15.01 27.70 1.85

2004-05 14.90 26.80 1.74

2005-06 14.74 25.97 1.76

2006-07 15.35 29.13 1.90

2007-08 15.24 29.06 1.90

2008-09 14.99 22.34 1.39

Table 2. District-wise Area of production and productivity of rice during the current year.

Area in ‘00’ ha, production in ‘00’ tonnes and productivity in kg/

ha

Sr. No. District

Kharif Rice Summer Rice

Area Prodn Prodty Area Prodn Prodty

1 Thane 1385 3916 2827 24 66 2730

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2 Raigad 1246 3536 2834 85 213 2605

3 Ratnagiri 792 2385 3011 2 7 3728

4 Sindhudurga 747 2369 3171 43 85 1976

Konkan Div. 4170 12206 2927 154 371 2409

5 Nasik 506 663 1310 0 0 0

6 Dhule 50 69 1380 0 0 0

7 Nandurbar 224 177 790 0 0 0

8 Jalgaon 9 11 1222 0 0 0

Nasik Div. 789 920 1166 0 0 0

9 Ahemadnagar 76 59 776 0 0 0

10 Pune 604 847 1402 0 0 0

11 Solapur 2 1 500 0 0 0

Pune Div 682 907 1330 0 0 0

12 Satara 442 734 1661 0 0 0

13 Sangali 156 395 2532 0 0 0

14 Kolhapur 1062 2461 2317 6 22 3654

Kolhapur Div. 1660 3590 2163 6 22 3654

15 Aurangabad 6 2 333 0 0 0

16 Jalana 7 3 429 0 0 0

17 Beed 25 10 400 0 0 0

Aurangabad Div 38 15 395 0 0 0

18 Latur 205 67 327 0 0 0

19 Usmansbad 180 26 144 0 0 0

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20 Nanded 233 134 575 0 0 0

21 Parbhani 96 36 375 0 0 0

22 Hingoli 95 48 505 0 0 0

Latur Div 809 311 384 0 0 0

23 Buldhana 0 0 0 0 0 0

24 Akola 0 0 0 0 0 0

25 Washim 9 3 333 0 0 0

26 Amaravati 102 60 588 0 0 0

27 Yavatmal 33 20 606 0 0 0

Amaravati Div 144 83 576 0 0 0

28 Wardha 3 2 667 0 0 0

29 Nagpur 439 634 1444 2 4 2147

30 Bhandara 1700 2642 154 18 44 2426

31 Gondia 1700 2550 1500 13 28 2147

32 Chandrapur 1427 2069 1450 5 11 2193

33 Gadchirali 1443 1757 1218 7 10 1398

Nagpur Div 6712 9654 1438 45 97 2156

State Total 15004 27686 1845 205 490 2390

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Table 3. Ecosystem-wise rice cultivation.

Ecosystem

Area

(lakh ha)

Production

(lakh tones)

Productivity

(Kg/ha)

Rainfed Lowland 4.17 12.20 2.9

Rainfed Upland 10.83 15.48 1.42

Irrigated 0.20 0.49 2.3

Table 4. Popular and high yielding varieties grown

Zone Popular varieties/ Hybrids

Konkan region Karjat-184, Karjat –3, Karjat-5, Karjat-7, Palghar 1, Panvel 1, Ratnagiri 24, Ratnagiri 1,

Ratna , Jaya, Mahsuri, Sahyadri, Sahyadri – 2, Sahyadri – 3, Sahyadri-4, Suruchi,

Swarna, Gujrat-11, Rupali

Vidharbha SKL 6, PKV Ganesh, SYE 1, HMT Sona, Rupali

Western

Maharashtra

Amb-157, Indrayani, Pawana, Bhogawati, Sahyadri, Sahyadri – 2, Sahyadri – 3,

Sahyadri-4, Ratnagiri 24, Ratnagiri -73, Ratnagiri-1.

Marathwada Terana , Parag

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Table5. List of local germplasm having special features (nutritional, medicinal, pest,

diseases, etc)

Traditional cultivars:

Botwel, Mhadi, Walai, Bela, Patni, Bhadas, Kalarata, Bhurarata, Kolamb, Kolpi, Jiresal,

Kala girga, Ghansal, Kothimbari Sal (Bodga), Champakali, Krishna Sal, Tambada jog,

Ambemohar, Kasbai, Thilsa, White Luchai, Chinoor, Halga, Zinia.

Documents

Status Paper on Rice in Maharashtra