Aerobic rice - Water efficient and

productive

Problems viewing videos?

youtube.com
Arghyam has sponsored through the Krishi Vidya Nirantara a student to conduct his research
on aerobic rice. Professor Shashidhar Reddy is working on this strain within the GKVK, the
University of Agricultural Science Bangalore with grant support from the Rockfeller
foundation.

Manohar, the student explains the advantge of aerobic rice. Prof Srinivasmurthy also pitches
in. Significant advantages of aerobic rice are:

• Less water requirement. No flood irrigation. Watering once in 5 days

• Equal productivity as other rice.
• Less disease.
• Less methane emission.

Huge advantages which need to be worked upon further to take it to our farmers.
Can Arghyam too rise to this challenge?
• Add new comment
• 907 plays
Tags:
• Content Type: Media
• Media Type: Video
• Category: Agriculture

Comments
1. up land and aerobic rice in Brazil
Submitted by Anonymous on February 21, 2011 - 21:19.
Agro Norte Pesquisa e Sementes is a private company that operates at the forefront of rice
production and marketing of rice seed and development of technology and varieties for
upland rice system in Brazil. Sell seed for 15 states in the Cerrado (savannas) of Brazil. The
company began 17 years selling seed to farmers, financing fertilizer, seed and pesticides.
Sells several varieties of rice as the AN Cambará that has good yield, excellent tolerance to
drought and different soil types, fertility levels and pH, excellent grain and cooking quality
for the Brazilian market demands, and the hybrid rice Ana 9001 planting in areas Soybean
with high productivity.

The upland system in Brazil represents two thirds of the planted area and one third of actual
production. This system has been a strong ally in the expansion of soybeans, corn and cotton,
since rice is planted in the first two years before the establishment of soybean, because rice
tolerates the presence of acidity and aluminum in the soil. In the states of Mato Grosso,
Rondonia, Para, Maranhao, Piaui, Goias and Mato Grosso do Sul totaling over 1.3 million
hectares of rice and 12 million acres of soybeans. The production of upland rice are strongly
dependent of the dynamics of the soybean market, the main crop in the region, and the
decrease or increase in area depends year by year of the price of soybeans. But we have all
the soybean area that we could do crop rotation with rice and there are still over 20 million of
degraded pastures that have to do renovation and rice is the most indicated to help in the costs
of the reform of the pasture. Also, Agro Norte start breeding soybeans 8 year ago looking for
new area in the North of Brazil. We are looking for material non genetic modifying organism
with strong root system, high yield and high tolerance to drought condition.

The potential for cultivation and production growth is very high considering that some of
these areas could get back into rice production if there have finances funding and future
marketing structure like soybeans. With regular rains that begin in October and end in April
next year, we have the potential to plant the second crop on top of harvested soybean fields as
is done today with more than 3 million acres of second crop for corn, as corn prices are low,
the farmers start to grow rice in areas that is possible to do second crop. Among the
advantage that the rice has in Brazil is the low production cost compared with soybean and
maize, the reduction of nematodes in soybean area, sufficient areas for planting in crop
rotation and renewal of pastures, increased profitability and very close to the consumer
market.

The challenges to increase production at this low liquidity at the time of sale, use of “pirates”
seeds and their own use that takes off investment in research and breeding, the lack of prices
and futures contracts as soybeans, corn and cotton, and the need to increase export of rice of
the Rio Grande do Sul and Santa Catarina. The fact is that the upland rice returned to the
limelight with the market release of the variety AN Cambará thats combine the quality of
grain and cooking that the Brazilian market wants, and the soybean farmer like the results of
the field range of Cambara and entry in the hybrid market of the hybrid ANa 9001 with of
high yields 8-9 tons of rice in areas where soybeans still harvesting 3.5 tons per hectare. The
future is promising because Brazil needs to increase production to supply demand of
domestic rice.