1. ORGANIC RICE BYV.HARIHARASUDHANBSA-06-627

2. what is organic rice?  Organic rice is grown using natural and not chemical fertilizers, which are harmful to health and environment as well.  However, producing organic rice is much more than just using natural or organic fertilizers.

3. What are the benefits of organic rice?  Free from chemical,  organic rice is fat free and has high carbohydrate content.  Red and brown rice have higher fiber value than white rice.  Organic rice has low sugar content  When you eat 45 grams of organic rice, you only consume 160 calories of carbohydrates.

4. Organic Rice production  Organic systems avoid the use of synthetic fertilizers, pesticides, and growth regulators.  Instead they rely on crop rotations,,  biological pest control  maintain soil health,  supply plant nutrients,  minimize insects, weeds, and other pests.

5. Weed Suppression  Weed control and soil fertility are the principal challenges associated with organic rice production.  primary weed-control practices include crop rotations, land leveling,seedbed preparation,  water management,  rotary hoeing.

6. Soil Fertility  Maintaining soil fertility in organic cropping typically involves some combination of crop rotation with deep-rooted legume crops or green manure/cover crops,  applying animal manures, composts, and other approved organic amendments.  Nitrogen is usually provided through thegrowing of legume cover crops.  Bone meal is a good source of cheap phosphorus (with a content of around 12%).  Rice straw and manure are good sources of potassium

7. Organic manure  Organic Manures obtained either from cattle or plants.  Use of organic manures by farmers is an age-old practice in agriculture.  Organic manure's – maintains better structure of soil

8. Geen leaf manure (mainly neem, Pongamia pinnata and Glyricidia) (mainly neem, Pongamia pinnata and Glyricidia) Green manure (daincha, manila agathi,sunhemp) (daincha, manila agathi,sunhemp)

9. Insects and Diseases management  Rice is grown in flooded fields, insect pests are usually a minor problem  Fall armyworm and chinchbug are easily controlled by a flush of water  Timely planting, variety selection, and cultural practices to suppress weeds control stinkbugs and water weevils

10. Biofertilizers for rice cultivation  Bio-fertilizer are eco friendly and are environmentally safe.  Biofertilizers are widely used in rice production.  The biofertilizers used for rice crop are Azospirillum, Phosphobacteria, Blue green algae azolla and Mycorhiza.

11. Methods of application of biofertilizers  Azospirillum: is a symbiotic bacteria and it is an important biofertilizers used in rice. Azospirillum treatment is recommended for seed, seedlings and in main field.  Seed treatment: 600 glha of Azospirillum culture are to be mixed with water where the seeds are soaked one night before sowing in the nursery bed.

12. Main field:  2000 glha of Azospirillum with 25 kg farmyard mamure and 25 kg of soil are mixed uniformly and broadcasted in the main field before transplanting. Seedling treatment:  A slurry can be prepared by mixing Azospirillum at 1000 glha in 40 litres of water and root portion of transplanted rice seedlings are dipped in bacterial suspension for 15- 30 minutes and then they are transplanted.

13. Uses  Azospirillum bacteria thrives in root zones of rice and is capable of fixing more atmospheric nitrogen which is absorbed by the plants.  Azospirillum also solubilizes phosphorus and silicon to some extent required by rice.  It renders plant drought tolerant when irrigation or rainfall is delayed.  By adopting Azospirillum application 30 per cent of the inorganic nitrogen usage can be reduced.

14. Blue Green Algae (BGA)  Blue Green Algae (BGA) is another type of biofertilizer used as an alga form. Important species are Cyanobacteria, Anabaena, Nostoc and Tolypothrix.  Blue green algal occurs naturally and comes up well under moist conditions. This can also be artifially cultured.

15. Uses  The nitrogen fixed by BGA is about 15 kg/ha over a season.  BGA elaborates vitamin Biz and growth factors that makes the plant grow vigorously.  It oxygenates the water impounded in the field.  It excretes organic acids that renders phosphorus solubilisation.  The algal mat in paddy fields also protects loss of moisture from the soil.

16. Azolla  Azolla is a water fern having an algal symbiont Anabaena azolla fixing atmospheric nitrogen.  Azolla can be multiplied by constructing nurseries with 10 cm deep standing water and adding superhphosphate at 8 kg P2o5/ha in small plots.  It can be applied as green manure prior to rice planting

17. Uses  Azolla excretes organic nitrogen in water during its growth and also immediately upon trampling.  Fern fronds are soft and rapidly decomposed.  It absorbs traces of potassium from irrigation water.  Azolla provides nitrogen, potassium organic carbon etc.  It prevents weed growth in rice field water.

18. Phosphobacteria  This type of biofertilizers solubilise phosphates in the soil and render them in available form for crop plants. It can be applied for low land and upland rice.  This is applied as the same dose in same manner as Azospirillum.

19. Uses  25 to 50 of the recommended Phosphorus can be reduced depending upon the native phosphorus content of the soil.

20. Mycorrhiza:  It occurs naturally in low land and upland rice. It mobilizes the phosphorus required by rice. Mycorrhiza inoculation attempt in paddy nursery is still under study by Agricultural Universities of India.  Since, biofertilizers are ecofriendly inputs and are safer to the environment, farmers can adopt them and get benefited.

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