RICE RATOONING - IRRI books - International Rice Research Institute

120 RICE RATOONINGOn the lower terrains and on steep slopes in the hilly areas, boro rice is notgrown because of severe drought and low temperatures. Both ahu and sali crops aregrown in varying proportions, depending on the topographic situation, climaticconditions, and local preferences.Monocropping with riceIn the entire northeast region of India, rice is mainly grown once a year; 2 crops ofrice are grown, following the ahu-sali sequence, on only about 20% of the plainsarea.In hilly regions, ahu rice is more important. Sowing is usually from mid-Aprilto mid-May, using premonsoon showers. Before April, temperatures are very lowand timely rainfall is not assured, discouraging earlier sowing. Such delayed sowingof ahu rice makes it difficult to grow a sali rice crop after it on the same field. Thus,single-cropping of rice, either ahu or sali, prevails in the hilly regions. Table 1 listsarea, production, and yields of rice in the northeastern hill region.RICE VARIETIES AND LAND TYPESJhum landIn hilly areas where jhum (slash-and-bum) cultivation is practiced, local varietiessuch as Pawnbuh in Mizoram; Jatri, Popy, Soiki, and Yabar in Arunachal Pradesh;Table 1. Area, production, and yields of rice in northeastern India, 1979-80. aStateArunachal PradeshAssamManipurMeghalayaMizoramNagalandTripuraAPYAPYAPYAPYAPYAPYAPYAhu rice Sali rice Boro rice(Mar-Jul) (Jun/July-Nov) (Nov-May) Total56.778.01.38513.9277.00.5433.046.51.4130.527.60.9022.06.80.3137.334.50.9280.082.01.02–1579.81562.30.99122.2181.01.4870.194.31.3441.212.70.3135.642.01.18140.9166.81.18–33.937.11.09–––1.63.01.87––33.442.41.2756.778.01.382127.61876.40.89155.2227.51.47102.2124.91.2263.219.50.3172.976.51.05254.3291.21.14TotalAPY773.4552.40.7 11989.82059.11.0368.942.41.272832.12694.70.95a A = area (thousand ha), P = production (thousand t), Y = yield (t/ha).