RICE RATOONING - IRRI books - International Rice Research Institute

Scope for rice ratoon croppingin the central and northern beltsof IndiaB. K. SinghNational Agricultural Research ProjectRajendra Agricultural University, Bhagalpur, Bihar, IndiaABSTRACTThe prospects for rice ratoon cropping in the central and northern belts of India areassessed in light of two critical requirements: water and suitable temperatures.Experimental evidence indicates the possibility of growing a ratoon crop of summerrice, which at present is grown only in small areas due to lack of irrigation. In areasfollowing the sequence summer rice - kharif (rainy season) rice - wheat, kharif rice maybe replaced, at least partially, by a ratoon crop of the summer rice. A summer riceratoon crop could also be taken between the two rice crops by shifting the transplantingof kharif (photoperiod-sensitive) rice to a later date, using a system known locally askharuhan (where seedlings are transplanted from the first nursery into a secondnursery before final transplanting in the field) or older healthy seedlings. Where landneeds to be vacated by September for early planting of winter crops (early potatoes,chillies, Brassica campestris var. toria, berseem or Trifolium alexandrinum chillies,sugarcane, winter maize), a summer rice ratoon may find a place in the croppingsystem. Ratoon rice cropping of early-maturing kharif rice also appears feasible,provided varieties possess some cold tolerance at heading. Rice varieties harvested inNovember-December cannot be ratooned because of low winter temperatures anddemand on the land for wheat cultivation. Ratoon cropping of boro (November-May)rice grown in flood-affected low-lying areas and the mid-lowlands of Katihar andPurnea Districts of Bihar and parts of West Bengal and northeastern India needs to betried. Cropping patterns involving ratooning must, to be successful, give the farmeradvantages over existing ones in terms of better profits and reduced laborrequirements.Rice ratoon cropping is not practiced in the central and northern belts of India atpresent. Reports on rice ratoon cropping in the literature are scarce. Althoughsporadic attempts have been made to study the possibility of rice ratoon cropping innortheastern India, no systematic and sustained efforts have been made so far toexplore the feasibility of introducing rice ratooning in these areas. However, on thebasis of prevailing rice farming practices and limited experimental data on riceratooning, this paper suggests areas where rice ratooning might be possible.