RICE RATOONING - IRRI books - International Rice Research Institute

Rice ratooning practicesin IndiaM. MahadevappaDepartment of Seed Science and Technology, University of AgriculturalSciences, Bangalore - 560 024.ABSTRACTRice ratooning in India — its introduction, adoption in various states, and research onvarious aspects of the system — is reviewed and discussed by state. Although attemptsto introduce this practice were begun in eight states as early as 1915, there was nocontinuity in the research to develop suitable varieties and agronomic and plantprotection practices, and no sound technology was developed. Interest in riceratooning was revived in the 1970s, with the photoperiod-sensitive variety lntan in thevalleys of the hilly regions of Karnataka, South India; simultaneously, renewedresearch was begun in eight other states. The latest research results on varieties,seasonal requirements, planting times, stage and method of main crop harvest, waterand fertilizer management, pest incidence, and quality of ratoon crop grain and seed ascompared with that of the main crop are reviewed. The research and extension gaps tobe filled in exploiting the potential of this practice are discussed.Rice ratooning offers special scope for increasing production without expandingland area, particularly where moisture and growing season are inadequate forplanting a second crop of rice. Ratooning is practiced on a commercial scale in theDominican Republic and in Texas, USA. In Asia, however, although practiced inisolated small pockets, ratooning is not established to any appreciable extent.In India, a notable beginning has been made in the hilly regions of Karnatakaand, to some extent, rice ratooning has been adopted in other states (Table 1).However, progress is slow. Because of lack of suitable varieties and a dependableproduction technology, rice farmers are skeptical of the success of the system. Butspectacular ratoon yields realized with Intan on several private farms in Karnatakaand at several experimental stations have encouraged the practice to a considerableextent. This paper reviews the rice ratoon crop practices that have been researchedand tried, and that are being adopted in various parts of India.Ratoon cropping in a small way has been reported in India almost from thestart of this century (10, 14, 16). However, in the late 1970s and early 1980s, i.e., aftera gap of about 2 decades, research in this line has been speeded up in the states ofAndhra Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Karnataka, Kerala, Orissa, Tamil Nadu, UttarPradesh, and West Bengal. The research results are briefly reviewed by state.