Human records of rice cultivation is four thousand years
old. It was originally cultivated and China and eventually in India. This happened
even before the great Greek times. Rice has been so predominant in the Chinese
culture that rice cultivation meant the same as general agriculture. The word
"rice" in many Asian cultures was synonymous with "food".
Many rice grain variations were developed over time.
A correct blend of warmth and humidity is needed in order to
grow rice crops. Rice agriculture was eventually present in western parts of Africa.
It is very likely that the 18th century slave industry imported the science of
rice agriculture to America. In our days there are even new rice varieties that
are being genetically developed that will require moderate to low quantities of
water. This is a very promising avenue to fight famine in many poor countries.
Although
the rice cultivation industry is pretty mechanized in the United States and Europe,
the manual and traditional ways of harvesting rice is still in used in most Asian
regions. They manually plow, fertilize, smooth and manage the irrigation of the
fields. After the 30 to 50 day growth period, the grains are then threshed (often
using a mortar) and tossed in the air using a mat or sheet to remove the chaff.
Methods
of growing differ greatly in different localities, but in most Asian countries
the traditional hand methods of cultivating and harvesting rice are still practiced.
The fields are prepared by plowing (typically with simple plows drawn by water
buffalo), fertilizing (usually with dung or sewage), and smoothing (by dragging
a log over them). The seedlings are started in seedling beds and, after 30 to
50 days, are transplanted by hand to the fields, which have been flooded by rain
or river water. During the growing season, irrigation is maintained by dike-controlled
canals or by hand watering. The fields are allowed to drain before cutting. Even
if the western world now have important rice crops, the world's largest rice harvesting
countries are still today China India and other Asian countries. More than 1/2
billion metric tons of rice grains are produced around the world each year.
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