Key Takeaways
- As many as 600 of the 900 major rice mills in Telangana have installed blending machines to add micronutrients to parboiled rice milled from paddy bought by them in the rabi season
- The mills started installing the machines since the Food Corporation of India had agreed to buy fortified parboiled rice in the State while rejecting the unfortified variety
Rice Fortification
- Rice fortification is a process of adding micronutrients to regular rice using extrusion technology.
- Fortified rice kernels are produced from a mixture using an extruder machine. These kernels are then blended with regular rice to produce fortified rice.
- The micronutrients that are used to blend included iron, folic acid and Vitamins D and B-12.
- The fortification of rice follows that of salt, oils, milk and wheat, which is in the Centre basket for micronutrient addition by 2024.
About Rice
- Rice is the staple food crop of a majority of the people in India.
- India is the second largest producer of rice in the world after China.
- Cropping Season : Kharif Season
- Suitable Climatic Condition
- Suitable Temperature: between 20°C and 35°C
- Required Rainfall: well-distributed rainfall of about 100 cm
- Suitable Soil:
- Fertile soil. Delta and valley soils are the most suitable.
- Soils with higher clay content are preferred for its cultivation due to their better moisture retention capacity.
- Important Producing Areas:
- West Bengal >Uttar Pradesh >Andhra Pradesh >Punjab >Bihar >Orissa >Chattisgarh >Assam >Tamil Nadu >Haryana
- Crop Production Practices
- In India Rice is mainly grown in two types of soils i.e., (i) uplands and (ii) low lands.
- Dry or Semi-dry upland cultivation
- Broadcasting the seed
- Sowing the seed behind the plough or drilling
- Wet or lowland cultivation
- Transplanting in puddled fields
- Broadcasting sprouted seeds in puddled fields.
- Registered GI’s of Different Varieties of Rice in India
| Sl No | Name of the Rice | State |
| 1 | Basmati Rice | Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Delhi, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir. |
| 2 | Kala Namak rice | Uttar Pradesh |
| 3 | Gobindobhog rice, Tulaipanji rice | West Bengal |
| 4 | Chak-Hao rice | Manipur |
| 5 | Ambemohar rice, Ajara Ghansal rice | Maharashtra |
| 6 | Joha rice, Chokuwa rice, Boka Chaul rice, Katarni rice | Assam |
| 7 | Navara rice, Palakkadan Matta rice, Kaipad Rice, Pokkali Rice, Wayanad Gandhakasala rice, Wayanad Jeerakasala Rice | Kerala |
Content Source: The Hindu