Rice is our most important cultivated plant, feeding more people than any other crop. It is an annual or short-lived perennial grass species native to Asia. Its domestication (i.e. cultivation and modification by humans) started 8 to 13 thousand years ago. Much of the world, especially Asia, has rice as its primary food source and rice production is critical for feeding the world. Rice requires warm, moist conditions for growth and is grown worldwide in tropical and warm temperate habitats. As is the case in all ‘cereal grains’ the ‘cereal’— the portion eaten — is a one-seeded fruit with the cells of a very thin fruit fused to those of the seed coat.
It is possible to grow rice at home, but you need to be realistic in your expectations. You won’t be able to harvest enough rice for more than a meal or two even if things go well. Growing a significant crop of rice requires a lot of space, water, and a long, warm growing season. In most areas, this means starting the rice indoors under grow lights.
Nutrition
Brown rice is rich in several vitamins and minerals:
Vitamin B1 (thiamine)
Vitamin B6 (pyridoxine)
Magnesium
Phosphorus
Selenium
Manganese
MAJOR DISEASES OF RICE:
Fungal diseases of Rice: Bakanae Disease, Black Sheath Rot, Brown Spot, False Smut, Sheath Blight, Rice Blast
Bacterial diseases of Rice: Bacterial Leaf Blight, Bacterial Leaf Streak
Viral Diseases of Rice: Tungro, Grassy stunt, Ragged stunt,
NATURALLY OCCURRING PREDATORS
Spiders, Beetles, Bugs, Damselfy, Crickets
