THE RICE PLANT 



Seasons. 



Bhadoi. 



Jarhan. 



ORYZA 



SATIVA 



United Provinces 



varieties, falling under the first two classes named above, are raised in seed- 

 beds and planted out, while the coarser kinds are broadcasted. 



Bice is sown in all months from January to July, and harvested from 

 May to November. The seasons in which the greater portion is grown are 

 June to August for broadcast rice, and June to November for trans- 

 planted. Broadcasted rice is sown mostly on the break of the monsoon 

 and is ready for cutting in August (bhadoi) or September (kudr), and 

 hence often known as bhadoi and Jcudri. A certain quantity is also sown 

 two months before the monsoon rain can be expected, and in this case 

 there are two methods of cultivation. Either the rice germination is pro- 

 moted and its growth stimulated by frequent and copious irrigation till 

 the rains break, or, taking advantage of a fall of rain in April and May, the 

 ground is ploughed up and sown, but the seed allowed to lie unirrigated, 

 and the young plants should not come up before the advent of the rain 

 induces germination. Nearly the whole of the transplanted rice (jarhari) 

 is sown in seed-beds at the beginning of the rains, planted out after a fort- 

 night or three weeks, and cut in aghan or November, hence also called 

 aghani. A small portion, boron, jethi or hot- weather rice, is sown in January, 

 planted out in February, and cut in May. This is only practised in slimy 

 soils, along the edges of tanks or beds of rivers, which are planted with rice 

 as the water becomes shallow from evaporation. 



Much of the rice land in the Sub -Himalayan districts is prepared by 

 being dug over by the mattock during the cold and hot weather months 

 when the soil has been softened by a fall of rain. For land not dug in this 

 way the number of ploughings varies according as the crop is to be sown 

 broadcast or planted out, two or three in the first case, four or six in the 

 second. For sowing, the soil must be thoroughly moist. If sown broad- 

 cast, 40 seers to the acre are held sufficient. If seedlings are to be raised 

 in a nursery, the seed is sown more thickly. If the crop is to be trans- 

 planted, the nursery should be about one-twelfth the size of the field. The 

 seedlings are taken up when about a foot high and planted in regular rows 

 at distances of about 6 inches, 2 to 6 seedlings being planted together. 

 For rice grown in the hot- weather months, frequent irrigation is necessary. 

 Rice sown at the commencement of the rains and cut in August or September 

 under ordinary circumstances needs no watering, but the transplanted 

 varieties, which are not ripe till November, require two or three waterings 

 when the rains cease. At least one weeding is given to broadcast rice. 

 Planted rice in Cawnpore is said to be more frequently weeded than 

 broadcast, but in Allahabad it requires no weeding at all. When ripe, 

 the crop is cut with sickles in the same way as wheat or barley. [Cf. 

 DisL Settl. Repts., U. Prov. ; Nevill, Dirt. Gaz. U. Prov, ; Dist. Repts. 

 quoted in Dictionary, v., 605-12.] 



Central Provinces and Berar. The area in 1905-6 amounted in the 

 Central Provinces to 4,178,430 acres. The largest areas occur in Raipur, 

 1,264,198 acres; Bilaspur, 1,005,941 acres; Bhandara, 433,186 acres; 

 Balaghat, 254,029 acres ; and Chanda, 221,465 acres. Of the area under 

 rice in 1904-5, it has been stated that 712,824 acres consisted of trans- 

 planted rice (302,794 irrigated and 410,030 unirrigated) and 4,193,045 

 acres of broadcasted rice (305,492 acres irrigated and 3,887,553 acres 

 unirrigated). In Berar, the total area in 1905-6 amounted to 28,457 

 acres, almost entirely unirrigated. 



Methods of Cultivation. Fuller (Note in Outturn of Land under Principal 



832 



Sub-Himalaya. 



Seed. 



Seasons. 



C. Prov. 



Areas. 



Soils. 



