ORYZA 



SATIVA 



Madras 



Irrigation. 



Seed. 



Yield. 



Madras. 



Areas. 



Crops. 



Seasons. 



South Kanara. 



Seasons. 



Tan j ore. 



Madura. 



Seasons. 



THE KICE PLANT 



where deficient rainfall can easily be supplemented by irrigation. Broad- 

 casted or drilled rice requires a higher seed-rate than the transplanted, 

 viz. about 120 Ib. per acre ; the seed-rate of the transplanted varies 

 per acre from 25 or 30 Ib. to 90 or 100 Ib. In the Konkan, Mollison esti- 

 mates a full yield under favourable circumstances at less than 4,000 Ib. 

 per acre. A full average from transplanted rice ranges from 2,800 to 3,200 

 Ib. of grain per acre, while broadcasted or drilled yields on an average 

 1,800 Ib. per acre. The cost of cultivation is estimated at Us. 52-15a. per 

 acre. [Cf. Crop. Exper. Bomb. Pres. ; Mollison, Textbook Ind. Agri. f 

 1901, iii., 32-44.] 



Madras. The total area in 1905-6 was 7,561,611 acres, and distributed 

 thus: in Tanjore, 1,074,152 acres; Malabar, 831,545 acres; Kistna, 

 611,664 acres; South Arcot, 555,574 acres; South Kanara, 530,402 acres; 

 Madura, 376,302 acres ; Trichinopoly, 203,967 acres, etc. The Final 

 General Memorandum for 1906-7 estimates the area for the year at 

 6,934,900 acres with a yield of 50,395,700 cwt., or 10-5 per cent, of the 

 total rice area of British India. 



Methods of Cultivation. In Malabar the crop is sometimes sown broad- 

 cast, but usually transplanted. There are several crops in the year, the 

 principal of which are the kanny, sown in April-May and cut in August- 

 September, and the makaram crop, sown in September-October, 

 and reaped in January-February. These are the principal rice harvests, 

 but there are intermediate crops in some places ; and a third, known as 

 poonja, sown in February and reaped in April-May. The greater 

 portion of the land, however, bears only one crop. 



In South Kanara, rice is the staple crop. The land is classified, according 

 to its capacity for irrigation, into byle, or rich wet land ; majal, or middling 

 wet land ; and bettu, or land watered only by rainfall. On byle land of the 

 best quality three rice crops can be raised in the year ; on the best majal, 

 two crops ; while bettu land produces only one crop. The earliest rice 

 crop of the season, on whatever land it may be grown, is termed zenelu or 

 carty. The seed is usually sown in nurseries, highly manured, and the 

 plants transplanted. In almost two months' time the crop comes to ear, 

 and in about twenty-one days more is ready for reaping. 



In Tanjore, rice is raised almost entirely by artificial irrigation. There 

 are two chief kinds, viz. kar and pishanam, each including minor varieties. 

 In all cases of irrigated cultivation, transplantation is the rule. A few 

 coarser sorts, grown in some places beyond the delta of the Kauveri, 

 and on rain-fed land, are sown broadcast. Kar is planted in June and 

 reaped in October ; pishanam in July-August and reaped in January- 

 February. In the Madura district, rice is stated to be grown on almost 

 every description of soil, the only essential being a constant supply of 

 water. The seed may be sown broadcast, but the rule is to sow in nurseries. 

 Sometimes the young plants raised in the nursery are transplanted to a 

 second nursery, and afterwards carried to the field. As a rule, ploughing 

 is done in June or July, after the early rains have softened the ground, 

 and the seed is sown in nurseries at the end of July or beginning of August. 

 After thirty days the seedlings are fit for transplanting, and in January 

 may be harvested. When re-transplanting takes place, the young plants 

 are suffered to remain in the second nursery about 35 days. Weeding is 

 done about a month after sowing or transplanting. During the whole 

 time the plants are in the ground they must stand in about 2 inches of water, 



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