RICE IN JAMMU AND KASHMIR · under mountain terrains. The irrigated area is over 0.32 m ha. The...

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RICE IN JAMMU AND KASHMIR

Status Paper on Rice in Jammu and Kashmir

S.Najeeb, A.B.Shikari and G. A. Parray*

*Associate Director ResearchSK University of Agricultural Sciences & Technology of Jammu (SKUAST-J),

Chatha, Jammu-180 009, INDIA

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I. Jammu and Kashmir

II. Introduction

Jammu and Kashmir is the sixth largest State in India and covers a geographical area of about 2,

22,236 square kilometres with varied topographical features. The state has approximately one

per cent of country’s population, with 15 lakh families. Agriculture is an important occupation,

because 73% of population resides in rural areas and 70% of the total workers are directly or

indirectly involved in cultivation, contributing 20.59% of state’s GDP(Anonymous,2014).

Agriculture is the main source of income for thousands of families with 1.14 m ha of cultivated

land covering just 0.05% of total geographical area for the reason that major percentage of it is

under mountain terrains. The irrigated area is over 0.32 m ha. The small and marginal farmers

constitute significant percentage (~90%) of farming households and just 20% of the farmers hold

0.5-1.0 ha land.

III. Climate and edaphic features

The state is spread over a wide altitude ranging from 200 to 7000 m amsl including mountainous

landscape. The temperature remains generally low during winter in Kashmir and mercury can go

down to -10°C and rises to 34°C during summer with mean annual temperature of 12.5°C. In

Jammu region the temperature generally ranges between 6°C (winter) to 46°C (summer). The

climate is typically temperate in Kashmir valley and some upper reaches of Jammu Division,

whileas, subtropical to intermediate kind of climate is generally found in Jammu division. The

climate of Ladakh region is cold arid and is unique of its kind and temperature in winter months

can go down to 400C below zero. There is a wide variability in the annual precipitation which

ranges between 80-1500 mm. It is less than 80 mm in Ladakh and more than 1400 mm in some

parts of Jammu region; however, in Kashmir region average annual occurrence of precipitation is

680-750 mm including snowfall during the winter months. So far as edaphic factors are

concerned alluvial, mountain, meadow, podzolic and brown soils are generally found in the state

however, soils vary in their texture from clayey to clayey loam generally found in Kashmir valley

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whereas, soils in Jammu are by and large clayey loam to sandy loam in texture and in contrast to

these regions soils in Ladakh region are generally sandy to sandy loam in texture.

Agriculture in Kashmir has always been an exceptionally important aspect of people’s lives,

straddling as it does even today, in the highland and lowland zones (Hangloo, 2008). For

centuries agriculture in the valley has been characterized by subsistence farming, primitive

techniques, and low yields. The grave demand for food had always been the guiding principle of

the agriculture of the valley and most of the land was devoted to food grain production,

nevertheless food deficits could not be exterminated and, in many areas, recurrent starvation

and famines were of common occurrence. Multitude of socio-political and environmental

factors have been found guiding principles for agriculture development in Kashmir (Majid,

2003).

Kashmir had remained an abode to a large number of crops, both kharif and rabi, which made it

more inward looking as by and large all needs were met within the region, however, due to

certain climatic restrictions the cultivation has remained limited to only a few crops like rice and

maize that were sown on a large scale and in some isolated pockets wheat was also grown as a

means of food security. Rice being the staple food of the inhabitants of the valley is still the

principal crop cultivated in Kashmir (Hangloo, 1995). It has been cultivated mostly in the flat

areas of the valley with alluvial soil and assured irrigation facilities (Lawrence, 2002). Rice being

the major crop is grown on about 0.261 m ha which comprises of 25% of total area under food

crops of the state and represents just 0.0006% of total rice area in India.

IV. Rice crop distribution

Rice cultivation is an integral component of rich cultural heritage of the state. The crop is grown

on 100% irrigated ecology in Kashmir valley and melting snow is the source of irrigation. The

crop is grown in all districts of Kashmir valley on an area of 0.159 m ha. Rice in the state is grown

across diverse agroecological conditions ranging from subtropical zone of Jammu (> 200m amsl)

to temperate high altitudes region of Kashmir (2300 m amsl) spread between 30.4oN to 34.38 0

N latitude and 74.00E to 75.25oE longitude. Of the total area of 261.35 thousand ha under rice in

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the state, 137 thousand ha (55%) are cultivated in Kashmir and being a staple food of the valley,

it is a primary source of calories in people’s diet compared to wheat and maize. This ranks next

to none with respect to production (5.59 lakh tons) and productivity of 2.2 t/ha (Anonymous,

2011a). The area and production for the last six decades has increased by 33% and 126%,

respectively, whereas the productivity during the corresponding period has increased by 90%

(Fig. 1). The state has an estimated annual requirement of 11 lakh tons of rice against current

production of just 5.5 lakh tons. The short falls are met through imports from the neighbouring

states.

Rice grown ecology of Kashmir valley can broadly be divided into four distinct zones: Plain or

valley basin area (1500-1700 m amsl) that enjoys relatively favourable growing conditions in

terms of water, edaphic and climatic factors. Early maturing indicas, with satisfactory levels of

cold tolerance are the predominant rice varieties grown in this zone. The growing period is

limited to 140-145 days and double cropping is in vogue and usually rice-oilseeds/rice-fodder

oats cropping systems are in common practice. Mountain agroecology (high altitude region)

situated between 2000 to 2300 m amsl in foot hills, constitutes 10-12% of total rice cultivated

area of the valley is characterized by short growing season, low atmospheric temperature, cold

irrigation water and insufficient solar radiation. The favourable growing period is restricted to

120-125 days. The rice varieties cultivated in this area belong to japonica group and double

cropping is usually not found as uncertain climate leaves no scope for second crop. The

population in this region usually are living in a harsher climate which frequently remains cut off

during winter months. This renders the food and nutritional security of the people quite

precarious. Therefore the main focus of development in this region has been to improve the

household and food security for livelihood security through enhanced productivity. In between

the two agroecologies lies the intermediate agroecological zone (1900-2000 m amsl) where an

amalgam of both sub-species can be found. It receives relatively better environment than high

altitude region but enjoys poor growing conditions when compared to the situation prevailing in

the plain basins of the Kashmir valley. It is worth mentioning that most of the landraces are

native to and flourish better in this particular zone and farmers are selling the milled rice of

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these indigenous landraces at premium price in the local market. The fourth zone is the entirely

water logged area; a conventional rice grown ecology and encompasses more than 25 thousand

ha, although relatively favourable growing ecology for rice but leaves no scope for second crop

like oilseed and fodder oat because of very poor drainage system.

Fig. 1. Trends in area production and productivity of rice in Jammu and Kashmir State

V. Brief glimpses of rice facts in Kashmir valley

In fact up to the late nineteenth and even early twentieth century all rice lands were sown using

the broadcast method (locally called wotur) (Hangloo, 2008) and there were two main methods

for preparing the soil, namely, Tao and Kenlu. Under the Tao system the soil was made

absolutely dry to eliminate moisture before sowing the seeds and according to the Kenlu (wet)

method the field was allowed to remain wet (Lawrence, 2000). For sprouting of seeds people

were using earthen containers (locally called Lopun) and within 40 days after seeding 2-3 hand

weedings were being followed, besides, thinning and gap filling. In Kashmir during weeding

farmers used to paint their legs and arms with resins of pine to avoid the injuries caused by

water borne insects. Husking was done manually in large pestle made up of sculptured stone

(locally called Kanzz) and a wooden mortar (Muhul). This was adding lot of drudgery and

discomfort in the rice farming community however, with the passage of time water driven

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motors became popular for milling. It would not be an exaggeration to say that upto the

beginning of the 2nd half of the 20th century, agriculture in Kashmir continued to be practiced

on traditional lines and the state had been deficient in food grains even in politically and

climatically normal years (Hangloo, 2008).

Before the dawn of green revolution rice cultivation in the state was highly labour intensive,

harsh and with meagre returns. More than 100 local rice landraces of japonica types have been

documented from the valley. Kashmir’s traditional crop varieties have had evolved over several

centuries under the tremendous pressure of droughts, floods and severe cold stresses. These

varieties continued to be used by the peasants, almost unmodified, till the very end of the Dogra

rule. These were early maturing, highly adaptable, cold tolerant but with hard threshability

besides, low yielding and susceptible to one or other kind of stresses. During favourable years

for paddy blast farmers were usually setting standing crop on fire as it was neither fit to harvest

the grain nor for its straw value to feed to cattle. A local basmati was also grown in some

pockets which was relatively a better yielder and was fetching good price in the local market and

unfortunately has completely disappeared.

The importance of distribution of the quality seeds for agricultural production was recognised in

India for the first time in the year 1926, through the establishment of the Royal Agriculture

Commission but, sincere efforts on systematic basis towards the development of improved

seeds in the J&K state were taken only after the end of the Dogra rule with the establishment of

‘National Seed Corporation’ (Massodi, 2003). In 1949, under the guidance of the Indian Council

of Agricultural Research (ICAR) the state government launched the ‘Rice Research Scheme’

primarily with the objectives

1. To evolve suitable high yielding types of improved quality of paddy

2. Introduction of foreign varieties both Indian and exotic;

3. Hybridization to evolve suitable strains of paddy which would do well both in the plains

and on hills (Anonymous, 1950).

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Rice has always been grown as irrigated crop in Kashmir valley. No inorganic fertilizer and

herbicide was used to raise the crop till 1960’s. The soil care was always taken into consideration

and the fertility was restored through FYM and silt rich in humus obtained from de-silting of

drains and streams. There were always the apprehensions of food scarcity. The reason behind

was low production and productivity of local rice varieties, besides, high restriction on imports

together with low connectivity and inaccessibility because of the geographical location of

Kashmir valley. Since the direct seeding was in vogue, it was not leaving any scope for second

crop and thus had restricted the farmer to monocropping. Only a few landraces such as Ahmad

Zagri, Lul Anzul, Bhegum etc. were accommodating double cropping because of their extra early

maturing character. The rice production in Kashmir, on the eve of 1947 was entirely traditional

in nature, subsistence farming was still in vogue and farmers were quite ignorant about the

scientific methods of cultivation. The use of chemical fertilizers was almost non-existent and

inferior quality seeds continued to be used on a very large scale. The technological

backwardness of the crop had a lot to do with the ‘status of production’ existing in the valley.

The use of inorganic fertilizers was introduced in the state during the First Five Year Plan (1951-

56), but upto the end of the first three Five Year Plans the use of chemical fertilizers was low,

because the cultivators were slow to use them. This was because of the fact that the use of

chemical fertilizers by the cultivator besides other things, was subject to the availability of easy

credit which, however, was not available to him (Gupta and Singh, 1979) and the myth that

inorganic fertilizers will ruin up his soil. The use of chemical fertilizers had a promising start after

mid-sixties with the introduction of new agricultural strategy also referred to as Seed-Water-

Fertilizer technology as most of the new varieties required supplementary inputs in the form of

synthetic fertilizers and assured irrigation in order to attain potential yields (Frankis,1988).

With the advent of new technologies in late 1960s and 1970s particularly the introduction and

acclimatization of indica varieties from China such as China 1039, China 1007, China 988, China

972 etc. became highly popular throughout the valley due to their faster adaptation under

temperate Kashmir conditions and adoption due to better performance. These lines possessed

the better yielding, early maturing, easy threshing and good cooking quality characteristics

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which were long awaited and highly preferable traits from rice growers of Kashmir. Besides,

these varieties possessed other qualitative and quantitative aspect of the straw to meet out

other household needs such as stall feeding of live stock during harsh winter and covering the

roofs of their houses and above all, suitable for making straw mat still used as furnishing of

house and as off-farm income to farmers. In Kashmir the ‘new agricultural strategy’ remained

almost confined to the use of high yielding varieties of seeds and fertilizers as the topography of

the state in general and that of Kashmir in particular was not conducive for large scale

mechanisation of agriculture. Also vitally important to mention is that the task of developing

appropriate technology for hilly regions like Kashmir was extremely difficult in comparison to

plains because, owing to variations of topography, temperature, rainfall, and length of frost

periods, there is a substantial diversity in the micro-environment over relatively short

distances(Dhar,1984).Therefore, in order to understand the technological changes, if any, in

Kashmir’s agriculture and their impact on the production and productivity of the principal crops,

it was important to focus on the different aspects of the new strategy especially its bio-chemical

aspect.

VI. Role of SKUAST in rice research and development in Kashmir

Given the great economic importance of the crop, rice improvement work was started in the

State during early 1942 with the establishment of Regional Rice & Research Station (RR&RS), at

Khudwani, Anantnag (1560 m amsl) with a well defined mandate of evolving high yielding, early

maturing rice varieties having in-built tolerance to the biotic and abiotic stresses prevalent in the

target environment. Further to cater to the needs of high irrigated terrains, High Altitude Rice

Research Sub-Station, Larnoo, Anantnag (2286 m amsl), was set up in 1978. With the

establishment of Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology in 1982,

both the stations were transferred to the University for carrying out rice research to develop rice

varieties and associated technologies suitable for different agroecological situations of Kashmir

and Chenab valley of Jammu division. The University proved its commitment and gave the first

breakthrough by developing high yielding, farmer preferred and cold tolerant varieties K-39

(Indica type) and K-78 (Barkat) a Japonica type. This successful accomplishment incited the

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breeding era to develop modern rice varieties. The former variety was recommended from low

to mid altitudes of the valley (1300-1850 m amsl), whileas, the latter became popular in the

ecology were rice was not grown before or had been abandoned due to failure of local

landraces owing to some biotic stresses. Both the varieties had a very high adoption rate

because of the so many traits liked by the farmers. The University has a pride of developing

these varieties and K-39 is still being grown by majority of farmers on large areas in Kashmir

valley, besides, its use as international check and donor for cold tolerance. Furthermore these

varieties were also adopted in some countries like Nepal and Bhutan. The research programme

achieved a big success in 1996 by developing varieties like Jehlum and Chenab which surpassed

all the China lines and other newly developed varieties not only in terms of yield but with

respect to other qualitative traits which were lacking in the previously developed varieties and

introduced China varieties. In additional after comprehensive fertility experimentation

standardization of fertility dose was chalked out for different varieties and same was

recommended to realize the actual potential of these cultivars. In addition weed a big desolation

before the farming community, use of effective and crop specific herbicides after thorough

experimentation at the station was fast adopted by the farming community and reckoned it as a

real revolution because they could triumph over their miseries and discomforts because of many

manual weedings. Similarly research programme at High Altitude Rice Research Station, Larnoo

made a landmark achievement by developing a high yielding, cold and blast resilient variety K-

332 which replaced most of the low yielding landraces namely, Siga, Marva and Kuchh

traditionally grown by the farmers under high altitude ecologies of Kashmir (2000 to 2300 m

amsl). In the last decade university has bred a number of varieties with striking characteristics

and recommended for different ecologies under the name of Shalimar series possessing

significant yield advantage and blast resilience. The list of released varieties, pre-released and

pipeline varieties along with salient features are described in Table 1-4. These varieties with

associated production technologies such as nursery raising and standardization of inorganic

fertilizers application raised the production and productivity of the crop and farmers were in a

position to sell surplus produce in the local market to meet out other family needs. It will not be

an overstatement in saying that these varieties brought green revolution in Kashmir and farmers

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were able to harvest 5-6 tons of paddy per ha which is almost more than 2-3 times what farmers

were getting by cultivating landraces, besides, an ample quantity of straw for stall feeding during

prolonged winter. As a result the majority of the landraces and farmer’s varieties were replaced

due to mass adoption of these modern high yielding varieties.

VII. Quality seed production

To sustain the quality seed production chain for enhancing rice

production and productivity, 60-70q breeder’s seed of

different released varieties and approximately 1500q

foundation seed of such varieties is being produced annually

as per the indents from different agencies.

Table 1. List of varieties along with salient features released/identified in the past for different

agro ecologies of Kashmir

S.

No.

Name of the

variety

Year of

release

Average

yield

(q/ha)

Salient features

1. China-1039 1955 50-55 Cold tolerant, lodging tolerant and easy

threshing, Maturity range: 135-140 DAS.

Recommended up to an altitude of

1650 m amsl.

2. China 1007 1956 50-60 Lodging and shattering resistant, cold

tolerant at early stages of growth,

maturity: 147-152 DAS

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3. China-988 1956 50-60 -do-

4. China -972 1956 50-55 -do-

7. K-39 1978 58-62 High yielding, recommended upto 1650

m amsl, tolerant to blast and lodging,

highly cold tolerant,

maturity: 140-145 DAS

8. Chenab 1996 60-65 High yielding, coarse grained and

resistant to blast and cold tolerant

9. Jhelum 1996 60-63 High yielding, better cooking quality,

greater tolerance to cold, moderately

resistant to blast

early maturing (135-140DAS).

Table 2. Newly developed Rice varieties released for general cultivation and recommended for

plain basins of the valley by State Varietal Release Committee (SVRC)

S.

No.

Name of

variety

Year of

release

Yield

potential

(t/ha)

Remarks

1. Shalimar

Rice-1

2005 8.0 Cold tolerant, blast resistant variety having delayed

leaf senescence, erect plant type and compact

panicle,

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high HRR and non-shattering.

Recommended for cultivation under plains of the

valley (1450-1600 m amsl)

2. Shalimar

Rice-2

2015 9.0-9.5 High yielding, blast resistant indica rice variety

having long panicle and high number of

grains/panicle with high biomass

Strong culm resistant to lodging.

Maturity range: 140-145 DAS.

Recommended for plains and water logged areas of

the valley.

3. Shalimar

Rice-3

2015 8.0-8.5 High yielding, early maturing, cold tolerant indica

variety having moderately resistance to blast

erect plant type and easy threshability

recommended for cultivation for plains of the

valley (upto 1650 m amsl)

Table 3. Varieties released/identified in the past for higher altitudes/mountain ecologies of

Kashmir valley

S.

No

Name

of the

Parentage Year of

release

Average

yield

Salient features

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variety (t/ha)

1. Shenei 1967 2.0-2.5 japonica type and highly cold

tolerant, moderately resistant to

blast.

Maturity: 135-145 DAS

2. China-971 1967 3.0-3.5 -do-

3. Barkat

(K-78)

Shenei x

China-971

1974 3.8-4.0 High yielding, cold tolerant, high

HRR, moderately resistant to

blast.

Maturity:130-140 DAS

4. K-332 Shenei/

Norin-11

1982 4.5-5.0 High yielding, cold and blast

tolerant.

Maturity:130-140 DAS

5. Kohsar

(K-429)

Shenei x

Gimnasari

2001 4.2-4.7 Cold tolerant, high yielding

Maturity : 135-140 DAS

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Table 4. Recently identified rice genotypes for minikit testing by Research &Extension Advisory

Committee

S.

No.Designation

Cross

combination

Year Yield

potential

(t/ha)

Remarks

1 SKUA-408 Jhelum/84017 -

IR745-12-1

2015 8.5 High yielding, blast resistant indica

rice variety having long panicles,

more number of grains/panicles

strong stem, resistant to lodging,

easy threshing, high phenotypic

acceptability

Maturity range: 132-136 DAS.

Recommended for plains of the

valley (upto 1650m).

2 SKUA-402 Kohsar X

PS 86014-TR 891-

7-2-1

2015 5.5 High yielding, cold and blast

tolerant japonica variety ,

stay green habit .

Maturity:140-150DAS within its

recommended ecology(2000-2250

m amsl)

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VIII. Rice germplasm exploration, collection, conservation, characterization and utilization

In addition to varietal development programme, conservation of the local rice biodiversity

because of the apprehensions of loss of some useful allelic resources is one of the important

programmes of the University. More than 100 local rice germplasm lines (Table 5), besides many

collections from hill centres of India and temperate world are being maintained and routinely

utilized in plant breeding programmes (Fig.2). They have been characterized for morphological

and cooking quality traits (Parray and Shikari, 2008; Shikari and Parray, 2009; Shikari et al, 2010).

At present 680 germplasm accessions both from indigenous and exotic sources are being

maintained and a systematic and comprehensive characterization of these lines has revealed

huge genetic diversity. Very low, low, intermediate and high amylose lines have been identified,

besides soft to hard gel consistency lines have also been detected from the available rice

resources maintained at Khudwani Centre (Arpit et al.,2015).

SKUA-408 Newly developedvariety

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\

Fig.2: Depicting the rice collections from different sources

Table 5. Some important rice landraces of Kashmir conserved at MRCFC, Khudwani.

Vernacular names of the landraces

Vernacular name of the landrace

Aziz Beoul Mir ZagBegum Mehvan (Green)

Bala Koun Mehvan (Purple)Buta baber Kaw kareer

Baber Noor merriBaber safed Nikaloul AnzulBlack Rice Niver Zug

Budgi Nika katwarGurah Prenchwal

Chene bour Pren niverGura Koun Pren Zaged

Gurah Poot brerGull Baber Quadir beigh

Hapat china Ram hallKat wara Rehman BattiKaw krer Resham

Chuch never Siga safedKaw qudder Shal kew

Kew Prunch walaKhuch Shal kew

Kala brear Siga

Photograph: Paniclediversity of differentrice genotypes w.r.t.

colour

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Lar Beoul Safad khuch

Loul Anzul Tila Zag

Mushk-Budgi Kamad

Mush Kandi Gulbara

IX. Characterization and evaluation of red rice (Zag) germplasm.

The University is involved in conservation,

maintenance, characterization and

utilization of the rice germplasm having red

pericarp/or endosperm. More than 20 such

collections from different corners of the

valley have been collected and are being

conserved. Their physico-chemical and

organoleptic trait evaluation besides, Zn and

Fe estimation is under progress

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X. Special farmer oriented research programmes undertaken during last five Years

1. Participatory Plant Breeding (Participatory Varietal Selection) programme in rice

Although a number of rice varieties have been bred for Kashmir valley, but seed replacement

rate is quite miserable and 1-2 varieties are still the major players in the farmer’s fields. The key

factors identified to be responsible are

the farmers have not been exposed to acceptable alternatives to their existing

varieties/landraces,

lack of appropriate genetic resources and long history of cultivation under marginal

conditions,

the varieties are being bred at research stations- the favourable environment and

does not represent the target environment which are poor and marginal

environment,

less number of varieties for farmer’s choices,

farmers interests not taken into consideration while developing and selecting the

varieties,

elite varieties developed by considering broad geographical area neglecting the

marginal environment etc.,

The resource poor farmers practicing under high altitude marginal conditions are

often bereft of knowledge on the availability of HYVs for their use,

Improved varieties may not meet farmer’s end use and cooking quality requirements

and

Farmers may not have access to or information about seeds of new varieties.

To address all these issues participatory plant breeding programme was initiated since

2011 under which the PVS trials were conducted in the farmer’s field under the supervision of

the scientists. The trials constituted of released and advanced breeding lines developed at

Khudwani Centre. Few varieties such as SKUA-408, SKUA-403 and Shalimar Rice 3 were the

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varieties highly preferred by the farmers in the plain basins of the valley whereas; SKUA-402

became the variety of choice in the high altitude areas.

2. Participatory seed production of popular varieties

To bridge the gap between the paddy seed produced and demand from the farmers side the

programme was initiated during 2012 to upscale the seed production of most popular and

farmer preferred varieties (Jhelum, Shalimar Rice 3, SKUA 408) in the farmer’s fields. The goal of

the programme was to cover entire rice grown ecologies under such varieties for hastening the

seed replacement rate to increase production and productivity. Few hundred quintals of seed

were produced, procured and returned back to farmers for further upscaling.

Revival of elite aromatic landraces like MushkBudgi , Kamad and Zag rices(red rice)in the

niche areas of Kashmir valley

Revival programme of elite indigenous rice

landraces of Kashmir valley was initiated in

2008 with key objectives to develop purified

aromatic lines of Mushkbudgi and Kamad

and to devise and popularize an integrated

nutrient and disease management modules

for blast disease. The year 2013 proved as a

success story wherein an area of 110 ha in 5

adjoining villages in Sagam area of District

Anantnag was brought under cultivation of

these landraces and about 2000q seed of

both purified aromatic lines was produced

(Najeeb et al.,2016). These aromatic rices

have a very good local market particularly

for matrimonial ceremonies and festivals

and are being sold at Rs 150-200/Kg. The

basmati rice exporter Sarveshwar Organic

Food Ltd. has now entered into the

procurement, polishing and sale of branded

Mushkibudgi and Kamad and this initiative

has benefitted all stockholders associated

with the cultivation of these landraces and

farmers are getting three times the returns

what they were getting from cultivating

other rice varieties. Similarly revival

programme of red rices is under progress in

Thesil Tangdar(the remotest town) of

District Kupwara.



XI. New emerging disease in Kashmir and way to overcome

Bakanae disease is emerging as a potent threat to rice production particularly in japonica

rices cultivated under high altitude of Kashmir valley (2100-2300 m amsl). To initiate

breeding programme for developing resistant variety for target region, the identification

of resistant source among the available germplasm was initiated under natural and

artificiality inoculated controlled conditions and in this regard a few lines have been

identified which have shown resistance under both test conditions. Pathogenic variability

study of 20 isolates collected from diverse locations using diverse germplasm set of 50

lines has also been conducted (Lone et al.,2016). Management of seed borne inoculum

through seed treatment has been devised by evaluating various fungicides and their

combinations. Seed treatment with Carbendazim 50 WP (1g) + Mancozeb 75 WP (2g)/Kg

of seed was found most effective(Ahangar et al.,2012). The same technology was

demonstrated to formers and has shown encouraging results in farmer’s field.

XII. Popularization of integrated disease management module (IDM) of blast disease

in aromatic landraces and red rices

Aromatic landraces and red rices are highly susceptible to blast disease, which has

remained a key factor to discourage its widespread adoption among farming community,

inspite of being highly remunerative. Integrated Disease Management is thus an



alternative for effective management of blast disease. IDM module was developed and

tested at target locations through farmer’s participatory mode and was found highly

effective in combating the blast disease as against the farmer’s management practice

(Najeeb et al.,2016). The IDM module was popularized among the farmer’s of Mushk

budji and Kamad growing areas and is being widely adopted.

XIII. Control measures developed/devised against major diseases

Under AICRIP and station programmes, work on various aspects regarding major diseases

have yielded successful management technologies in addition to blast resistant varieties

bred for diverse agro-climatic zones of the valley. Under AICRIP programme different

fungicides (New and commercially available), botanicals and biopesticides have been

evaluated against the major diseases. New fungicidal formulations viz., RIL-FA

(Kresoxinmethyl), Nativo 75 WG (Trifloxystrobin 25%+Tebuconazole 50%) and Fillia

(Tricyclazole and Propiconazole) were found effective against blast, whileas,

Febuconazole 24 SC and RIL-FA have been found effective against glume disclouration

and brown spot respectively. Among commercially available fungicides Sivic 75 WP

(Tricyclazole) was effective against blast whereas, Contaf, Rhizocin and Sheathmar were

found promising against sheath blight and Tilt 25 EC (Propiconazole) and Bavistin 50 WP

(Carbendazim) against glume discoloration. Botanical/Biopesticide formulations viz.,

Tricure and defender were effective against all the diseases, whereas Biotos was effective

against blast and sheath blight and Florezen-P against blast (Bhat et al, 2014). Further,



IDM and Disease Observation Nursery trials conducted under AICRIP Programme have

been helpful in identifying the proper fertilizer dose, date of sowing, spacing etc. for the

management of major diseases. Based on the results of these coordinated and station

pathological trials, the IDM technology has been devised which is being successfully

followed by most of the farmers.

XIV. Collaboration/partnerships

The Contribution of Directorate of Rice research (Indian institute of rice Research) (ICAR),

Hyderabad and international Rice research Institutes (IRRI, Philippines) in R & D of rice

programme of the state is quite commendable. SKUAST-Kashmir has very close

collaboration with reputed national and international institutes and adequate germplasm

lines are being received in the form of different trials besides, special germplasm

resources w.r.t. different traits are frequently being procured from temperate world

through IRRI,Phillipines. Germplasm resources (both from IRRI and IIRR,Hyderabad) have

served the parental material in development of modern varieties like Shalimar series.

Further screening of INGER nurseries particularly IRCTN and IRTON have resulted in

identification of some cold tolerant and comparatively early maturing material which

were subsequently put to hybridization with local material for development of SKUA-

402(Shalimar Rice 5), a new variety for higher altitudes(Rafiq et al.,2016).

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Introduction and popularization of Basmati rice varieties- a success story

Kashmir valley has a tradition of growing

short to medium bold seeded rice rather

coarse grained varieties with low to

intermediate amylose content. In the year

2004, a set of Basmati/fine grained rice

types were received through All India

Coordinated Rice Improvement Programme

and after evaluation of some promising

varieties one entry namely, Pusa Sugandh-3

matured timely and subsequently the

variety was brought under multilocation

testing. During the year 2012, the variety

was planted on large scale in district

Budgam and during Kharif 2013, 20 ha area

in the district was brought under the said

variety. During 2012 Pusa Basmati-1509 was

also introduced from IARI, New Delhi and

has shown the promising performance in

comparison to PS-3 in terms of maturity and

yield. After two years of continuous

evaluation the

variety was tested directly in the farmer’s

field in districts of Anantnag and Budgam

and demonstration has made the faster

adoption of the variety. Further a secondary

selection from Pusa Sughand 3 has resulted

in identification of 10-15 days earlier

genotype SKUA-420 and hopeful to replace

all fine grained types because of early

maturity.

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XV. Road map towards temperate hybrid rice development

Hybrid breeding has been contemplated as the potent technology to boost rice production in

the face of limited scope for horizontal growth. Most of the rice hybrids released for commercial

cultivation in India and their parental lines received through AICRIP programme have badly

failed to perform under temperate Kashmir conditions due to lack of cold tolerance and poor

phenotypic acceptability (Sanghera et al., 2003). In this regard hybrid breeding program was

initiated at Khudwani Centre in 2001 and two well adapted, temperate, cold tolerant and stable

cytosterile lines designated as SKUA-7A & SKUA-11A were developed (Shikari et

al.2010;Sanghera et al.2010) using two lines from IRRI (IR68888A and IR68897A) as CMS sources

and K348; a local, well adapted, medium-duration and cold-tolerant variety genotype as

recurrent parent following backcross breeding programme. Recently Jhelum and Shalimar Rice 3

have been converted into two more CMS lines, SKUA 19A and SKUA-21A respectively, using

SKUA-7A as CMS source and both are showing stable sterility in F1 when crossed with normal (B)

lines. The lower frequency of restorers than partial maintainers and partial restorers has been

observed in the earlier studies because the temperate japonica background lacks fertility

restoration system to WA cytoplasm (Dar et al.2014). Many test crosses of these CMS lines have

been made with the available genetic base to identify restorer lines and out of 27 test crosses

evaluated, 10 restorers, 8 partial restorers, 3 maintainers and 6 partial maintainers were

categorized on the basis of degree of pollen fertility and spikelet fertility. Three genotypes K-08-

61, K-08-60 and PS-5 were found as most effective restorers (Dar et al.,2015). Molecular

characterization of advanced breeding lines for different restorer genes revealed that SKAU-K-R-

3-6-11 and SKAU-KR-3-6-16 could be employed as effective R-lines against temperate CMS line

SKAU-7A and SKAU-11A with an average grain yield advantage of 20% or more (Khan et

al.,2016).

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XVI. Frontline demonstration/transfer of technologies

In addition to above activities, transfer of technologies(complete package) through Frontline

Demonstration are being carried out and around 1220 ha FLDs were conducted since 2007-2014

and registered a yield advantage of more than 25% over the farmers own varieties.

Status of recent rice production/technologies

System of Rice Intensification

System of rice intensification (SRI) has evolved as an approach to increase rice productivity with

less external inputs. Yield advantages and resource savings under SRI method have widely been

reported. Several approaches like alternate wetting and drying, aerobic rice systems and SRI are

advocated to save water. In this backdrop a field experiment was conducted in farmer’s fields at

four locations in Khudwani area of District Anantnag during the kharif 2013 to demonstrate the

superiority of SRI method over farmer’s practice of crop establishment. Among the

establishment techniques, SRI outperformed the farmers practice in respect of all the growth

and yield attributes. With regard to the grain yield averaged over the locations, SRI method

demonstrated a yield advantage of more than 20% apart from additional advantages of water

and seed savings.

Marker-assisted improvement of landraces for resistance to biotic stress:

The reasons attributed to loss of heritage rices of Kashmir include their low yielding potential

and susceptibility to various biotic stresses particularly to paddy blast. Still after two to three

decades before the wide scale cultivation of these landraces was slowly abandoned, some

prominent ones such as Mushk Budji and Kamad still occupy considerable area and there is high

demand for these rices in domestic markets. Mushk Budji is short bold aromatic rice grown in

higher reaches of Kashmir valley. The cooked rice is unique and possesses harmonious blend of

taste, aroma and rich organoleptic properties. It is mainly grown in areas of Sagam and Soaf

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Shali region of district Anantnag and Beerwah Thesil of district Budgam. The consumption of

aromatic rices in Kashmir has now been limited to special occasions, marriages and festivals

because of high prices and less supply. Consumers’ preference is to get rice of good cooking

(appearance, amylose content, kernel elongation on cooking, softness etc.) and eating quality

(taste and aroma). Mushk budji is characterized with pleasant aroma, low amylose content,

intermediate gelatinization temperature (70-74oC) and short bold kernels (Gazala et al., 2014).

The susceptible nature of such varieties insists the application of fungicides 3-4 times which is

practically not possible and ecologically and economically not viable. To address this concern, an

initiative was taken to incorporate genetic resistance against blast in Mushkbudji and three

effective genes viz., Pi54, Pi1 and Pita were incorporated through marker-assisted backcross

breeding approach (Gazala et al., 2013, 2014). Thus far, nine 3-gene pyramids homozygous for

the genes Pi54, Pi1 and Pita and six 2-gene pyramided lines have been developed based on gene

based/ linked markers. The MAS selected lines possess cooking quality and aroma similar to

recurrent parent Mushk Budji and shows resistance against prevalent isolates. This is the first

time effort of employing marker assisted selection to improve the rice cultivar in Kashmir. The

lines developed are likely to be released as varieties in farmer’s fields that are expected to yield

huge economic returns and also may revive the area under cultivation under this valuable

cultivar.

Indigenous technical knowledge (ITKs) specific to the rice in Kashmir:

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24 hour water soaked seed kept in cowshed or covered by green brassica straw/green

weeds to hasten seed germination because of low outside temperature.

Seed for next crop stored in earthen bin vernacularly called lopun or in a bag made of

paddy straw called Thachi.

Surplus stock stored in specially devised wooden warehouse vernacularly named Kuchh.

To suppress weeds in watur system (direct seeded rice), a manual but hardy operation

farmers used to call it Latnawun was being done (3-4 times) at an interval of 20 days with

the aim to level the land and suppress the weeds followed by gudrow meaning thinning

and gap filling operation that was being done after third latnawun.

Photograph of Kuchh

By products/extended use of rice specific to Kashmir

Paddy straw is a profitable commodity in Kashmir because of its mounting demand by

orchardists for packing of apple in wooden/cardboard boxes to prevent fruit injury while

transportation. The paddy straw also serves as livestock fodder for which it is being safely stored

for winter.

Paddy straw is used to make straw mats locally called patteg still used by low income

group families in villages for furnishing, besides sun drying of rice. Before 1990s patteg has

served as a very important off-farm income to farmers.

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Dried paddy straw has been used for thatching of residential houses and cowsheds

especially in rural Kashmir.

Rice bran a byproduct of milled rice is soaked in viscous rice water obtained from boiled

rice and is fed to the cattle as such and often fortified with oilcakes.

Wooden base tied with rope made out of Paddy straw (Khraw) was put on to protect

feet when shoes etc were not available or

farmers were not having the purchasing power

to get even the rubber shoes from the market.

Photograph of Pulhod

Pulhod: Specially designed footwear made of paddy straw and was most often used

particularly in winter to prevent sliding on the icy tracks.

Sri: wooden rod, hole at the bottom and ropes of straw were fixed inside the holes for

lifting and manual carriage of harvested paddy from place of harvesting to place of threshing.

Customs and traditions associated with rice cultivation

Common proverb in Kashmir associated with rice cultivation is that “Yus kari Gongul su kare

Krau” meaning one who sows timely will harvest definitely.

Gungul: Celebration of new cropping season of rice with walnut distribution among the

neighbouring farmers

Ba-il tahr: Fried rice offered to children and hungry and needy at the time of sowing of paddy

seed.

Ba-il tamul: Unused extra soaked seed put for drying followed by hulling and milling using local

methods and eaten as such or blended with sugar

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Sont cum: FYM and silt deposit taken out from drains was added to paddy field at the time of

land preparation and was transported manually in a specially designed carrier made of straw

rope fitted on backside locally named as Ett.

Thajkad: A special lunch was prepared and offered to the neighbouring women who were

assisting in transplanting operation.

Hel put: Reared chick was slaughtered at the time of first appearance of panicle.

Craw: At the time of storage of new paddy crop, lunch or dinner was prepared and all the

neighbours were invited and walnuts were distributed.

Thag baeth: Folk songs are being sung by womenfolk while transplanting.

Nende baeth: Folk songs sung by men at the time of weeding operation.

Rice and commerce (exports and revenue generation)

Rice produced in Kashmir valley is not exported because total paddy produced in Kashmir is just

50% of the actual requirement and hence there is no question of export. The usually grown rice

varieties are short to medium bold coarse grained types having high social acceptability and

ecological adaptability under temperate conditions, further limit their export potential because

of the non- preferences of such rice in other states of India.

Rice production constraints

The rice production constraints in Kashmir are essentially those encountered elsewhere in

temperate region of the world. Apart from low temperature, water shortages as a result of

aberrant weather condition, susceptibility to biotic stresses particularly blast and other socio-

economic, technical, management, institutional, technology transfer and adoption/linkage

problems limit the rice production.

Low temperature

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The low temperature is the greatest concern of rice growers in the region. Rice crop is exposed

to cold injury from early seedling stage to the ripening stage however; the problem is more

severe in higher belts of the valley. The reproductive stage stress is more severer which result in

delayed heading, poor panicle exertion, prolonged flowering period due to irregular heading,

spikelet degeneration, impaired seed fertility and abnormal grain formation. Although, cold

tolerant varieties possessing tolerance to low temperature have been bred and recommended,

rice crop still suffers from high grain sterility due to variable climate. To breed a variety for

Kashmir ecology cold tolerance has remained the top priority for a breeder, besides other

morpho-agronomic traits. Hence to meet the household food requirement it makes imperative

to develop varieties having high yield potential with tolerance to low temperature at different

growth stages.

Rice Blast

Among biotic stresses, diseases and weeds are of greater economic significance, whereas, insect

pests have a negligible influence on rice production in Kashmir. Blast (Magnaporthe grisea),

brown spot (Helminthosporium oryzae), Sheath blight (Rhizoctonia solani) are important rice

diseases in the valley. However, blast is the most devastating and of wide spread occurrence

when favourable conditions prevail for the pathogen and if left unchecked, could inflict heavy

yield losses. Continuous cultivation of just one variety (monoculture) with high seed rate,

nitrogen application coupled with high RH (90%) and moderate temperature (22-260C) promote

disease development. Nevertheless, because of the high variability of the pathogen genetic

resistance generally breaks down shortly after new varieties are released. This envisages the

germplasm enhancement through a systematic and well planned resistance breeding

programme to deal with the problem. Identification of resistant/tolerant donors against blast

and their utilization in varietal improvement continues to be the integral part of rice breeding

programme.

Management practices aiming at controlling collateral hosts (Echinocholea crusgalli, Cyprus spp.)

and a combination of low population density and low nitrogen fertilization are advocated to

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check the disease. Seed treatment and fungicide spray schedule are not without economic,

health and environmental implications. Therefore, use of resistant varieties offers an easy,

economic and ecofriendly approach for managing the blast. Among the varieties released so for,

recently released Shalimar Rice series exhibit resilience to blast under natural field conditions.

Institutional constraints

Although two agricultural universities have been established in the state but R & D of

agriculture sector face the acute shortage of funds from both Central and State

governments.

Lack of collaboration between research professionals and extension agencies.

Land, human resource and other infrastructural constraints is being faced by the

university; consequently quality seed production is too inadequate to meet the total

seed demand.

Due to variation in land topography and elevation features, the technology developed at

one place cannot work far and wide in the state.

Socio-economic constraints

Rice in Kashmir is cultivated not in terms of economic security but is being considered as food

grain security. Farmers are generally poor and possess marginal land holdings and less

proportion of them are able to produces surplus rice and put the same for sale to meet other

family needs. Although, rice being a highly labour intensive crop and soaring labour wages has

increased the cost of cultivation, however good demand of paddy straw with high price has

somewhat improved B: C ratio.

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Economics of rice production in Kashmir

Benefit:cost ratio has been worked out for recently developed HYVs as well as for high valued

aromatic landraces. The high B: C ratio for cultivating aromatic rice in niche areas has a key role

to play to improve livelihood of the farmers.

S.No. Expenditure/income for cultivating rice crop/ha HYV

(Rs.)

Aromatic

landraces(Rs.)

1 Cost of cultivation/ha including all the expenditures

from nursery preparation to storage of grains

74000.00 76000.00

2 Returns/ha in the form of grains(Rs. 1300/q) 97500.00 200000.00

3 Returns/ha in the form of straw(Rs. 20/bundle) 60000.00 40000.00

B:C ratio 2.12 3.15

Modern agricultural implements used in rice production

Although land preparation and even puddling is being done by employing tractors, however due

to small and uneven land holdings, paddy transplanters have not picked up in the valley so far.

Further paddy straw being the important commercial commodity, leaves no scope for paddy

combines/ harvesters.

Future thrust in rice production technologies

System of rice intensification(SRI)

Balanced fertilization through INM

Climate resilient management practices in rice and rice based cropping system

Yield maximization of rice through site specific nutrient management (SSNM).

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Conclusion and way forward

Low temperature is an important rice production constraint in hill and boro rice growing

areas, so there is an urgent need to establish a national centre for germplasm screening

against cold. High Altitude Rice Research Sub-Station, SKUAST-K Larnoo, Anantnag,

Kashmir situated at an altitude of 2290 m amsl would be an ideal location to be selected

for the establishment of this national centre for screening against cold at different

growth stages.

Following globalization and economic liberalization, the export potential of japonica rice

should be harnessed. Therefore there is a dire need of sound and efficient japonica rice

improvement programme to be undertaken by the university to develop rice varieties,

meeting stringent international cooking and eating characteristic standards.

There is an urgent need to broaden the rice germplasm base by arranging rice genetic

resources from temperate rice growing regions of the world like China, Japan, North

Korea, USA, Russia etc. IIRR is going to play a crucial role in this regard.

Hill rice germplasm resources of the country need to be evaluated through multi location

testing. The proper characterization and documentation would help utilize these

germplasm more efficiently and effectively.

Japonica X indica hybridization using wide compatibility varieties(WCVs) has been viewed

an as an effective strategy to develop indicalinous and japonicalinous rice genotypes

suited to different agro-ecologies of temperate regions. The technology will be pursued

with vigour and zeal at regional and national levels.

Hybrid rice is one of the potent technologies to circumvent the widely reported yield

plateau effects. A separate project on temperate hybrid rice needs to be initiated and

funded at national

RICE IN JAMMU AND KASHMIR · under mountain terrains. The irrigated area is over 0.32 m ha. The...

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