Aticle

Rice for Life

             Rice cultivation has been around in Thai culture for more than 5,500 years. The most important historical evidence is pottery that is a container for rice. In the Sukhothai period, the stone inscriptions were recorded with the words "In the water there are fish, in the fields there is rice". In addition, the most important thing in history was the liberalization of foreign trade in the Ayutthaya period. For this reason, rice has played an important role in Thailand's export trade ever since.

             Rice is the seed of the genus of plants found mainly in Asia. Scientific name: Oryza sativa. Rice is a cereal grain that is consumed by the world's population as a staple food. especially in AsiaAccording to 2010 data, rice is the second most cultivated grain worldwide after corn, rice is the most important grain in human nutrition and calorie intake. Because most of the corn is grown for other purposes. Not for humans to consume. Rice accounts for more than one-fifth of the energy consumed by humans worldwide.

              Source. Genetic evidence shows that rice was cultivated about 8,200–13,500 years ago in the Zhujiang River Valley region of China. Rice is grown in the Yangtze River Valley in China. Rice spread from East Asia to Southeast Asia and South Asia. Rice was brought to Europe through Western Asia. and the Americas through the colonization of Europe.

              Normally, rice cultivation is year-to-year. but in the tropics Rice can live for many years and can grow ratoons for up to 30 years. Rice plants can grow to 1–1.8 m, mainly depending on the variety and soil fertility. Leaves are slender, 50–100 long. 2–2.5 cm wide and 2–2.5 cm long; inflorescences 30–50 cm long. Seeds are edible grains 5–12 mm long and 2––3 mm thick.

           Soil preparation for rice cultivation is suitable for countries and regions with low wages and heavy rainfall. This is because it is labor intensive to prepare the soil and requires sufficient water. However, rice can grow almost anywhere. Even on steep slopes or mountain areas that use a  stepped water control system. Although its parent species are indigenous to Asia and certain parts of Africa. Hundreds of years of trading and exporting have made it commonplace in many cultures around the world, the traditional method for preparing the soil for rice is to flood the plot for a short time or after the young seedlings are established. This simple method requires strong planning and servicing of dams and raceways but it reduced the development of weak seeds and weeds that did not grow during drowning. and deter pests While flooding is not necessary for soil preparation for rice cultivation. All methods of irrigation require higher efforts to control weeds and pests during the growing period and different methods for fertilizing the soil.

Varieties of rice

Oryza sativa is commonly grown in all countries, Oryza sativa is also classified as

         1. Indica is grown in the tropics.
         2. The japonica is grown in temperate regions.
         3. Javanica

Classified by seed

        Can be divided into 2 types, namely non-glutinous rice and glutinous rice, which look almost the same, but differ in the hard texture in the kernels.

        1. Rice seeds Contains about 15-30 percent of amylose.
        2. Glutinous rice seeds Contains amylopectin starch. (Amylopectin) is mainly and contains        about 5-7 percent of starch amylose.

Divided by planting

    If divided according to the planting ecosystem, it can be divided into 7 types:

        1. Orchard rice: Rice grown in paddy fields that have water retention or can store water at a water depth of not more than 50 centimeters. Orchard rice is cultivated in every region of Thailand. and irrigated rice fields

        2. Rice paddy fields : Rice planted in the spring season and rely on natural rainwater Can't control the water level depending on distribution of rain Thailand has about 70% of the total rice cultivation area in Thailand.

        3. Irrigated rice fields : Rice can be grown all year round in fields where the water level can be controlled. by relying on water from irrigation Thailand has 24% of the total rice cultivation area in irrigated rice fields. and most of the area is in the central region

        4. Water-repellent rice : Rice is grown in fields that are flooded with water during rice growth. The water depth is from 1-5 meters for not less than 1 month. It has internode elongation ability, upper nodal tillering and rooting ability, and kneeing ability.

        5. Nam Leuk Rice : rice grown in deep water areas The water level in the field is more than 50 centimeters but not more than 100 centimeters.

        6. Rice fields : Rice grown in upland or in field conditions The hillside or the area where there is no water. There is no farm to store water.

        7. High-altitude rice: Rice is grown in paddy fields that are waterlogged at an altitude of 700 meters above sea level. High rice varieties must have the ability to withstand cold weather well.

                Source: https://dna.kps.ku.ac.th/index.php/rsc-news/new-rsc-rgd/news/205-rice-for-life