08 May Resource Conservation Technologies For Sustainable Production of Rice
चावल के सतत उत्पादन के लिए संसाधन संरक्षण प्रौद्योगिकियों Rice (Oryza sativa L.) is one of the most important staple food crops in the world. In Asia, more than two billion people are getting 60-70 percent of their energy requirement from rice and its derived products. In India, rice occupies an area of 44 million hectares with an average production of 90 million tonnes at productivity of 2.0 tonnes per hectare. It is estimated that 140 million tones of rice would require by 2025 in India. Therefore to sustain present food self-sufficiency and to meet future food requirement, India has to increase its rice productivity by 3 per cent per annum. The present production trend showed decline in productivity, mostly because of imbalanced use of fertilizers and pesticides, over-exploitation of the natural resources, particularly water, deterioration in physical conditions of the soil and emergence of new bio-types of pests and diseases. These led to yield stagnation, causing concern about the future potential for productivity growth and long-term sustainability. Thus the major challenge before the researcher is to innovate appropriate technologies to produce more food from diminished land resources for the burgeoning population pressure and to improve as well as conserve the natural resources of small and marginal farmers who contribute the greatest in this...