Rice Farming (Oryza sativa): Complete Growing Guide for High Yields
Rice farming has so many varieties, in this guide, we will be sharing tips on the different types of its varieties. Rice belongs to the generic grass species, Oryza sativa or the African rice (Oryza glyberrima). According to research, there are over 40,000 varieties of cultivated rice.
Well if you’re the kind of person that likes eating rice, then this article is for you because there are lots of varieties of rice that you may not know about and you may not see all these varieties in grocery stores, the common type is the white rice, which is commonly and popularly known by majority Like mentioned earlier, there are lots of varieties and choose from it can be daunting at times.
But, once you know how rice is broken down, selection will become a lot more clear.
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Common Varieties of Rice (Oryza sativa) in Rice farming
(1) Long grain rice
(2) Brown rice
(3) Basmati
(4) White rice
(5) jasmine
(1) Long Grain Rice
This type of rice is most popular because the grains typically stay separate and fluffy after cooking.
However, in this variety of rice, the grains are long and slender, if you’re a chef or serving rice as your main dish, then this species will be a great choice.
Typically, cooking a cup of dry Long grain will result in 3 cups of cooked rice.
(2) White Rice
This is one of the most widely consumed and popular variety, it is common among the Hausa’s known as “tuwo shinkafa”, it has a great compared to the rest, it has a mild flavor when cooked, it’s fluffy and so ever so slightly sticky, it is perfect for all types of dishes or mains.
(3) Basmati Rice
Pronounced as bahs-MAH-tee, this long-grain rice is grown in India and Pakistan.
It is considered aromatic rice because it has a slightly floral fragrance and flavor.
It cooks up dry and fluffy, making it ideal for pilafs, as a side dish, or as a bed for your main course.
If you go to an Indian restaurant, you will almost certainly be served basmati rice.
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(4) Jasmine Rice
This variety from Thailand is also considered aromatic rice because of its slightly nutty flavor and aroma.
Like regular long-grain rice, it cooks up fluffy and slightly sticky.
It’s popular in Chinese, Thai, and other Southeast Asian cuisines.
It’s great for pilafs, side dishes, or eating on its own, just like the other two long-grain varieties.
(5) Brown Rice
This rice has three types, which vary in size: Short brown rice Medium brown rice Long brown rice, e.t.c.
However, the most common and popular type amongst them is the Long brown rice, which you can even get in any store.
You should also know that after cultivating rice it is normally brown, so this brown nature of these rice is achieved by processing the kernels less than they would be to achieve white rice, due to it processed less it retains its brown color.
Therefore, it has more vitamins, minerals, and fiber, it has a firmer and chewier texture and a nuttier flavor than white rice.
You should know that brown rice absorbs more moisture than white rice would, and can take twice as long as it takes to cook white rice.
If you have the time, brown rice is great, nutrient-rich rice for use in pilafs or as a stand-alone side dish.
Consider the flavors of your main dish when using it as a bed for it. Do they require something lighter to balance them out?
Will a nutty, deeper-flavored rice change or overpower them?
If the answer is no, then use brown rice instead.
So, which one should you go with?
We like to keep things as simple as possible, so we always have one white and one brown rice in our pantry.
We eat brown rice about 80% of the time because we enjoy the flavor, texture, and nutritional benefits.
When we want white rice, we usually go for jasmine because we like the slight stickiness and mildly nutty flavor.
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How To Plant and Grow Rice (Oryza sativa)
Below are guides/tips on how to grow rice on your farm, what needs to be in place, or the criteria for growing rice.
(1) Seed Selection
Selecting the appropriate seed is very crucial because good seeds can improve quality by 5-20%, using good seeds will lead to higher crop emergence and reduced replanting, after considering this, then you can proceed in getting a plot of land.
(2) Land Preparation
However, before rice can be planted the soil should be in the best physical condition for crop growth.
Land preparation involves a series of steps like harrowing to “till” or “dig-up”.
They should be leveled to the reduced required effort required to manage the crop, increasing both grain quality and yield.
(3) Planting
After preparing your land for planting, the next step is to plant. However, there are two main practices here; Transplanting and Direct Seeding.
(i) Transplanting: Seedlings may be transplanted by either machine or hand, in this case, the pre-germinated seedlings are transferred to a wet farm field.
(ii) Direct Planting: In this case, the dry seedlings are planted by spreading them on the farm by hand or using a machine.
(4) Water Use Management
It is known that water is crucial in the growing of rice, therefore it is advised that you keep your farmland flooded because rice is extremely sensitive to water shortages, which may affect the growth.
(5) Nutrient Management
At every stage of the growing process, nutrient management, but in some cases, you might not need to apply any nitrogen fertilizer due to the waterlogged condition of the farm.
But it is advised you apply fertilizer to increase the yield of the crop.
(6) Maintenance and Harvest
Rice has varieties of enemies. ranging from rodents, viruses, disease, and harmful insects.
This issue can be handled even before planting takes place that’s why it’s advised you get land that will not accommodate rodents, etc.
And also if you utilize water management very well, then it will help in mitigating such issues.
Harvesting can be done in two different ways, Manual harvesting and mechanical harvesting.
Rice reaches maturity at around 105 to 150days after crop establishment.
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The Common Types of Rice (Oryza sativa)
(1) Medium Grain Rice
Most people these days need a kind of variety that will serve them very well in the case of occasions, where rice serves as the major dish then it is advised to go with the medium-grain rice, due to its excellent nature of plumping up nicely Medium grain rice has is shorter and plumper grains.
(2) Short Grain Rice
This rice sticks together when cooked, short-grain kernels are so short, they’re nearly round.
(3) Sushi Rice
Sushi rice is not a type of rice, but, rather, a way of preparing short-grain rice by mixing it with a little vinegar and sugar for the characteristic sushi flavor.
However, you will commonly see rice sold as sushi rice.
This just means you are getting short-grained rice that is good for using in sushi rice preparations.
(4) Wild Rice
This rice is Native American in origin. It is much higher in protein and nutrients than the other rice varieties and has a smoky, nutty flavor with a chewy texture.
Wild Rice is not rice at all, but a grain, the seed of water grass.
It takes much longer to cook, even compared to brown rice.
NOTE: If making a blended rice dish, we recommend cooking the wild rice separately from your white rice and mixing them at the end. This way, you won’t overcook your white rice while still getting the perfect texture from the wild rice.
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That’s all there is to it, your guide to rice.
Now armed with your knowledge, you shouldn’t end up in any sticky rice situations.
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