General Information
· Main climates: Subtropical Steppe & Semiarid, Subtropical Desert & Arid, Tropical Desert & Arid, Subtropical Highland (> 1 000 m above sea)
· Total land area: 77 088 000 ha
· Internal renewable water resources: 88.1 km3
· Incoming water flow: 410 km3
· GNP per capita, 1998: PPP$ 1 652
· Main food consumed: Wheat, Meat, Rice, Maize, and Fruits
· Rice supply, 1999: 21.9 kg paddy/capita/year
Basic Statistics
|
1985 |
1990 |
1995 |
2000 |
RICE |
|
|
|
|
Harvested area (T ha) |
1863 |
2112 |
2161 |
2312 |
Yield (kg/ha) |
2349 |
2315 |
2752 |
3027 |
Production (T t) |
4378 |
4891 |
5949 |
7000 |
Imports (T t) |
7 |
25 |
68 |
NA |
Exports (T t) |
718 |
743 |
1852 |
NA |
OTHERS |
|
|
|
|
Population (M) |
101 |
119 |
136 |
NA |
Agr population (M) |
61 |
66 |
72 |
NA |
Irrigated agr area (M ha) |
15.76 |
16.94 |
17.20 |
NA |
Fertilizer cons (T t) |
1511 |
1892 |
2507 |
NA |
Agr tractor in use (T units) |
156 |
265 |
304 |
NA |
Producing Zones and Cropping Seasons
Punjab is the largest rice-producing province and the Kalar tract -the bowl of the world famous Basmati rice is located between the Ravi and Chenab rivers. The following table shows the rice-harvested areas in different producing zones.
Production zone |
Harvested area (% total harvested area) |
Punjab |
59.46 |
Sindh |
32.13 |
N.W.F.P. |
2.86 |
Balochistan |
5.52 |
Rice is planted once a year, between May to November.
|
Planting |
Harvesting |
Main season |
5-7 |
10-11 |
Production Practices
Rice is planted only under irrigated conditions. In Punjab, three methods of land preparation for rice are used, namely: complete puddling, partial puddling, and dry land preparation, depending upon the availability of water, soil type, and farm implements. The Kalar tract is the place of origin of several hundred Basmati landraces, including the famous Basmati 370. Series of improved varieties have been developed and released for cultivation.
· Aromatic varieties
Variety Name |
Released period |
Location planted |
Basmati 198 (in Kalar tract) |
Before 1993 |
> 125 days |
Basmati 370 (in Kalar tract) |
Before 1993 |
> 125 days |
Basmati 385 (in Kalar tract) |
Before 1993 |
< 125 days |
Basmati 6129 (in Kalar tract) |
Before 1993 |
> 125 days |
Basmati Pakistan (in Kalar tract) |
Before 1993 |
< 125 days |
Sind Basmati (in Sind) |
Before 1993 |
> 125 days |
Super Basmati (in all Punjab) |
1995-99 |
< 125 days |
· Non-aromatic varieties
Variety Name |
Released period |
Location planted |
Dil Rosh-97 (in Hilly areas of NWFP |
1995-99 |
> 125 days |
DR 29 |
Before 1993 |
> 125 days |
DR 33 |
Before 1993 |
> 125 days |
DR-92 (in Upper Sind) |
1990-94 |
> 125 days |
IET 4094 |
Before 1993 |
> 125 days |
IR 6 |
Before 1993 |
< 125 days |
IR2053-261-2-3 (or DR 83) |
Before 1993 |
> 125 days |
IR8 |
Before 1993 |
130-140 days |
IR841 |
Before 1993 |
> 125 days |
Jajai-77 |
Before 1993 |
> 125 days |
JP 5 |
Before 1993 |
< 125 days |
Kangni 27 |
Before 1993 |
> 125 days |
Khushboo-95 (in Lower Sindh) |
1995-99 |
> 125 days |
KS 282 |
Before 1993 |
< 125 days |
Pakhal (in Hazara Division of NWFP) |
1995-99 |
< 125 days |
PK1080 |
Before 1993 |
> 125 days |
PK196 |
Before 1993 |
> 125 days |
PK285 |
Before 1993 |
> 125 days |
PK71 |
Before 1993 |
> 125 days |
PK81 |
Before 1993 |
> 125 days |
Shua-92 (in Salt affected areas in Sindh) |
1990-94 |
> 125 days |
Sonahri |
Before 1993 |
> 125 days |
Sonahri Kangni |
Before 1993 |
> 125 days |
Sugdari |
Before 1993 |
> 125 days |
Farmers applied more fertilizer to non-Bamasti rice, due to the susceptibility of Basmati rice to lodging. Following table shows the responses of rice to fertilizer application.
Other information |
Test range (kg/ha) |
Control rate (kg/ha) |
Control yield (t/ha) |
Rate at Maximum yield (kg/ha) |
Maximum yield (t/ha) |
Nitrogen (N) |
|||||
Reported in 83, Dera Ismail Khan District, Northwest, variety IR 6, with 35 P kg/ha |
0-120 |
0 |
3.6 |
120 |
6.2 |
Reported in 87, Muridke, variety IR 36, with 60 P kg/ha |
0-120 |
0 |
3.4 |
120 |
6.8 |
Phosphorus (P2O5) |
|||||
Reported in 85, Dera Ismail Khan, clay soil, with 100 N + 75 K kg/ha |
0-51 |
0 |
5.4 |
34 |
7.4 |
Potassium (K2O) |
|||||
Reported in 84, Tarnab, Northwest Frontier province, with 120 N + 25 P kg/ha |
0-75 |
0 |
5.05 |
75 |
5.97 |
Constraints and Issues of Sustainable Production
The costs of rice production are shown in the following table.
Other information |
Yield (t/ha) |
Cost ($/ha) |
Cost ($/t) |
Sind, Rice Zone, 1988 |
3.33 |
264 |
79 |
Sind, Cotton Zone, 1988 |
1.78 |
185 |
104 |
To most farmers rice is a cash crop (rather than a food crop). Sustainable rice production, therefore, depend more on the prices of rice on the international market, especially for the Basmati type. The development and deployment of high yielding varieties of good grain quality and introduction of technologies that reduce production costs would have positive effect on sustainable rice production.
Research and Development Institutes
· National Agricultural Research Centre, Park Road, P.O. NIH, Postal Code 45500, Islamabad.
· Rice Research Institute, Kala Shah Kaku, Lahore Punjab. Postal Code No. 39020. Phone No.(042)290368. Fax:042-290361
· Rice Research Institute, Dokri, Distt. Larkana, Sindh. Postal code =77080 PhoneNo.07443-409
· Nuclear Institute for Agriculture & Biology (NIAB), Jang Road, PO. Box.128, Faisalabad. Phone No.041-654221-30 Fax: 041 - 619724
· Atomic Energy Agricultural Research Centre, Tandojam, Sindh. Phone:40478
· Agri. Research Station, Mingora, Swat, NWFP Postal Code. 19130 Phone: 0536-812284
· Agri. Research Institute, D.I.Khan. Phone: 0529-711946
· Federal Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Livestock G-9/4 Mauve Area Islamabad Phone: (051) 858657 Fax: (92-51) 857509
· Pakistan Agricultural Research Council, National Agricultural Research Centre P.O. Box 1031
· Rice Research Institute, Dokri, Sind
· National Agricultural Research Centre, P.O. NIH, Park Road, Islamabad, Pakistan.