Uruguay

General Information

· Main climates: Subtropical Humid

· Total land area: 17 741 000 ha

· Internal renewable water resources: 59 km³

· Incoming water flow: km³

· GNP per capita, 1998: PPP$ 8 541

· Main food consumed: Wheat, Meat, Sugar & honey, Oil & fat, Milk

· Rice supply, 1999: 18.1 kg paddy/capita/year

Basic Statistics

Producing Zones and Cropping Seasons

Rice is planted mostly in the coastal plains at Treinta-y-Tres and nearby provinces (Eastern Zone), in the valley of Uruguay rivers (Central Zone), and the areas which situate along the border with Brazil and Argentina (Northern Zone). Rice is planted once a year as shown in the following table.

Production Practices

Rice is planted mainly under irrigated ecosystems in multi-year rotation with pasture (4-5 year rotation cylce) or with other crop such as wheat and maize (2-3 years cycle). The farm size is generally large. Land preparation, seeding, fertilizer application and harvest and post harvest operations are done mechanically using heavy machinery. Land preparation is done mostly under dry conditions and direct seeding to dry land is the dominant method of crop establishment. Recently minimum tillage with the use of weedicides, especially glyphosate has gain popularity. The preparation of land under wet conditions has also been tested as means to control Red or wild rice infestation. A number of high yielding rice varieties have been developed and released for cultivation.

Although no information on rice response to fertilizer application at present, it is known that farmers applied high rates of chemical fertilizers to rice. Weedicides and insecticides are use for weed and insect control.

Constraints and Issues of Sustainable Production

There are several constraints to sustainable rice production in Uruguay. Following are the majors:

• High production cost.

• Dependence on external market for marketing of rice products.

• Straight head, especially on sandy soils.

• Low temperature during early and/or reproductive phases.

• Yield potentials of rice varieties have reached a plateau.

The following table shows rice production costs

Both rice-harvested area and yield have increased rapidly during the last five years. Sustainable rice production will depend on market factors and a reduction in rice production costs. The negative effects of rice production on the environment and wildlife need to be minimised. The introduction of Rice Integrated Crop Management systems would increase the efficiency of input application, thus cost reduction and reduction of environmental degradation.

Research and Development Institutes

· Direcion de Asesoria Tecnica, Ministerio de Agricultura y Pesca, Constituyente, Montevideo, Uruguay

· Arrozal 33 Camino Santos 4900 Montevideo

· Asociacion Cultivadores de Arroz Andes 1409, 4 Piso Montevideo

· Instituto Nacional de Investigacion Agropecuaria Estacion Experimental del Este C. de Correo 42 Coronel J. Arenas 1986 33000 Treinta y Tres Phone: (0452) 2305 Fax: (0452) 5701