General Information
· Main climates: Tropical Wet, Tropical Wet at 600 m above sea, Tropical Wet and Dry
· Total land area: 13 000 000 ha
· Internal renewable water resources: 175 km3
· Incoming water flow: km3
· GNP per capita PPP$, 1998: 1 896
· Main food consumed: Maize, Sugar & honey, Rice, Oil & fat, Wheat
· Rice supply, 1999: 46.8 kg paddy/capita/year
Basic Statistics
|
|
1985 |
1990 |
1995 |
2000 |
|
RICE |
|
|
|
|
|
Harvested area (T ha) |
40.81 |
45.92 |
62.68 |
80.18 |
|
Yield (kg/ha) |
3528 |
2632 |
3708 |
3558 |
|
Production (T t) |
143.9 |
120.8 |
232.4 |
285.3 |
|
Imports (T t) |
33.0 |
38.7 |
52.8 |
NA |
|
Exports (T t) |
0 |
0 |
1.32 |
NA |
|
OTHERS |
|
|
|
|
|
Population (T) |
3404 |
3827 |
4426 |
NA |
|
Agr population (T) |
1228 |
1194 |
1162 |
NA |
|
Irrigated agr area (T ha) |
83 |
85 |
88 |
NA |
|
Fertilizer cons (T t) |
62.9 |
40.0 |
31.0 |
NA |
|
Agr tractors in use (units) |
2430 |
2600 |
2700 |
NA |
Producing Zones and Cropping Seasons
Rice is cultivated in 9 provinces. The following table shows the harvested area in different producing zones.
|
Production zone |
Harvested area (% total harvested area) |
|
Central |
25.06 |
|
Sun |
22.14 |
|
Occidental |
20.68 |
|
Norte |
9.70 |
|
Rio San Juan |
8.97 |
|
Autonoma Atlantico Sur |
5.25 |
|
Las Segovias |
4.30 |
|
Autonoma Atlantico Norte |
3.65 |
|
Managua |
0.26 |
Most rice is planted during the rainy season. In irrigated area a second crop may be planted.
|
Cropping season |
Planting |
Harvesting |
|
Main season |
4-5 |
9-10 |
|
Second season |
11-12 |
3-4 |
Production Practices
The following figure shows the harvested area from different ecologies during the last 5 years.
In irrigated areas rice-rice system is popular and land preparation is mechanised and direct seeding is popular method of crop establishment. In upland areas, rice is planted either as mono crop or in mixture with other food crops such as maize, cassava and cowpea following traditional systems in which direct seeding is used for crop establishment. A number of improved rice varieties have been released for cultivation.
· Irrigated varieties
|
Variety Name |
Released period |
Growth duration (days) |
|
Altamira 10 |
1991 |
|
|
Altamira 11 |
1995 |
|
|
Altamira 12 |
1995 |
|
|
Altamira 7 |
1986 |
140 |
|
Altamira 9 |
1991 |
145 |
|
Anar 97 |
1997 |
|
|
Jalapa 1 |
1991 |
|
· Upland varieties
|
Variety Name |
Released period |
Growth duration (days) |
|
CICA 7 |
NA |
NA |
|
CICA 8 |
NA |
130-135 |
|
CR 1113 |
NA |
NA |
|
IR 100 |
before 1975 |
NA |
|
IR 22 |
NA |
NA |
|
J-104 |
NA |
NA |
|
BLUEBONNET |
NA |
NA |
Information on fertilizer application and other crop management practices is still limited.
|
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 (kg N) |
|||||
|
Reported in 65, Sisin flat, upland |
0-80 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
Reported in 65, Sisin flat, with 40 P kg/ha; upland |
0-80 |
0 |
1.68 |
80 |
1.89 |
|
Reported in 65, Sisin flat, with 80 P kg/ha; upland |
0-80 |
0 |
2.09 |
40 |
2.96 |
|
Phosporus (Kg P2O5) |
|||||
|
Reported in 65, Sisin flat; upland |
0-80 |
0 |
0 |
80 |
2.09 |
|
Potassium (Kg K2O) |
|||||
|
Reported in 65, Sisin flat; upland |
0-80 |
0 |
1.35 |
0 |
1.35 |
Constraints and Issues of Sustainable Production
There are several constraints to sustainable rice production in Nicaragua. Following are the majors:
Drought stresses due to unreliable rainfall in upland area.
Blast and weed competition.
Lack of input supply.
Weak research and extension, especially in on-farm water management.
Most of recent increase in rice production comes from the expansion of cultivated area. Sustainable rice production will depend on the improvement of productivity.
Research and Development Institutes
· Anasemilla 1 C. Arriba 1 1/2 al Sur Managua
· Centro Experimental Agropecuaria Apartado 592 Managua
· Direccion de Arroz Km 12 C. Norte Managua
