Agronomic research on rice (Oryza sativa) in India

Agronomic research on rice in India was started in 1911 but the Coordinated Agronomic Experiments Scheme was instituted with establishment of Model Agronomic Research Centers in the country during the year 1955 in different agro climatic-regions. Results of practical utility emanating from ‘On Station’ research were tested on farmers’ fields through ‘On Farm Adaptive Research’ (OFAR). During the early years, research was focused on development of production technology i.e. agro-techniques, tillage and crop establishment, under direct seeded and transplanted conditions, soil fertility, water and weed management for low yielding, tall, photo-sensitive, low input responsive rice varieties. During the ‘Green Revolution’ era, with the advent of high yielding, short-duration, photo- and thermo-insensitive and fertilizer responsive varieties, the research was oriented towards developmental studies of different rice plant types and their agronomic requirements. Besides for development of production technology for these high yielding varieties extensive multi-location ‘On Station’ and OFAR was undertaken across the country through All India Coordinated Agronomic Research Project (AICARP) and All India Coordinated Rice Improvement Programme (AICRIP) projects. High Priority was given for developing suitable production technologies for rice-based cropping systems like ‘rice–wheat’, ‘rice–rice’, ‘rice-pulses’ and ‘rice-oilseeds’. Effort was also made to make the prominent rice-based cropping systems sustainable on long-term basis through integrated input management approach (INM, IWM, ICM etc). In the ‘Post Green Revolution’ period, agronomic research on rice was more focused on resource conservation technologies viz. direct seeded rice, reduced/zero-tillage, laser land leveling, system of rice intensification (SRI), aerobic rice, crop residue management, site-specific nutrient management (SSNM) and real time N management using leaf colour chart (LCC) and SPAD. Research was also directed towards crop diversification/substitution in classical ‘rice–wheat’ and ‘rice– rice’ systems. Of late focus of agronomic research has been shifted towards development of rice-based farming systems by integrating other farm enterprises (horticulture, fishery, poultry, dairy, mushroom, agro-forestry, apiary etc.) for sustainable livelihood for the small & marginal farmers. Agronomic research on rice currently has become more inclusive involving socio-economic components of farming systems, farming system modeling and risk analysis in farming system using compromise programming.