Related topics: genes
Rice
hideRice is the seed of the monocot plant Oryza sativa, of the grass family (Poaceae). As a cereal grain, it is the most important staple food for a large part of the world's human population, especially in tropical Latin America, the West Indies, East, South and Southeast Asia. It is the grain with the second highest worldwide production, after maize ("corn").. Since a large portion of maize crops are grown for purposes other than human consumption, rice is probably the most important grain with regards to human nutrition and caloric intake, providing more than one fifth of the calories consumed worldwide by the human species. A traditional food plant in Africa, rice has the potential to improve nutrition, boost food security, foster rural development and support sustainable landcare. In early 2008, some governments and retailers began rationing supplies of the grain due to fears of a global rice shortage.
The name wild rice is usually used for species of the grass genus Zizania, both wild and domesticated, although the term may also be used for primitive or uncultivated varieties of Oryza.
Rice is normally grown as an annual plant, although in tropical areas it can survive as a perennial and can produce a ratoon crop for up to 20 years. The rice plant can grow to 1–1.8 m tall, occasionally more depending on the variety and soil fertility. The grass has long, slender leaves 50–100 cm long and 2–2.5 cm broad. The small wind-pollinated flowers are produced in a branched arching to pendulous inflorescence 30–50 cm long. The edible seed is a grain (caryopsis) 5–12 mm long and 2–3 mm thick.
Rice cultivation is well-suited to countries and regions with low labor costs and high rainfall, as it is very labor-intensive to cultivate and requires plenty of water for cultivation. Rice can be grown practically anywhere, even on a steep hill or mountain. Although its parent species are native to South Asia and certain parts of Africa, centuries of trade and exportation have made it commonplace in many cultures worldwide.
The traditional method for cultivating rice is flooding the fields while, or after, setting the young seedlings. This simple method requires sound planning and servicing of the water damming and channeling, but reduces the growth of less robust weed and pest plants that have no submerged growth state, and deters vermin. While with rice growing and cultivation the flooding is not mandatory, all other methods of irrigation require higher effort in weed and pest control during growth periods and a different approach for fertilizing the soil.
For more information about Rice, read the full article at
Wikipedia.
This text uses material from Wikipedia and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.
News tagged with rice
Scientists Create Light-Bending Nanoparticles
Nanotechnology / Nanomaterials
Mar 03, 2009 |
4.5 / 5 (20) |
2
(PhysOrg.com) -- Metallic nanoparticles and other structures can manipulate light in ways that are not possible with conventional optical materials. In a recent example of this, Rice University researchers ...
Scientists pinpoint origin of dissolved arsenic in Bangladesh drinking water
Nov 15, 2009 |
4.8 / 5 (21) |
1
Researchers in MIT's Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering believe they have pinpointed a pathway by which arsenic may be contaminating the drinking water in Bangladesh, a phenomenon that has puzzled ...
New discovery could help feed millions (w/Video)
May 27, 2009 |
3.8 / 5 (16) |
31
When scientist Loretta Mayer set out to alleviate diseases associated with menopause, she didn't realize her work could lead to addressing world hunger and feeding hundreds of millions of people.
Nanocups brim with potential: Light-bending metamaterial could lead to superlenses, invisibility cloaks
Mar 13, 2009 |
4.8 / 5 (13) |
2
Researchers at Rice University have created a metamaterial that could light the way toward high-powered optics, ultra-efficient solar cells and even cloaking devices.
Mountain on Mars may answer big question
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
Mar 04, 2009 |
4.2 / 5 (17) |
1
The Martian volcano Olympus Mons is about three times the height of Mount Everest, but it's the small details that Rice University professors Patrick McGovern and Julia Morgan are looking at in thinking about ...
Image pinpoints all 5 million atoms in viral coat
Feb 16, 2009 |
4.9 / 5 (15) |
2
(PhysOrg.com) -- If a picture is worth a thousand words, then Rice University's precise new image of a virus' protective coat is seriously undervalued. More than three years in the making, the image contains ...
Batteries get a (nano)boost
Feb 09, 2009 |
5 / 5 (12) |
1
Need to store electricity more efficiently? Put it behind bars. That's essentially the finding of a team of Rice University researchers who have created hybrid carbon nanotube metal oxide arrays as electrode material that ...
Rice University rolls out new nanocars (Videos)
Feb 02, 2009 |
3 / 5 (2) |
1
This year's model isn't your father's nanocar. It runs cool.
Researchers Create an Epic Genetic Atlas of Rice
Biology /
Jan 05, 2009 |
3.8 / 5 (4) |
0
(PhysOrg.com) -- Yale researchers have published a cellular atlas of genetic activity in rice, documenting with unprecedented detail how and when genes are turned off and on within cells of a living organism.
Taiwan scientists identify flood-tolerant gene in rice
Oct 11, 2009 |
4.7 / 5 (3) |
0
A Taiwanese scientist has said her research team has found the gene that allows rice to grow under water and believes the breakthrough could help develop other flood-resistant crops.
Researchers uncover genetic origins of rice fragrance
Sep 02, 2009 |
5 / 5 (2) |
0
(PhysOrg.com) -- A new Cornell study reports that the gene that gives rice its highly valued fragrance stems from an ancestor of basmati rice and dispels other long-held assumptions about the origins of basmati. ...
Scientists develop high-yield deep water rice
Aug 20, 2009 |
5 / 5 (2) |
3
(AP) -- A team of Japanese scientists has discovered genes that enable rice to survive high water, providing hope for better rice production in lowland areas that are affected by flooding.
Green Ideas: Making Concrete from Rice
Jul 21, 2009 |
3.1 / 5 (13) |
7
(PhysOrg.com) -- Concrete accounts for about 5% of all human-related CO2 emissions. The fact that we use so much cement in building could mean that the issue becomes even more pronounced in the future. Bu ...
Texas-sized tract of single-celled clones
Mar 11, 2009 |
4 / 5 (1) |
0
A Rice University study of microbes from a Houston-area cow pasture has confirmed once again that everything is bigger in Texas, even the single-celled stuff. The tests revealed the first-ever report of a ...
Mutant rats offer clues to medical mystery
Feb 17, 2009 |
4.3 / 5 (3) |
0
A research project at Rice University has brought scientists to the brink of comprehending a long-standing medical mystery that may link cardiovascular disease, osteoporosis and perhaps even Alzheimer's disease.
