Rice

Rice

Rice is a grain.

It needs a lot of water as it grows.

In many places, rice is the main food.

Fields where rice grows are called paddy fields.

Rice is good for you.

A staple crop
Rice is the main crop grown in Indonesia China, Thailand as well as in other Asian countries. In many places in the world, rice is the staple, or main, food. It is a plant that requires plenty of water and heat. It is well suited to the tropical climate of Indonesia. On Java, the rains are so plentiful that it is possible to grow three or more rice crops a year.

Ploughing and planting
Rice fields are called paddy fields. They have low walls around them because they have to be flooded with water. In hilly areas, the paddy fields are terraced down the hill- sides. In spring the soil is ploughed in order to stir up the soil ready for planting the seedlings.

In Indonesia, banteng, or native oxen, pull the wooden ploughs. In some other Asian countries, water buffalo pull the ploughs.

After ploughing, the paddies are flooded and the seedlings are planted by hand.

Rice grains

Harvesting
Several weeks later, flowers appear on the plants and then the plants produce grains in husks (a coating over each grain). In late summer, watering is stopped and the rice is harvested. Workers each use a sharp knife and cut off the stalks at ground level.

Threshing and winnowing
The rice is threshed to separate the grains from the stalks (left).

To separate the rice grains from the husks, the rice is winnowed. To winnow, workers toss rice grains on woven trays. The heavy grains fall back into the tray and the husks blow away. The rice can then be stored.

Did you know?

Is rice nutritious?
Yes, rice is a good source of thiamin, iron, phosphorus, potassium and folic acid.

China grows the most rice in the world, followed by India, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Vietnam and Thailand. Thailand is the biggest exporter of rice.

The first commercial rice crop in Australia was grown in the Murrumbidgee area of New South Wales in 1924.

Find out more about growing rice in Asia http://www.macgregoss.eq.edu.au/qldwebchall/ricejgn/tradb.htm

Stages of growing rice in Bali
http://www.brucebriscoe.com/bali/rice.htm

Growing rice in Australia
http://www.rga.org.au/rice/howgrown.asp

What is inside a rice grain
http://www.sunrice.com.au/rice/ricegrain.asp

Acknowledge this source in your bibliography like this:
Rice Growing in Indonesia (2001). [Online], Available: www.kidcyber.com.au

Rice straw drying after threshing and winnowing

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