Agronomic Features of Basmati Rice

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• The Basmati plant rice is very tall and weak and hence prone to lodging.
• Basmati rice is photo-period sensitive and susceptible to most of the insect pests and diseases.
• Breakage percentage of long and extra long grain on milling is very high, giving lower head recovery.
• Generally, productivity of Basmati rice in traditional growing areas is as low as 10 quintals/Hectare.
• At all stages of the crop growth and in almost all parts of the plant, the typical aroma of Basmati is evident. The principal aroma compound responsible for the unique flavour of Basmati rice has been identified as 2-Acetyle-1-Pyrroline.
• Basmati rice varieties are known to produce better aroma when these cultivars are exposed to cool weather conditions during ripening. Hence Basmati rice requires relatively cooler temperatures (25°C in day and 21°C at night) during crop maturity for better retention of aroma.
• The Basmati rice exhibits location effect quite considerably. Therefore the best quality of Basmati rice is grown in traditional areas due to an interaction of genotype, soil and environmental factors.
• Timely sowing and transplanting of Basmati rice is an important factor in determining grain yield and quality parameters.
• Early sowing or transplanting produces higher yields while late improves quality.
• Also, early transplanting of traditional varieties prolonged the duration of vegetative phase resulting into a tall and leafy crop and such a crop is more prone to lodging because of excessive vegetative growth and plant height.