Study of Hybrid Rice in India –Current Status, Economics and Future Prospects

Abstract

Rice is staple food of more than 60 % of Indian population. It accounts for about 43 % of total food grain production and 46 % of total cereal production in the country. In order to meet the domestic demand of the increasing population the present day production of 99 million tons (2008) of milled rice has to be increased to 125 million tons by the year 2030. Since the yield of high yielding varieties (HYVs) of rice is plateauing, it is rather difficult to achieve this target with the present day inbred varieties. Therefore, to sustain the self sufficiency in rice, additional production of 1.5 million tons is needed every year. Among the limited options, hybrid technology is the only proven technology currently available for stepping up rice production significantly. The rice hybrids, recently introduced in cultivation, on an average, give 10 to 15 q/ha additional yield over the conventional varieties (about 20 % increase). Therefore, the introduction of hybrids and popularization of their production technology are feasible and readily adoptable to achieve targeted production.