Aerobic Rice and its significant perspective for sustainable crop production

Abstract

Aerobic rice (Oryza sativa L.) flourishes well under dry situations and caters a favourable option to solve the emerging water crisis in agricultural production. Water scarcity is touted as a grave concern in various rice-growing areas of the world, leading to introduction of water-saving aerobic rice, which is direct-seeded in non-puddled, non-flooded aerobic soil. This escalating dearth of water resources has drifted to the development and adoption of an aerobic rice system, which saves water input and improves water productivity by decreasing water use during the land preparation and minimizing seepage, percolation and evaporation losses. Inadequate water accessibility is a main restraint for the husbandry of rice in the conventional flooded systems, mainly in the semiarid regions of the world. Aerobic rice-cultivation caters a feasible alternative to traditional rice production system, permitting sub- stantial water reserves, as rice systems is facing the challenge of giving higher yields with less water. This balance between water savings and grain yield ensues since the removal of irrigation causes water stress-induced alter- ations in the physical and biological root traits of the crop. Improved water productivity and decreased labour ne- cessity are witnessed in the aerobic rice-production system, as the aerobic rice can cut up to 50% of irrigation wa- ter in contrast to lowland rice. Aerobic rice is acclaimed as a sustainable rice-production system for the future to manage water scarcity in the faade of anomalous and unpredictable rainfall.