Rice: One of the World's Most Important Crops

In all ages, rice has been one of the most important food crops in the world. According to FAOSTAT, the annual global rice production exceeded 770 million tons, with a cultivation area surpassing 165 million hectares in 2022, underscoring its significance.

Given its importance, we should enhance our understanding of the rice growth process, implement optimal management at each growth stage, and effectively control pests and diseases to improve the quality and yield of rice production.

Understanding the Rice Growth Process

Each growth stage of rice has different water requirements, so it is essential to adjust water levels according to its growth stages to ensure healthy growth and maintain high yields.

Based on different growth stages, the land cover characteristics of rice fields will exhibit varying properties. Therefore, growth stages can be identified through spectral changes. After harvesting or in the initial planting stage, the plant growth index is low due to either no seedlings being planted or the plants being still small. During the tillering stage, the plants gradually grow, and the growth index will rise accordingly, reaching its peak by the end of this stage. When entering the heading stage, the rice has fully grown and starts to develop panicles, causing the growth index to gradually decrease. Finally, from heading to maturity, the crop growth index decreases further as the rice panicles mature, returning to the lowest value after harvest.

FarmiSpace can identify the rice growth stages

Using FarmiSpace, the rice growth period can be divided into tillering, heading, maturity and post-harvest or early planting stages. Remote sensing can monitor these growth stages, allowing for more efficient cultivation management with lower labor costs.

Rice Blast Disease

Besides water management challenges during growth stages, pests and diseases also pose significant threats to rice cultivation. Rice blast disease, one of the most common rice diseases, is caused by the fungus Magnaporthe grisea. This disease can infect the leaves and panicles of rice, leading to yellowing leaves and empty panicles, severely impacting the yield and quality of rice.

We can monitor leaf color using FarmiSpace. If the leaf color drops abnormally during the growth process, deviating from the expected index for that stage, we can promptly dispatch personnel to inspect the field. This ensures timely preventive measures during the early stages of the disease, reducing the impact of rice blast disease on yield and quality, and maintaining healthy rice growth.

Conclusion

Rice plays an indispensable role in global food security, economic development, and cultural heritage. As climate change intensifies, issues like water management and rice blast disease pose significant threats to rice production. In this context, we can use satellite data to monitor plant growth.

Using FarmiSpace, we can regularly check if rice growth is proceeding normally. Remote satellite monitoring can significantly reduce labor costs. When abnormalities occur, we can promptly address field issues, ensuring that rice growth is not affected by pests and diseases, thereby improving rice cultivation efficiency more effectively.

If you are interested in learning more about how FarmiSpace can benefit your rice production, please contact us at this link. You can also get started immediately by registering here. Join us in revolutionizing rice farming for a sustainable future.