Abstract
More than 75% of all rice is produced on irrigated land. Although the green revolution was driven by both an expansion of irrigated rice area and increased yield per unit land area, the next quantum leap must come exclusively from increasing yields on existing crop land. We review the structural changes that have accompanied the intensification process, and examine the major biophysical and economic challenges that confront Asian farmers who must further intensify irrigated rice systems to achieve a yield increase of more than 60% by the year 2025.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Bray, F.: Agriculture for developing nations. Scientific American 271, 18–25 (1994)
Byerlee, D.: Technical change, productivity, and sustainability in irrigated wheat systems of Asia: Emerging issues. Proceedings of the American Agricultural Economists Association, pp. 4–8. Vancouver, Canada 1990.
Cassman, K. G.; Kropff, M. J.; Gaunt, J.; Peng, S.: Nitrogen use efficiency of irrigated rice: what are the key constraints? Plant and Soil 155/156, 359–362 (1993)
Cassman, K. G.; Pingali, P. L.: Extrapolating trends from long- term experiments to farmers fields: the case of irrigated rice systems in Asia. In: Barnett, V.; Payne, R.; Steiner, R.: (eds.), Agricultural Sustainability in Economic, Environmental, and Statistical Terms. John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., London 1995.
Cassman, K. G.; De Datta, S. K.; Olk, D. C.; Alcantara, J. M.; Samson, M. I.; Descalsota, J. P.; Dizon, M.A.: Yield decline and the nitrogen economy of long-term experiments on continuous, irrigated rice systems in the tropics. In: Lal, R.; Stewart, B. A. (eds.), Sustainable Management of Soils. Lewiston Publishers, CRC Press Inc., Michigan 1995.
Cassman, K. G.; Kropff, M. J.; Yan Zhende: A conceptual framework for nitrogen management of irrigated rice in high-yield environments. In: Virmani, S. S. (ed.), Selected Papers from the International Rice Research Conference, 81–96. International Rice Research Institute, Los Baños, Philippines 1994.
Craswell, E.T.; Karjalainen, U.: Recent research on fertilizer problems in Asian agriculture. Fertilizer Res. 26:243–248 (1990)
Dalrymple, D. G.: Development and Spread of High-Yielding Rice Varieties in Developing Countries. Metrotec, Inc., Washington DC 1986.
Heong, K. L.; Teng, P. S.; Moody, K.: Managing Rice Pests with Less Chemicals. GeoJournal 35.3, 337–349 (1995)
Hossain, M.; Fischer, K. S.: Rice Research for Food Security and Sustainable Agricultural Development in Asia: Achievements and Future Challenges. GeoJournal 35.3, 286–298 (1995)
Herdt, R. W.; Capule, C.: Adoption, spread, and production impact of modern rice varieties in Asia. International Rice Research Institute, Los Baños, Philippines 1983.
IRRI — International Rice Research Institute. World rice statistics 1990. IRRI, Los Baños, Philippines 1991.
IRRI — International Rice Research Institute. Rice Almanac, 1993–1995. IRRI, Los Baños, Philippines 1993.
IRRI — International Rice Research Institute. Program Report for 1993. IRRI, Los Baños, Philippines 1994.
Khush, G. S.: Varietal needs for different environments and breeding strategies. In: Muralindrahan, K.; Siddiq, E. A. (eds.), New Frontiers In Rice Research, 68–75. Directorate of Rice Research, Hyderabad, India 1990.
Khush, G. S.: Modern Varieties — Their Real Contribution to Food Supplies and Equity. GeoJournal 35.3, 275–285 (1995)
Khush, G. S.: Breaking the Yield Frontier of Rice. GeoJournal 35.3, 329–332 (1995)
Lynam, J. K.; Herdt, R. W.: Sense and sustainability: sustainability as an objective in international agricultural research. Agric. Econ. 3:381–398 (1989)
Nambiar, K. K. M: Long-term experiments on major cropping systems in India. In: Barnett, V.; Payne, R.; Steiner, R. (eds.), Agricultural Sustainability in Economic, Environmental, and Statistical Terms. John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., London, 1995.
Neue, H.-U.; Ziska, L.; Matthews, R. B.; Dai, Q.: Reducing Global Warming — The Role of Rice. GeoJournal 35.3, 351–362 (1995)
Plucknett, D. L.; Smith, N. J. H.; Williams, J. T.; Anishetty, N. M.: A case study in rice germplasm: IR36. In: Gene Banks and the World's Food, 171–185. Princeton University, New Jersey 1987.
Rosegrant, M.W.; Pingali, P. L.: Sustaining rice productivity growth in Asia: a policy perspective. Journal of International Development 1994. (in press)
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Cassman, K.G., Pingali, P.L. Intensification of irrigated rice systems: Learning from the past to meet future challenges. GeoJournal 35, 299–305 (1995). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00989137
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00989137