Rice is a semi-aquatic grass that thrives in tropical and subtropical wetland areas.
Originating in China and Asia, researchers believe that Rice cultivation has been practiced in these countries for at least 9,000 years, or more. Today, many countries grow Rice for their domestic and export markets, and indications are that, half of the world’s population depend on Rice for the basis of their diet.
Rice Grain is A Natural Energy Source that is high in carbohydrates, contains a certain amount of protein and vitamin B6 with zero fat or cholesterol levels. Rice does contain a small amount of sugar and a minute quantity of salt, but it has no additives or preservatives.
These qualities, make Rice an ideal choice for weight watchers who want to shed a few pounds or at least control their weight. The versatility of Rice is evident as it can be prepared as an entree, a main dish or a desert.
Ideally, Rice is grown in fields where the water level can be controlled. Because of it’s tolerance to water, Rice is grown in fields or paddies filled with water to a depth of about 18 inches (45cm), where the plants will thrive, unhindered by weeds.
These water filled Rice fields, also provide a habitat for frogs and fish, as well as a sanctuary for many species of birds, which effectively protect the young Rice plants from any insect pests, thus negating the use of chemical pesticides.
Rice, is the world’s most consumed cereal grain and the third largest crop in the world.
Australia has become a major player in the world production of Rice, by producing a quantity of high grade Rice that, not only sustains the home market, but also fills export orders to seventy two countries from around the world, with enough rice to provide forty million people with their daily Rice requisites.
Chinese gold prospectors, working in the Queensland gold fields, were the ones that first brought Rice seeds to Australia in the year 1850. Later, the Victorian government allocated a 200 acre tract of land, along the banks of the Murray river, for the establishment of a commercial Rice crop.
The first saleable crop from this venture was realised in 1914. The commercial attributes of growing Rice spread to the Murrumbidgee irrigation area where the first commercial crop was raised in 1924.
The Rice fields in the Murrumbidgee and Murray river basins have expanded and, using modern techniques that employ aerial seeding, mechanical harvesting and a reduction in the usage of water, Australia has become a world leader in the marketing of a various types of high quality Rice Grain.
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