COMMERCIAL rice crops are usually grown in flooded bays, but rice can also be grown as an irrigated crop, provided the soil is kept above 50 percent field capacity, a system that is being trialled in China, Brazil and by cane farmer Andrew Barfield.
Having seen rice grown in paddies in Asia and discovering it could be produced like any other irrigated grain, in 2006 Mr Barfield was curious to find out whether rice would grow in his deep alluvial soils on the Pioneer River, west of Mackay.
A paddy based rice industry had operated in the Burdekin and Atherton Tableland in the 1980s, but diseases that thrived in the humid wet conditions, along with magpie geese and ducks, caused its demise.
However he wasn’t thinking of it as a commercial crop, as he realised its value was too low, he just enjoyed the challenge. However since then the economics have changed. Standard rice is now bringing $500-$550 tonne and fragrant gourmet rice commands a premium above that, and Mr Barfield’s budget projections show the crop would be very profitable at seven to eight tonnes/hectare.
Most non flooded rice is grown by subsistence farmers in the high rainfall mountainous areas of Asia that are too steep for paddy fields. The varieties are very hardy, low yielding and drought tolerant, which with low inputs average only one tonne/ha. By contrast commercially grown rice in flooded bays in the NSW Riverina yield nine to ten tonnes/hectare.
Mr Barfield discovered the Queensland and NSW Departments of Primary Industries had small quantities of rice in seed banks and he was able to obtain five grams of each of seven varieties. As an indication of how little that was, a teaspoon of sugar weighs five grams.
The grains were planted into pots and trickle irrigated over the summer and the 35 grams of seed produced five kilograms of grain.
In January 2007 it was planted into field plots covering 250 square metres and was harvested in May-June that year. That was when SunRice, the rice growers’ processing and marketing company in the Riverina, heard of Mr Barfield’s experiment and its research arm, Rice Research Australia, offered assistance in the form of 16 new varieties. After selecting the most promising four of the original seven varieties, in late January 2008 he was able to expand the trial and plant 20 varieties in three replications in seven metres by 1.25m raised beds arranged so they could be flood irrigated.
After 1500mm of rain during February the region experienced one of the driest March, April and May periods on record, with less than 20mm of rain being recorded. That meant more frequent irrigation than expected was needed and five megalitres/water/ha was used. But Mr Barfield considers in a normal wet season the crop would only require 3mgl.
The trial resulted in almost half the varieties yielding the equivalent of 7-8 tonnes/ha and with more research into the crops agronomic needs he feels higher yields would be possible.
*Full story in this week’s North Queensland Register, out Thursday.
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