Rice is the staple food of the Asian region. It is consumed daily with a variety of curries and soups. Some of the popular rice dishes are Biryani, fried rice, pilaf, nasi goreng, risotto, tahdig, and paella. Now, let us have a glimpse of the top 7 rice-producing states of India.
- West Bengal
West Bengal ranks first in rice production. This state produces between 15-16 MLT paddy every year, which is about 14% of India’s total rice production. Around 30% area of West Bengal is devoted to paddy cultivation. The majority of rice is grown in Parganas, Birbhum, Bardhaman, and Midnapur districts.
- Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh is the second-largest rice producer state of India. It falls under the northern part of India and produces around 14 MLT of rice every year. Rice is cultivated in 59 hectares of the area in UP. You will find Jaya, Panth-4, Mahsuri, Pusa Basmati Rice, and Kasturi Basmati rice in the land of Uttar Pradesh.
- Punjab
Punjab comes in second place with the production of 12 MLT rice each year. It is famous for the cultivation of Basmati rice. According to the remnants of history, Basmati rice belongs to the Punjab region. Basmati rice cultivation has started with Heer Ranjha; It is the oldest variety of basmati rice. Ranbir Basmati, Pusa Basmati, Mahi Sugandha, Ranbir Basmati, Basmati 370 are the most popular types of rice grown in the region of Punjab.
- Tamil Naidu
It is the most popular and largest paddy cultivating state of southern India. This state’s 2.2 million hectares area comes under rice cultivation. Aduthurai, Akshayadhan, Ambasamudram, Amsipiti Dhan, and Aravan Kuruva are some of the varieties grown in Tamil Nadu. As per the studies, it yields about 39000 kg of rice per hectare. The major rice-producing districts of Tamil Nadu are Villupuram, Nagapattinam, Thiruvarur, Thanjavur, and Thiruvannamalai.
- Andhra Pradesh
Ranking on 5th position Andhra with the total production of 128.95 lakh tonnes of rice. It contributes around 7% of the total rice production of the country. In AP, 22 districts practice paddy cultivation. West Godavari, East Godavari, and Krishana are the largest rice-producing Districts of Andhra as well as of India. Samael, Samba Madhuri, Saravani, Sasashri are widely found in the state of Andhra Pradesh.
- Bihar
Bihar ranks in 7th position in the list of top rice-producing states. It produces 73 MLT every year on 33 hectares of land. Bihar is adopting new technology to improve the quality and increase the production of rice. In winters, this state cultivates Gautam, Dhanlaxmi, Richharia, Saroj rice, whereas, during summers, Gautam Pusa-33, Pusa-2-21, C.R. 44-35 (Saket-4), Prabhat (only 90 days crop), Turanta rice are grown in Bihar.
- Chattisgarh
The state of Chhattisgarh produces 61 MLT rice and ranks in the seventh position. It is known as the rice bowl of India as 2000 varieties of rice are cultivated here. Chudi Dhan, Turia Kabri, Lal Dhan, Lal Chudi Dhan, Odisha are majorly grown in Chhattisgarh.
Read More: 6 Most Popular Recipes Of Basmati Rice
The Bottom Line:
Rice is among the most widely-eaten grains in the world, and its taste is loved by almost everyone.