Rice is a cereal grain, and in its domesticated form is the staple food for over half of the world's human population, particularly in Asia and Africa, due to the vast amount of soil that is able to grow rice. Rice is the seed of the grass species Oryza sativa or, much less commonly, O. glaberrima. Asian rice was domesticated in China some 13,500 to 8,200 years ago, while African rice was domesticated in Africa some 3,000 years ago. Rice has become commonplace in many cultures worldwide; in 2021, 787 million tons were produced, placing it fourth after sugarcane, maize, and wheat. Only some 8% of rice is traded internationally. China, India, and Indonesia are the largest consumers of rice. A substantial amount of the rice produced in developing nations is lost after harvest through factors such as poor transport and storage. Rice yields can be reduced by pests including insects, rodents, and birds, as well as by weeds, and by diseases such as rice blast. Traditional polycultures such as rice-duck farming, and modern integrated pest management seek to control damage from pests in a sustainable way.
Oryza is a genus of plants in the grass family. It includes the major food crop rice. Members of the genus grow as tall, wetland grasses, growing to 1–2 metres (3–7 ft) tall; the genus includes both annual and perennial species.
Oryza sativa, also known as rice, is the plant species most commonly referred to in English as rice. It is the type of farmed rice whose cultivars are most common globally, and was first domesticated in the Yangtze River basin in China 13,500 to 8,200 years ago.
New Rice for Africa (NERICA) is a cultivar group of interspecific hybrid rice developed by the Africa Rice Center (AfricaRice) to improve the yield of African rice cultivars. Although 240 million people in West Africa rely on rice as the primary source of food energy and protein in their diet, the majority of this rice is imported. Self-sufficiency in rice production would improve food security and aid economic development in West Africa.
Jasmine rice is a long-grain variety of fragrant rice. Its fragrance, reminiscent of pandan and popcorn, results from the rice plant's natural production of aroma compounds, of which 2-acetyl-1-pyrroline is the most salient. A rapid loss of aromatic intensity leads many Southeast Asians and connoisseurs to prefer each year's freshly harvested "new crop" of jasmine rice. Jasmine rice is a variety of Oryza sativa.
Xanthomonas oryzae is a species of bacteria. The major host of the bacterium is rice.
In enzymology, an ent-copalyl diphosphate synthase is an enzyme that catalyzes the chemical reaction:
Oryza rufipogon, known as brownbeard rice, wild rice, and red rice, is a member of the genus Oryza.
Oryza longistaminata is a perennial species of grass from the same genus as cultivated rice. It is native to most of sub-Saharan Africa and Madagascar. It has been introduced into the United States, where it is often regarded as a noxious weed. Its common names are longstamen rice and red rice.
Oryza glaberrima, commonly known as African rice, is one of the two domesticated rice species. It was first domesticated and grown in West Africa around 3,000 years ago. In agriculture, it has largely been replaced by higher-yielding Asian rice, and the number of varieties grown is declining. It still persists, making up an estimated 20% of rice grown in West Africa. It is now rarely sold in West African markets, having been replaced by Asian strains.
Japonica rice, sometimes called sinica rice, is one of the two major domestic types of Asian rice varieties. Japonica rice is extensively cultivated and consumed in East Asia, whereas in most other regions indica rice is the dominant type of rice. Japonica rice originated from Central China, where it was first domesticated along the Yangtze River basin approximately 9,500 to 6,000 years ago.
Perennial rice are varieties of long-lived rice that are capable of regrowing season after season without reseeding; they are being developed by plant geneticists at several institutions. Although these varieties are genetically distinct and will be adapted for different climates and cropping systems, their lifespan is so different from other kinds of rice that they are collectively called perennial rice. Perennial rice—like many other perennial plants—can spread by horizontal stems below or just above the surface of the soil but they also reproduce sexually by producing flowers, pollen and seeds. As with any other grain crop, it is the seeds that are harvested and eaten by humans.
Oryza punctata is an annual grass in the rice genus Oryza, also known as red rice, related to cultivated rice O. sativa. O. punctata forms clumps or tussocks from 50–120 cm tall. It is a native to tropical Africa and Madagascar but is also found in Thailand and other parts of Indochina. O. punctata is a weed species in commercial rice growing operations although it appears to be rare in its native range. O. punctata has an IUCN status of least concern. It is not generally eaten or used as fodder by farmers but there is some evidence that it has been used as such during periods of famine. Due to the importance of the crop varieties of rice globally, the evolution of the Oryza genus as a whole has been studied extensively. A lot of information about O. punctata has been elucidated as a secondary benefit to this commercial research. O. punctata evolved some 5 million years ago in the second of two rapid radiation events that occurred in the Oryza L. genus.
Pleomorphomonas oryzae is a nitrogen-fixing bacterium species from the genus of Pleomorphomonas which has been isolated from the rice plant Oryza sativa in Japan.
Sphingomonas jinjuensis is a Gram-negative and rod-shaped bacteria from the genus of Sphingomonas which has been isolated from rhizosphere soil from a rice field in Jinju in Korea.
Sphingomonas oryziterrae is a Gram-negative and rod-shaped bacteria from the genus of Sphingomonas which has been isolated from rhizosphere soil from rice fields in Jinju in Korea.
Allokutzneria oryzae is a bacterium from the genus Allokutzneria which has been isolated from the rhizospheric soil from the rice-plant.
Streptomyces oryzae is a bacterium species from the genus of Streptomyces which has been isolated from the stem of a rice plant Oryza sativa.
Streptomyces roietensis is a bacterium species from the genus of Streptomyces which has been isolated from the stem of a jasmine rice plant from Thung Gura Rong Hai in Thailand.
Arenimonas oryziterrae is a Gram-negative, aerobic and rod-shaped bacterium from the genus of Arenimonas which has been isolated from rhizosphere soil from a rice plant from Jinju in Korea.
