Aromatic Basmati Rice: Science, Mapping and Monitoring

Aromatic Basmati rice, also known as ‘the scented pearl’ by its connoisseurs, has been grown in a specific geo-climatic region of India and Pakistan for centuries. It is appreciated by consumers in more than 100 countries around the globe. Due to its specific aroma and grain quality traits, Basmati rice also fetches a much higher price in the international market compared to other non-aromatic rices, benefiting its producer farmers and also traders. Timely information on Basmati rice acreage and production is a necessity for planners, policy makers, and traders alike. Satellite remote sensing and other geoinformatics tools and techniques are presently being used in Basmati rice area estimation and production forecast. Unfortunately, there is no publication available that deals with the various aspects of Basmati rice, including its cultivation practices, area mapping, monitoring crop growth, and forecasting production. The present book may be the first of its kind, which deals not only with the above aspects of aromatic Basmati rice, but also the global trade and issues arising from climate change and its likely impact on future production.

Specifically, the book covers:

• Basmati rice―Historical and cultural perspective
• Varieties and cultivation practices
• Science of rice aroma
• Environmental factors influencing Basmati aroma and grain quality
• Remote sensing in Basmati area mapping
• Yield prediction using machine learning techniques
• Hyperspectral data analysis in Basmati discrimination
• Traditional methods of area and yield estimation
• Global trade in Basmati rice
• Influence of climate change on Basmati rice production

In essence, the book covers both agronomical and geo-spatial technological aspects involved in aromatic Basmati rice cultivation, mapping, and monitoring. It is hoped that the book will be useful for the researchers, geospatial technologists, agronomists, environmentalists, farmers, traders, consumers, and all those interested in this wonderful grain gifted to us by Mother Nature.

Manik H. Kalubarme is a postgraduate in Agriculture (Agronomy) from G.B. Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Pantnagar, and Ph.D. in Environmental Science, Uttarakhand Technical University, Dehradun. He joined the Space Applications Centre, Indian Space Research Organisation, in 1976 and contributed to various projects related to “Remote Sensing applications for Agriculture and Environment” for more than 34 years. His major contributions were related to the development of procedures for crop acreage and production estimation using remote sensing satellite data for various crops at the district and state levels. He has also contributed to different application projects like Land Use/Land Cover monitoring,

Soil degradation studies, urban land use monitoring, etc., using multi-temporal Remote sensing satellite data. He has also developed procedures for Basmati rice discrimination based on phenological stage differences using multi-temporal remote-sensing satellite data, and was also involved in the BEDF (APEDA) sponsored project on ‘Varietal discrimination, acreage and yield estimation of Basmati Aromatic rice in North-Western India. He has also received many awards, including a Team Excellence Award from ISRO for successfully implementing Remote Sensing applications for the Crop acreage and production estimation project. He has published over 90 research papers in peer-reviewed journals and contributed to several book chapters.

Dharmesh Verma completed his Masters in Soil Science from G.B. Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Pantnagar, and his doctorate in Agriculture Chemistry from C.C.S. University, Meerut (UP). He is a domain expert in Remote Sensing and GIS applications for natural resources with more than 25 years of experience. He joined as a Scientist at the Remote Sensing Applications Centre -Uttar Pradesh, and worked on Remote sensing Projects in Soil Mapping, Crop Suitability, Crop mapping, and yield forecasting. He has worked on World Bank-aided projects on Sodic land mapping at the cadastral and regional levels; Irrigation Impact Evaluation using Remote Sensing and GIS in irrigation schemes of the Andhra Pradesh Economic Restructuring Project. He has also worked with AgriNet Solutions, a Remote Sensing Geospatial company, originated by UPL Ltd., a plant protection global multinational group of companies, for a decade. He worked as Chair for Pillar-1 of the ASP of the UNFAO’s Global Soil Partnership program for two years. He also worked as a Global Head-Technical for a Dubai-based Fertilizer Company for a short period. He and his team worked for Basmati rice acreage and yield estimation for a decade for APEDA, Govt. of India. He has many publications, including research articles and books, to his credit.

Ritesh Sharma holds a Ph.D. in Plant Breeding & Genetics from Dr. B.R. Ambedkar University, Agra. Currently. He is the Joint Director at Basmati Export Development Foundation of APEDA, Ministry of Commerce, GoI. He is involved in the maintenance of Basmati germplasm & breeding, and authentic seed production. He has developed several new technologies, including Pata Practice and Basmati Paddy Thresher (Patented). He is actively involved in providing extension services to the stakeholders of Basmati-growing states. He has been nominated as a member of the National committees, as a two-member committee for registration of rice mills for the export of rice to the USA and China as APEDA representative, and also nominated as a member of the variety identification committee by DDG, ICAR. He was a member of the team for the audit of the Public Sector of Basmati growing states by the European Committee, and also a member of the Chinese delegation. He is also actively providing expertise to different state governments, including J & K, on different issues related to Basmati, including doubling the Farmers' incomes by 2022. He has also published several books/chapters, and many research papers.

A.N. Singh is a post-graduate in Soil Science from G.B. Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Pantnagar, and Ph.D. from the University of Allahabad. He was a Visiting Scientist at LARS, Purdue University, USA, and a Post-doctoral Fellow at the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), Philippines. He joined NRSC, Hyderabad, in 1975 and initiated Satellite Remote Sensing applications to soil mapping in the North-Eastern, Western Coast, and Indo-Gangetic Plains regions of India. Later, he joined the Remote Sensing Applications Centre-Uttar Pradesh (RSAC-UP), and carried out various national mapping projects, including the Salt-affected soils mapping, Wasteland mapping, and Natural Resources Census. He was the Director of RSAC-UP from 2001 to 2008, and his notable contribution at this Centre was the use of geo-informatics in the execution and monitoring of large-scale sodic land reclamation in Uttar Pradesh. Later, he joined IRRI as a GIS Consultant and was responsible for the targeted dissemination of stress-tolerant rice varieties in South Asia. He has published more than 65 research papers in peer-reviewed journals and several book chapters, including chapters in two international books on Aromatic rice. He was also involved in Basmati rice mapping and production estimation for BEDF (APEDA), Ministry of Commerce. He is an active member of the Indian Society of Remote Sensing and remained Vice-President of the society. He also remained the Vice-President of the Indian Society of Soil Survey and Land Use Planning.