Abstract

India occupies a unique position on the rice map of the world. In acreage it has the first place with almost 30 percent of the world area under this crop. In production it stands second to China because of the low acre yield; it is one of the lowest on record. Difference in either climatic condition or size of holding cannot account for such poor out-turns as the average for other countries in the tropics (between 21° and 30° latitude) is about 1,650 lb., and the small size of his holding has not been a handicap to the Japanese farmer who takes over 3,000 lb. from an acre of his field. Economic problems however, do exert a strong influence since the largest yields are recorded in countries where enough credit facilities exist and where the lands are mainly owner cultivated as in Japan, Italy or the U. S. A.

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