How Is Black Rice Grown? A Detailed Guide to Planting Conditions and Methods

Black rice has a very long planting history in China, and it is currently distributed in many places across the country, making it a relatively common type of rice. Black rice is highly nutritious, and many people now want to grow it. Before planting, however, you first need to have a comprehensive understanding of its planting conditions and planting methods.

How Black Rice Is Grown

1. Sow early at the right time. Since black rice is a temperature-sensitive variety, it should be sown between March 10 and 15. This extends its growth period and allows it to head, flower and pollinate before the arrival of high temperatures in late July, which helps increase yield and grain quality.

2. Grow strong seedlings with many tillers through dry seedling cultivation. Around the main field, choose a plot (block) of sandy loam field or dry land that is sheltered from the wind, faces the sun and has convenient drainage and irrigation, and carry out film-covered dry seedling cultivation there. Sow appropriately thinly, sowing 4.5 kg per mu of seedling field, with a seeding rate of 1.5 kg per mu of main field.

3. Improve transplanting quality. Transplant in an east-west direction, with wide rows and narrow plant spacing, and transplant large seedlings with soil attached, planting enough basic seedlings per mu of main field to reach 300,000 to 320,000, so that they no longer tiller. The plant and row spacing for wide rows and narrow plant spacing is generally 10 cm × 22 cm. This increases ventilation and light penetration, which favors robust growth, larger heads with more grains, and improved grain quality.

4. Apply more phosphorus and potassium fertilizer, and apply little or no lime. According to soil survey data, the available potassium content of ordinary soil is generally low, and phosphorus content is also very low in some areas. Therefore, increasing the application of phosphorus and potassium fertilizer is an important measure for improving the grain quality of black rice. Phosphorus fertilizer is mainly applied as a base fertilizer, while potassium fertilizer is mainly applied as a top dressing together with the first cultivation, with a small supplementary application at the booting stage; both phosphorus and potassium fertilizer can be sprayed on the leaves before and after heading. If black rice absorbs too much calcium, the cooked rice appears coarse and tastes poor. Therefore, fields cultivating black rice should receive little or no lime.

5. Use as little pesticide as possible, or none at all. Pesticide residues harm the health of humans, livestock and poultry and reduce the quality of black rice. Therefore, for pest and disease control, comprehensive control measures focused on agricultural control should be adopted, including selecting pest- and disease-resistant varieties, treating diseased rice straw, scooping out residue, shallow irrigation and exposing the field, drying the field at the right time, completely removing barnyardgrass, and using traditional local methods and remedies to control pests and diseases, so as to achieve the goal of controlling and eliminating pests and diseases without pesticide residues.

6. Do not cut off the water too early in the later stage. Cutting off the water too early during the maturation period of black rice not only increases the rate of empty grains and reduces the thousand-grain weight and yield, but also affects the quality of black rice. Generally, black rice should have its water cut off about 6 days before harvest.

Black Rice Planting Conditions

The suitable temperature for the growth and development of black rice is soil at 26—32°C. Around the main field, choose a plot (block) of sandy loam field or dry land that is sheltered from the wind, faces the sun and has convenient drainage and irrigation, and carry out film-covered dry seedling cultivation there, sowing appropriately thinly. Since black rice is a temperature-sensitive variety, it should be sown before the middle of the month. This extends its growth period and allows it to head, flower and pollinate before the arrival of high temperatures in late July, which helps increase yield and grain quality.

Precautions for Planting Black Rice

1. Black rice cultivation depends on the variety and also on planting techniques. Compared with growing ordinary rice, it is important to focus on organic cultivation and to use as little pesticide as possible, or none at all, so as not to reduce the quality of black rice.

2. If black rice absorbs too much calcium, the cooked rice will appear coarse. Therefore, fields cultivating black rice should receive little or no lime. To improve grain quality, more phosphorus and potassium fertilizer can be applied.

Common Diseases of Black Rice and Their Control

1. Control of bacterial leaf streak: you may choose 25% bismerthiazol wettable powder at 500 times dilution + 72% agricultural streptomycin sulfate at 2000 times dilution, or 1% zhongshengmycin aqueous solution at 300 times dilution, or 70% methomyl-sulfur wettable powder at 500 times dilution, or 20% thiodiazole-copper suspension concentrate at 500 times dilution for spraying, applying once every 7 days for 2 to 3 consecutive applications.

2. Control of bacterial leaf blight: fertilize reasonably and manage water scientifically. In addition, strengthen pesticide spraying control in the main field. When the disease breaks out severely, spray twice a day, with each interval of 7 to 10 days, using 20% chuanhua-018 (yekuning) wettable powder, and spray immediately after wind, rain or receding water for control.

3. Control of rice blast: the dosage of 20% tricyclazole wettable powder is 75 to 100 grams per mu, added to 50 kg of water, and applied before the pathogen infects, so that its efficacy can be fully exerted. Alternatively, use 40% fuji-one emulsion at 75 to 100 grams per mu, added to 50 kg of water, diluted and sprayed.

When planting black rice, you must choose a suitable place to grow it. During the planting process, you must do a good job with fertilizer and water management. Black rice is also susceptible to pests and diseases, so timely pest and disease control is also very important. Only by doing these things well can you ensure better growth of black rice.