Journal of Crop and Weed, 9(1):148-150(2013) Base-line survey for Tulaipanji rice production status in Uttar Dinajpur district of West Bengal, India G. MONDAL, 1 M. GHOSH, 1 D. MAZUMDAR AND 1 A. BISWAS Regional Research Station, Uttar Banga Krishi Viswavidyalaya, Majhian, South Dinajpur 1 Faculty of Agricuture, Bidhan Chandra Krishi Viswavidyalaya Mohanpur, Nadia, West Bengal Received: 27-9-2012, Revised: 25-5-2013, Accepted: 30-5-2013 ABSTRACT Tulaipanji, a popular aromatic rice landrace, is mostly cultivated in Uttar Dinajpur district as well as in some parts of Dakshin Dinajpur district of West Bengal, India for hundreds of years. In order to better understanding of the present status of Tulaipanji rice in North Dinajpur district, specially the crop environment, cultivation practices, grain yield, milling recovery, marketing network, socio-economic impact, etc., a base-line survey was conducted with 102 randomly selected Tulaipanji farmers in 4 blocks (viz. Raiganj, Kaliaganj, Hemtabad and Itahar) through personal interview using structured and pre-tested schedule during 2009. Among them, 25.5, 72.5 and 2.0% farmers belonged to general, O.B.C and S.C. category, respectively and the respondents had average land of 0.22 ha under Tulaipanji cultivation in each year. About 71.0% farmers used their own seeds and started their sowing operations during July with the preparation of wet seedbed (81.7%). They transplanted their seedlings during the month of August (73.6%) following random method of planting with average seedling age of 26.6 days. The chi-square test revealed that Tulaipanji growers obtained average grain yield of 2.33 t/ha, with a range between 2.04 t/ha (Itahar) and 2.57 t/ha (Kaliaganj). They had to travel about 7.9 km for milling of paddy and 87.2% of them sold their rice in nearby markets. Keywords: Aromatic rice, base-line survey, processing, production Tulaipanji is a popular aromatic rice landrace of West Bengal, which is manly cultivated in Raiganj, Kaliaganj, Hemtabad and Itahar blocks of Uttar Dianjpur district as well as sporadically in some blocks of Dakshin Dinajpur district of the state. Major quality features of Tulaipanji are: straw colored grain, kernel length 5.0 mm, L/B ratio 2.7, medium slender kernel, elongation ratio >1.8, alkali spreading value 4.0, amylose 18.0%, protein 7.1% and medium-strong aroma (Ghosh and Ghose, 2007).With rapid adoption of modern rice varieties having high yield potentiality during last 3-4 decades, the cultivation of traditional rice varieties is being marginalized. However, the farmers of Uttar Dinajpur and Dakshin Dinajpur districts still cultivate Tulaipanji in some portion of their cultivable lands during kharif season mainly for domestic consumption and marketing for use as quality table rice specially during social functions and religious festivals in the region. In the context, it is necessary to examine the crop environment, cultivation practices, grain yield, milling recovery, marketing network and socio-economic impact for future up- scaling and long-term sustainability of Tulaipanji rice cultivation in native areas of West Bengal. MATERIALS AND METHODS A base-line survey was conducted in four blocks (viz., Raiganj, Kaliaganj, Hemtabad and Itahar) of Uttar Dinajpur district during 2009 by a RKVY Project team of Uttar Banga Krishi Viswavidyalaya, West Bengal, India. Based on secondary information collected from block-level Agriculture Offices, a total of 102 Tulaipanji farmers were randomly selected for the purpose. The data was collected through personal interview of Tulaipanji growers by using structured and pre-tested schedule. Descriptive statistics and Kruskal-Wallis Chi-square test (non-parametric ANOVA) following SPSS (version 7.5) were done to compare the block means in respect of different variables of the study. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION Socio-economic status The demographic and socio-economic status of 102 respondent farmers was analyzed and it revealed that about 25.5, 72.5 and 2.0% respondents belonged to general, O.B.C. and S.C. categories, respectively (Table 1). They cultivated Tulaipanji in 0.22 ha land with having either no or minor agricultural implements like sprayer, etc. Thus, the small and marginal farmers had an annual income of Rs. 18,547, with a range between Rs. 10,808 (Itahar) and Rs. 28,909 (Raiganj); out of which 93% came from agricultural activities. A survey based study on Kano rice value-chain system showed similar primary occupation and income of farmers in Kano state of Nigeria (Optimum Agricultural Consultants, 2007). Cultivation practices Sowing time was on important non- monetary input, which influenced the production of crop as well as the economic benefit of the farming community. About 71.0% farmers used their own seeds of Tulaipanji, while only 8.2% growers treated Email: mghoshbckv@rediffmail.com