GUWAHATI, May 24 � Bao-dhan (deep water paddy), being cultivated since time immemorial, may be an alternative option for the State�s farmers.
This variety of paddy has unique tolerance to stress, which is not possible for any other paddy variety. The seedlings can withstand drought-like conditions. During May-September, which is the rainy season (flood season in Assam), this paddy shows the unique ability to grow rapidly with the rising water level.
Floods in Assam mostly affect rice, the major staple food in the State. But the government has not taken any major steps to control flood over the decades. Every year farmers lose lakhs of hectares of paddy due to floods.
Paddy is widely cultivated across the length and breadth of Assam.
In respect of nutrition, the bao paddy has high nutritive value. A study led by Prof AK Handique and his team of researchers from the Department of Bio-technology has shown that bao-dhan contains high levels of carbohydrates, crude protein and lipids. The result of a similar study carried out by Prof KK Baruah was the same, though the studies were carried out independently.
The findings were published in an acclaimed international journal Oryza, which is published by the Central Rice Research Institute, Cuttack.
However, unlike other rice varieties such as Joha, Sali, Masuri, Lahi and other high-yielding varieties (HYV), bao-dhan yield is low, but maintenance-free and takes a long time (March to November) to ripen.
Most varieties of bao-dhan are red and hence called �red rice�. This redness is due to a naturally occurring compound called Anthocyanin, which gives a red hue to this rice variety.
This paddy can prevent diseases like cancer, coronary heart disease, various diseases of bone and bone joints, age-related health problems, etc.
It was Prof Handique�s research team who for the first time studied and reported the presence of Anthocyanin in �red rice� from Assam as early as 2008. The study, published in India Journal of Plant Physiology, was widely acclaimed by the scientific community associated with rice research.
