Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
per y! Thus 75% of the world production of rice is harvested on the 55% of the area that is
irrigated.
The global production of rice was 678 million tonnes 2009. In China, with a total production of
197million tonnes in 2009 the average yield was 6.6 tonne/ha/y. With this China is the biggest pro-
ducer but also one of the countries with highest average yield. Froma total production point of view
India comes as number two with 131 million tonnes 2009, but with only 45% of the production
per ha compared to China. Indonesia has productivity inbetween China and India and produced
64 million tonnes in the same year. If India could increase its productivity to the same level as in
China, it would mean another 100 million tonnes per year. This could feed 400 million people as
staple food! Other major producers of rice are Bangladesh producing 45, Vietnam 39, Thailand
andMyanmar both 31, Philippines 16, Brazil 13, Japan 11 and Pakistan 10 million tonnes in 2007.
Rice is, aside of wheat, the most important food crop globally and is the most important calorie
food for the populations in Asia, Latin America and Africa, or more than half of the world's
population.About 95%of it is produced in developing countries.World production of rice has risen
steadily from about 200 million tonnes of paddy rice in 1960 to over 678 million tonnes in 2009.
Rice straw gives approximately the same amount of biomass as grain. If we could reach 8
tonnes/ha per y of grain, 8 tonnes/ha per y of straw would also be produced (NationMaster, 2012).
1.2.3 Wheat (Triticum spp.)
The world production of wheat is 690 million tonnes per year. The biggest producer is China with
112-114.5 million tonnes produced 2008 (Fao.org “Major Food And Agricultural Commodities
AndProducers -CountriesByCommodity”) http://faostat.fao.org/site/567/DesktopDefault.aspx?
Page ID
567#ancor, downloaded 2008) and 114.5 million tonnes 2009. India with 79 million
tonnes in 2008 and 80.6 million tonnes in 2009 is number two from a production perspective, USA
third with 68 million tonne/y 2008 (59.4 million tonnes 2009) and Russia number four with 64
million tonne/y 2008 (56.5 million tonnes 2009). From the figures, we can see that the production
varies from one year to the other. Wheat is considered to be the most important crop from a food
perspective globally. The straw production will be around 700 million tonnes/y, corresponding to
approximately 3500 TWh/y if used as a fuel. Straw is generally not used very efficiently from an
energy point of view, and here we have a huge potential.
Of the top ten wheat producers in 2008, next after the four mentioned above are France with
39, Canada with 29, Germany and Ukraine both with 26, Australia and Pakistan both with 21
million tonnes produced in 2008.
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1.2.4 Corn (Zea mays) and cassava
Corn or maize is also one of the major crops from a food production perspective. The major
producer of corn is the US with a production of 333 million tonnes/year (2009). At number two
comes China with 163 million tonnes/year. Brazil produces 51 and Mexico 20 million tonnes per
year. Thereafter we have Indonesia with 17.6, India with 17.3, France with 15.3, Argentina with
13.1, South Africa with 12 and Ukraine with 10.5 million tonne produced in 2009.
The total annual production was 817 million tonnes globally grown on 159 million ha in 2009.
The biomass is approximately the same amount as the grains. Before corn is ripe, it produces a
very powerful antibiotic substance, 2,4-dihydroxy-7-methoxy-1,4-benzoxazin-3-one (DIMBOA)
which is accumulated in the crop. This is a natural defense against a wide range of pests, including
insects, pathogenic fungi and bacteria. Due to its shallow root system, corn is sensitive to droughts,
and should be grown on soils with enough nutrients. It may also be sensitive to strong winds
(Wikipedia, 2011; Monsanto, 2011). In Gautam et al . (2011), different species of maize have
been grown and compared. Different species gave 11-21 tonnes dry substance per hectare (DS/ha)
for similar conditions, showing both the importance of genetic selection of seeds, as well as the
future potential for large scale production. In these experiments, the goal was to produce crops for
silage, and thus had a focus on total biomass production and not specifically grains for food usage.
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