title: Bread content: for other foods. Bread can be dipped into liquids such as gravy, olive oil, or soup; it can be topped with various sweet and savory spreads, or used to make sandwiches containing meats, cheeses, vegetables, and condiments. Bread is used as an ingredient in other culinary preparations, such as the use of breadcrumbs to provide crunchy crusts or thicken sauces, sweet or savoury bread puddings, or as a binding agent in sausages and other ground meat products. Nutritionally, bread is categorized as a source of grains in the food pyramid and is a good source of carbohydrates and nutrients such


title: Bread content: as magnesium, iron, selenium, B vitamins, and dietary fiber. Bread crust is formed from surface dough during the cooking process. It is hardened and browned through the Maillard reaction using the sugars and amino acids and the intense heat at the bread surface. The crust of most breads is harder, and more complexly and intensely flavored, than the rest. Old wives tales suggest that eating the bread crust makes a person's hair curlier. Additionally, the crust is rumored to be healthier than the remainder of the bread. Some studies have shown that this is true as the crust has more


title: Bread content: dietary fiber and antioxidants such as pronyl-lysine, which is being researched for its potential colorectal cancer inhibitory properties. Doughs are usually baked, but in some cuisines breads are steamed (e.g., mantou), fried (e.g., puri), or baked on an unoiled frying pan (e.g., tortillas). It may be leavened or unleavened (e.g. matzo). Salt, fat and leavening agents such as yeast and baking soda are common ingredients, though bread may contain other ingredients, such as milk, egg, sugar, spice, fruit such as raisins, vegetables such as onion, nuts such as walnut or seeds such as poppy. Methods of processing dough into bread


title: Bread content: include the straight dough process, the sourdough process, the Chorleywood bread process and the sponge and dough process. Professional bread recipes are stated using the baker's percentage notation. The amount of flour is denoted to be 100%, and the other ingredients are expressed as a percentage of that amount by weight. Measurement by weight is more accurate and consistent than measurement by volume, particularly for dry ingredients. The proportion of water to flour is the most important measurement in a bread recipe, as it affects texture and crumb the most. Hard wheat flours absorb about 62% water, while softer wheat


title: Bread content: flours absorb about 56%. Common table breads made from these doughs result in a finely textured, light bread. Most artisan bread formulas contain anywhere from 60 to 75% water. In yeast breads, the higher water percentages result in more CO bubbles and a coarser bread crumb. One pound (450 g) of flour yields a standard loaf of bread or two French loaves. Calcium propionate is commonly added by commercial bakeries to retard the growth of molds. Flour is grain ground to a powdery consistency. Flour provides the primary structure, starch and protein to the final baked bread. The protein content


title: Bread content: of the flour is the best indicator of the quality of the bread dough and the finished bread. While bread can be made from all-purpose wheat flour, a specialty bread flour, containing more protein (12–14%), is recommended for high-quality bread. If one uses a flour with a lower protein content (9–11%) to produce bread, a shorter mixing time is required to develop gluten strength properly. An extended mixing time leads to oxidization of the dough, which gives the finished product a whiter crumb, instead of the cream color preferred by most artisan bakers. Wheat flour, in addition to its starch,


title: Bread content: contains three water-soluble protein groups (albumin, globulin, and proteoses) and two water-insoluble protein groups (glutenin and gliadin). When flour is mixed with water, the water-soluble proteins dissolve, leaving the glutenin and gliadin to form the structure of the resulting bread. When relatively dry dough is worked by kneading, or wet dough is allowed to rise for a long time (see no-knead bread), the glutenin forms strands of long, thin, chainlike molecules, while the shorter gliadin forms bridges between the strands of glutenin. The resulting networks of strands produced by these two proteins are known as gluten. Gluten development improves if


title: Bread content: the dough is allowed to autolyse. Water, or some other liquid, is used to form the flour into a paste or dough. The weight of liquid required varies between recipes, but a ratio of 3 parts liquid to 5 parts flour is common for yeast breads. Recipes that use steam as the primary leavening method may have a liquid content in excess of 1 part liquid to 1 part flour. Instead of water, recipes may use liquids such as milk or other dairy products (including buttermilk or yoghurt), fruit juice, or eggs. These contribute additional sweeteners, fats, or leavening components,


title: Bread content: as well as water. Fats, such as butter, vegetable oils, lard, or that contained in eggs, affect the development of gluten in breads by coating and lubricating the individual strands of protein. They also help to hold the structure together. If too much fat is included in a bread dough, the lubrication effect causes the protein structures to divide. A fat content of approximately 3% by weight is the concentration that produces the greatest leavening action. In addition to their effects on leavening, fats also serve to tenderize breads and preserve freshness. Bread improvers and dough conditioners are often used


title: Bread content: in producing commercial breads to reduce the time needed for rising and to improve texture and volume. The substances used may be oxidising agents to strengthen the dough or reducing agents to develop gluten and reduce mixing time, emulsifiers to strengthen the dough or to provide other properties such as making slicing easier, or enzymes to increase gas production. Salt is often added to enhance flavor and restrict yeast activity. It also affects the crumb and the overall texture by stabilizing and strengthening the gluten. Some artisan bakers forego early addition of salt to the dough, whether wholemeal or refined,


title: Bread content: and wait until after a 20-minute rest to allow the dough to autolyse. Leavening is the process of adding gas to a dough before or during baking to produce a lighter, more easily chewed bread. Most bread eaten in the West is leavened. A simple technique for leavening bread is the use of gas-producing chemicals. There are two common methods. The first is to use baking powder or a self-raising flour that includes baking powder. The second is to include an acidic ingredient such as buttermilk and add baking soda; the reaction of the acid with the soda produces gas.


title: Bread content: Chemically leavened breads are called "quick breads" and "soda breads". This method is commonly used to make muffins, pancakes, American-style biscuits, and quick breads such as banana bread. Many breads are leavened by yeast. The yeast most commonly used for leavening bread is "Saccharomyces cerevisiae", the same species used for brewing alcoholic beverages. This yeast ferments some of the carbohydrates in the flour, including any sugar, producing carbon dioxide. Commercial bakers often leaven their dough with commercially produced baker's yeast. Baker's yeast has the advantage of producing uniform, quick, and reliable results, because it is obtained from a pure culture.


title: Bread content: Many artisan bakers produce their own yeast with a growth culture. If kept in the right conditions, it provides leavening for many years. The baker's yeast and sourdough methods follow the same pattern. Water is mixed with flour, salt and the leavening agent. Other additions (spices, herbs, fats, seeds, fruit, etc.) are not needed to bake bread, but are often used. The mixed dough is then allowed to rise one or more times (a longer rising time results in more flavor, so bakers often "punch down" the dough and let it rise again), then loaves are formed, and (after an


title: Bread content: optional final rising time) the bread is baked in an oven. Many breads are made from a "straight dough", which means that all of the ingredients are combined in one step, and the dough is baked after the rising time; others are made from a "pre-ferment" in which the leavening agent is combined with some of the flour and water a day or so ahead of baking and allowed to ferment overnight. On the day of baking, the rest of the ingredients are added, and the process continues as with straight dough. This produces a more flavorful bread with better


title: Bread content: texture. Many bakers see the starter method as a compromise between the reliable results of baker's yeast and the flavor and complexity of a longer fermentation. It also allows the baker to use only a minimal amount of baker's yeast, which was scarce and expensive when it first became available. Most yeasted pre-ferments fall into one of three categories: "poolish" or "pouliche", a loose-textured mixture composed of roughly equal amounts of flour and water (by weight); "biga", a stiff mixture with a higher proportion of flour; and "pâte fermentée", which is simply a portion of dough reserved from a previous


title: Bread content: batch. Sourdough is a type of bread produced by a long fermentation of dough using naturally occurring yeasts and lactobacilli. It usually has a mildly sour taste because of the lactic acid produced during anaerobic fermentation by the lactobacilli. Sourdough breads are made with a sourdough starter. The starter cultivates yeast and lactobacilli in a mixture of flour and water, making use of the microorganisms already present on flour; it does not need any added yeast. A starter may be maintained indefinitely by regular additions of flour and water. Some bakers have starters many generations old, which are said to


title: Bread content: have a special taste or texture. At one time, all yeast-leavened breads were sourdoughs. Recently there has been a revival of sourdough bread in artisan bakeries. Traditionally, peasant families throughout Europe baked on a fixed schedule, perhaps once a week. The starter was saved from the previous week's dough. The starter was mixed with the new ingredients, the dough was left to rise, and then a piece of it was saved (to be the starter for next week's bread). The rapid expansion of steam produced during baking leavens the bread, which is as simple as it is unpredictable. Steam-leavening is


title: Bread content: unpredictable since the steam is not produced until the bread is baked. Steam leavening happens regardless of the raising agents (baking soda, yeast, baking powder, sour dough, beaten egg white) included in the mix. The leavening agent either contains air bubbles or generates carbon dioxide. The heat vaporises the water from the inner surface of the bubbles within the dough. The steam expands and makes the bread rise. This is the main factor in the rising of bread once it has been put in the oven. CO generation, on its own, is too small to account for the rise. Heat


title: Bread content: kills bacteria or yeast at an early stage, so the CO generation is stopped. Salt-rising bread employs a form of bacterial leavening that does not require yeast. Although the leavening action is inconsistent, and requires close attention to the incubating conditions, this bread is making a comeback for its cheese-like flavor and fine texture. Aerated bread was leavened by carbon dioxide being forced into dough under pressure. From the mid 19th to mid 20th centuries bread made this way was somewhat popular in the United Kingdom, made by the Aerated Bread Company and sold in its high-street tearooms. The company


title: Bread content: was founded in 1862, and ceased independent operations in 1955. The Pressure-Vacuum mixer was later developed by the Flour Milling and Baking Research Association for the Chorleywood bread process. It manipulates the gas bubble size and optionally the composition of gases in the dough via the gas applied to the headspace. The organic baker Andrew Whitely, writing in "The Independent", called the process "the covert corruption of our daily food". Bread has a significance beyond mere nutrition in many cultures because of its history and contemporary importance. Bread is also significant in Christianity as one of the elements (alongside wine)


title: Bread content: of the Eucharist, and in other religions including Paganism. In many cultures, bread is a metaphor for basic necessities and living conditions in general. For example, a "bread-winner" is a household's main economic contributor and has little to do with actual bread-provision. This is also seen in the phrase "putting bread on the table". The Roman poet Juvenal satirized superficial politicians and the public as caring only for ""panem et circenses"" (bread and circuses). In Russia in 1917, the Bolsheviks promised "peace, land, and bread." The term "breadbasket" denotes an agriculturally productive region. In Slavic cultures bread and salt is


title: Bread content: offered as a welcome to guests. In India, life's basic necessities are often referred to as "roti, kapra aur makan" (bread, cloth, and house). Words for bread, including "dough" and "bread" itself, are used in English-speaking countries as synonyms for money. A remarkable or revolutionary innovation may be called the best thing since "sliced bread". The expression "to break bread with someone" means "to share a meal with someone". The English word "lord" comes from the Anglo-Saxon "hlāfweard", meaning "bread keeper." Bread is sometimes referred to as "the staff of life", although this term can refer to other staple foods


title: Bread content: in different cultures: the "Oxford English Dictionary" defines it as "bread (or similar staple food)". This is sometimes thought to be a biblical reference, but the nearest wording is in Leviticus 26 "when I have broken the staff of your bread". The term has been adopted in the names of bakery firms. Bread Bread is a staple food prepared from a dough of flour and water, usually by baking. Throughout recorded history it has been a prominent food in large parts of the world and is one of the oldest man-made foods, having been of significant importance since the dawn


title: Rice content: Rice Rice is the seed of the grass species "Oryza sativa" (Asian rice) or "Oryza glaberrima" (African rice). As a cereal grain, it is the most widely consumed staple food for a large part of the world's human population, especially in Asia. It is the agricultural commodity with the third-highest worldwide production (rice, 741.5 million tonnes in 2014), after sugarcane (1.9 billion tonnes) and maize (1.0 billion tonnes). Since sizable portions of sugarcane and maize crops are used for purposes other than human consumption, rice is the most important grain with regard to human nutrition and caloric intake, providing more


title: Rice content: than one-fifth of the calories consumed worldwide by humans. There are many varieties of rice and culinary preferences tend to vary regionally. Rice, a monocot, is normally grown as an annual plant, although in tropical areas it can survive as a perennial and can produce a ratoon crop for up to 30 years. Rice cultivation is well-suited to countries and regions with low labor costs and high rainfall, as it is labor-intensive to cultivate and requires ample water. However, rice can be grown practically anywhere, even on a steep hill or mountain area with the use of water-controlling terrace systems.


title: Rice content: Although its parent species are native to Asia and certain parts of Africa, centuries of trade and exportation have made it commonplace in many cultures worldwide. The traditional method for cultivating rice is flooding the fields while, or after, setting the young seedlings. This simple method requires sound planning and servicing of the water damming and channeling, but reduces the growth of less robust weed and pest plants that have no submerged growth state, and deters vermin. While flooding is not mandatory for the cultivation of rice, all other methods of irrigation require higher effort in weed and pest control


title: Rice content: during growth periods and a different approach for fertilizing the soil. The name wild rice is usually used for species of the genera "Zizania" and "Porteresia", both wild and domesticated, although the term may also be used for primitive or uncultivated varieties of "Oryza". First used in English in the middle of the 13th century, the word "rice" derives from the Old French "ris", which comes from the Italian "riso", in turn from the Latin "oriza", which derives from the Greek ὄρυζα ("oruza"). The Greek word is the source of all European words (cf. Welsh "reis", German "Reis", Lithuanian "ryžiai",


title: Rice content: Serbo-Croatian "riža", Polish "ryż", Dutch "rijst", Hungarian "rizs", Romanian "orez", Spanish "arroz"). The origin of the Greek word is unclear. It is sometimes held to be from the Tamil word ("arisi"), or rather Old Tamil "arici". However, Krishnamurti disagrees with the notion that Old Tamil "arici" is the source of the Greek term, and proposes that it was borrowed from descendants of Proto-Dravidian *"wariñci" instead. Mayrhofer suggests that the immediate source of the Greek word is to be sought in Old Iranian words of the types *"vrīz-" or *"vrinj-" (Source of the modern Persian word "Berenj"), but these are ultimately


title: Rice content: traced back to Indo-Aryan (as in Sanskrit "vrīhí-"). P. T. Srinivasa Iyengar assumed that the Sanskrit "vrīhí-" is derived from the Tamil "arici", while Ferdinand Kittel derived it from the Dravidian root "variki". However, R. Swaminatha Aiyar believes that the Sanskrit "vrīhí-" is derived from a Proto-Indo-Iranian root, and the Old Tamil "arici" is also of Indo-European origin. The rice plant can grow to tall, occasionally more depending on the variety and soil fertility. It has long, slender leaves long and broad. The small wind-pollinated flowers are produced in a branched arching to pendulous inflorescence long. The edible seed is


title: Rice content: a grain (caryopsis) long and thick. The varieties of rice are typically classified as long-, medium-, and short-grained. The grains of long-grain rice (high in amylose) tend to remain intact after cooking; medium-grain rice (high in amylopectin) becomes more sticky. Medium-grain rice is used for sweet dishes, for "risotto" in Italy, and many rice dishes, such as "arròs negre", in Spain. Some varieties of long-grain rice that are high in amylopectin, known as Thai Sticky rice, are usually steamed. A stickier medium-grain rice is used for "sushi"; the stickiness allows rice to hold its shape when molded. Medium-grain rice is


title: Rice content: used extensively in Japan, including to accompany savoury dishes, where it is usually served plain in a separate dish. Short-grain rice is often used for rice pudding. Instant rice differs from parboiled rice in that it is fully cooked and then dried, though there is a significant degradation in taste and texture. Rice flour and starch often are used in batters and breadings to increase crispiness. Rice is typically rinsed before cooking to remove excess starch. Rice produced in the US is usually fortified with vitamins and minerals, and rinsing will result in a loss of nutrients. Rice may be


title: Rice content: rinsed repeatedly until the rinse water is clear to improve the texture and taste. Rice may be soaked to decrease cooking time, conserve fuel, minimize exposure to high temperature, and reduce stickiness. For some varieties, soaking improves the texture of the cooked rice by increasing expansion of the grains. Rice may be soaked for 30 minutes up to several hours. Brown rice may be soaked in warm water for 20 hours to stimulate germination. This process, called germinated brown rice (GBR), activates enzymes and enhances amino acids including gamma-aminobutyric acid to improve the nutritional value of brown rice. This method


title: Rice content: is a result of research carried out for the United Nations International Year of Rice. Rice is cooked by boiling or steaming, and absorbs water during cooking. With the absorption method, rice may be cooked in a volume of water similar to the volume of rice. With the rapid-boil method, rice may be cooked in a large quantity of water which is drained before serving. Rapid-boil preparation is not desirable with enriched rice, as much of the enrichment additives are lost when the water is discarded. Electric rice cookers, popular in Asia and Latin America, simplify the process of cooking


title: Rice content: rice. Rice (or any other grain) is sometimes quickly fried in oil or fat before boiling (for example saffron rice or risotto); this makes the cooked rice less sticky, and is a cooking style commonly called pilaf in Iran and Afghanistan or biryani in India and Pakistan . In Arab cuisine, rice is an ingredient of many soups and dishes with fish, poultry, and other types of meat. It is also used to stuff vegetables or is wrapped in grape leaves (dolma). When combined with milk, sugar, and honey, it is used to make desserts. In some regions, such as


title: Rice content: Tabaristan, bread is made using rice flour. Medieval Islamic texts spoke of medical uses for the plant. Rice may also be made into congee (also called rice porridge or rice gruel) by adding more water than usual, so that the cooked rice is saturated with water, usually to the point that it disintegrates. Rice porridge is commonly eaten as a breakfast food, and is also a traditional food for the sick. Rice is the staple food of over half the world's population. It is the predominant dietary energy source for 17 countries in Asia and the Pacific, 9 countries in


title: Rice content: North and South America and 8 countries in Africa. Rice provides 20% of the world’s dietary energy supply, while wheat supplies 19% and maize (corn) 5%. Cooked, unenriched, white, long-grained rice is composed of 68% water, 28% carbohydrates, 3% protein, and negligible fat (table). In a 100 gram serving, it provides 130 calories and contains no micronutrients in significant amounts, with all less than 10% of the Daily Value (DV) (table). Cooked, white, short-grained rice also provides 130 calories and contains moderate amounts of B vitamins, iron, and manganese (10–17% DV) per 100 gram amount (table). A detailed analysis of


title: Rice content: nutrient content of rice suggests that the nutrition value of rice varies based on a number of factors. It depends on the strain of rice, such as white, brown, red, and black (or purple) varieties having different prevalence across world regions. It also depends on nutrient quality of the soil rice is grown in, whether and how the rice is polished or processed, the manner it is enriched, and how it is prepared before consumption. A 2018 World Health Organization (WHO) guideline showed that fortification of rice to reduce malnutrition may involve different micronutrient strategies, including iron only, iron with


title: Rice content: zinc, vitamin A, and folic acid, or iron with other B-complex vitamins, such as thiamin, niacin, vitamin B6, and pantothenic acid. A systematic review of clinical research on the efficacy of rice fortification showed the strategy had the main effect of reducing the risk of iron deficiency by 35% and increasing blood levels of hemoglobin. The guideline established a major recommendation: "Fortification of rice with iron is recommended as a public health strategy to improve the iron status of populations, in settings where rice is a staple food." Rice grown experimentally under elevated carbon dioxide levels, similar to those predicted


title: Rice content: for the year 2100 as a result of human activity, had less iron, zinc, and protein, as well as lower levels of thiamin, riboflavin, folic acid, and pantothenic acid. As arsenic is a natural element in soil, water, and air, the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) monitors the levels of arsenic in foods, particularly in rice products used commonly for infant food. While growing, rice plants tend to absorb arsenic more readily than other food crops, requiring expanded testing by the FDA for possible arsenic-related risks associated with rice consumption in the United States. In April 2016, the


title: Rice content: FDA proposed a limit of 100 parts per billion (ppb) for inorganic arsenic in infant rice cereal and other foods to minimize exposure of infants to arsenic. For water contamination by arsenic, the United States Environmental Protection Agency has set a lower standard of 10 ppb. Arsenic is a Group 1 carcinogen. The amount of arsenic in rice varies widely with the greatest concentration in brown rice and rice grown on land formerly used to grow cotton, such as in Arkansas, Louisiana, Missouri, and Texas. White rice grown in Arkansas, Louisiana, Missouri, and Texas, which account collectively for 76 percent


title: Rice content: of American-produced rice, had higher levels of arsenic than other regions of the world studied, possibly because of past use of arsenic-based pesticides to control cotton weevils. Jasmine rice from Thailand and Basmati rice from Pakistan and India contain the least arsenic among rice varieties in one study. China has set a limit of 150 ppb for arsenic in rice. Cooked rice can contain "Bacillus cereus" spores, which produce an emetic toxin when left at . When storing cooked rice for use the next day, rapid cooling is advised to reduce the risk of toxin production. One of the enterotoxins


title: Rice content: produced by "Bacillus cereus" is heat-resistant; reheating contaminated rice kills the bacteria, but does not destroy the toxin already present. Rice can be grown in different environments, depending upon water availability. Generally, rice does not thrive in a waterlogged area, yet it can survive and grow herein and it can also survive flooding. Wild rice, from which the crop was developed, may have its native range in Australia. Chinese legends attribute the domestication of rice to Shennong, the legendary emperor of China and inventor of Chinese agriculture. Genetic evidence has shown that rice originates from a single domestication 8,200–13,500 years


title: Rice content: ago in the Pearl River valley region of Ancient China. Previously, archaeological evidence had suggested that rice was domesticated in the Yangtze River valley region in China. From East Asia (particularly from China), rice was spread to Southeast and South Asia across the caravan routes of the central Asian steppes. Because Buddhist monks were vegetarian, they carried rice with them across the steppes. Thus, a Buddhist text called the Aggañña Sutta stated that "rice grows as long as Buddhism spreads." Rice was introduced to Europe through Western Asia, and to the Americas through European colonization. There have been many debates


title: Rice content: on the origins of the domesticated rice. Genetic evidence published in the "Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America" (PNAS) shows that all forms of Asian rice, both "indica" and "japonica", spring from a single domestication that occurred 8,200–13,500 years ago in China of the wild rice "Oryza rufipogon". A 2012 study published in "Nature", through a map of rice genome variation, indicated that the domestication of rice occurred in the Pearl River valley region of China based on the genetic evidence. From East Asia, rice was spread to South and Southeast Asia. Before


title: Rice content: this research, the commonly accepted view, based on archaeological evidence, is that rice was first domesticated in the region of the Yangtze River valley in China. Some scholars have also suggested that it was first cultivated in the southern slopes of the Himalayas. Morphological studies of rice phytoliths from the Diaotonghuan archaeological site clearly show the transition from the collection of wild rice to the cultivation of domesticated rice. The large number of wild rice phytoliths at the Diaotonghuan level dating from 12,000–11,000 BP indicates that wild rice collection was part of the local means of subsistence. Changes in the


title: Rice content: morphology of Diaotonghuan phytoliths dating from 10,000–8,000 BP show that rice had by this time been domesticated. Soon afterwards the two major varieties of indica and japonica rice were being grown in Central China. In the late 3rd millennium BC, there was a rapid expansion of rice cultivation into mainland Southeast Asia and westwards across India and Nepal. In 2003, Korean archaeologists claimed to have discovered the world's oldest domesticated rice. Their 15,000-year-old age challenges the accepted view that rice cultivation originated in China about 12,000 years ago. These findings were received by academia with strong skepticism, and the results


title: Rice content: and their publicizing has been cited as being driven by a combination of nationalist and regional interests. In 2011, a combined effort by the Stanford University, New York University, Washington University in St. Louis, and Purdue University has provided the strongest evidence yet that there is only one single origin of domesticated rice, in the Yangtze Valley of China. Rice spread to the Middle East where, according to Zohary and Hopf (2000, p. 91), "O. sativa" was recovered from a grave at Susa in Iran (dated to the 1st century AD). African rice has been cultivated for 3500 years. Between


title: Rice content: 1500 and 800 BC, "Oryza glaberrima" propagated from its original centre, the Niger River delta, and extended to Senegal. However, it never developed far from its original region. Its cultivation even declined in favour of the Asian species, which was introduced to East Africa early in the common era and spread westward. African rice helped Africa conquer its famine of 1203. Today, the majority of all rice produced comes from China, India, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Vietnam, Thailand, Myanmar, Pakistan, Philippines, Korea and Japan. Asian farmers still account for 87% of the world's total rice production. Rice is the major food amongst


title: Rice content: all the ethnic groups in Nepal. In the Terai, most rice varieties are cultivated during the rainy season. The principal rice growing season, known as "Berna-Bue Charne", is from June to July when water is sufficient for only a part of the fields; the subsidiary season, known as "Ropai, is from April to September, when there is usually enough water to sustain the cultivation of all rice fields. Farmers use irrigation channels throughout the cultivation seasons. The Banaue Rice Terraces () are 2,000-year-old terraces that were carved into the mountains of Ifugao in the Philippines by ancestors of the indigenous


title: Rice content: people. The Rice Terraces are commonly referred to as the "Eighth Wonder of the World". It is commonly thought that the terraces were built with minimal equipment, largely by hand. The terraces are located approximately 1500 meters (5000 ft) above sea level. They are fed by an ancient irrigation system from the rainforests above the terraces. It is said that if the steps were put end to end, it would encircle half the globe. The terraces are found in the province of Ifugao and the Ifugao people have been its caretakers. Ifugao culture revolves around rice and the culture displays


title: Rice content: an elaborate array of celebrations linked with agricultural rites from rice cultivation to rice consumption. The harvest season generally calls for thanksgiving feasts, while the concluding harvest rites called "tango" or "tungul" (a day of rest) entails a strict taboo on any agricultural work. Partaking of the "bayah" (rice beer), rice cakes, and betel nut constitutes an indelible practise during the festivities. The Ifugao people practice traditional farming spending most of their labor at their terraces and forest lands while occasionally tending to root crop cultivation. The Ifugaos have also been known to culture edible shells, fruit trees, and other


title: Rice content: vegetables which have been exhibited among Ifugaos for generations. The building of the rice terraces consists of blanketing walls with stones and earth which are designed to draw water from a main irrigation canal above the terrace clusters. Indigenous rice terracing technologies have been identified with the Ifugao’s rice terraces such as their knowledge of water irrigation, stonework, earthwork and terrace maintenance. As their source of life and art, the rice terraces have sustained and shaped the lives of the community members. Rice is the staple food amongst all the ethnic groups in Sri Lanka. Agriculture in Sri Lanka mainly


title: Rice content: depends on the rice cultivation. Rice production is acutely dependent on rainfall and government supply necessity of water through irrigation channels throughout the cultivation seasons. The principal cultivation season, known as "Maha", is from October to March and the subsidiary cultivation season, known as "Yala", is from April to September. During Maha season, there is usually enough water to sustain the cultivation of all rice fields, nevertheless in Yala season there is only enough water for cultivation of half of the land extent. Traditional rice varieties are now making a comeback with the recent interest in green foods. Rice is


title: Rice content: the main export of Thailand, especially white jasmine rice 105 (Dok Mali 105). Thailand has a large number of rice varieties, 3,500 kinds with different characters, and five kinds of wild rice cultivates. In each region of the country there are different rice seed types. Their use depends on weather, atmosphere, and topography. The northern region has both low lands and high lands. The farmers' usual crop is non-glutinous rice such as Niew Sun Pah Tong rice. This rice is naturally protected from leaf disease, and its paddy (unmilled rice) () has a brown color. The northeastern region is a


title: Rice content: large area where farmers can cultivate about 36 million square meters of rice. Although most of it is plains and dry areas, white jasmine rice 105—the most famous Thai rice—can be grown there. White jasmine rice was developed in Chonburi Province first and after that grown in many areas in the country, but the rice from this region has a high quality, because it's softer, whiter, and more fragrant. This rice can resist drought, acidic soil, and alkaline soil. The central region is mostly composed of plains. Most farmers grow Jao rice. For example, Pathum Thani 1 rice which has


title: Rice content: qualities similar to white jasmine 105 rice. Its paddy has the color of thatch and the cooked rice has fragrant grains also. In the southern region, most farmers transplant around boundaries to the flood plains or on the plains between mountains. Farming in the region is slower than other regions because the rainy season comes later. The popular rice varieties in this area are the Leb Nok Pattani seeds, a type of Jao rice. Its paddy has the color of thatch and it can be processed to make noodles. One of the earliest known examples of companion planting is the


title: Rice content: growing of rice with Azolla, the mosquito fern, which covers the top of a fresh rice paddy's water, blocking out any competing plants, as well as fixing nitrogen from the atmosphere for the rice to use. The rice is planted when it is tall enough to poke out above the azolla. This method has been used for at least a thousand years. Rice was grown in some areas of Mesopotamia (southern Iraq). With the rise of Islam it moved north to Nisibin, the southern shores of the Caspian Sea (in Gilan and Mazanderan provinces of Iran) and then beyond the


title: Rice content: Muslim world into the valley of the Volga. In Egypt, rice is mainly grown in the Nile Delta. In Palestine, rice came to be grown in the Jordan Valley. Rice is also grown in Saudi Arabia at Al-Hasa Oasis and in Yemen. Rice was known to the Classical world, being imported from Egypt, and perhaps west Asia. It was known to Greece (where it is still cultivated in Macedonia and Thrace) by returning soldiers from Alexander the Great's military expedition to Asia. Large deposits of rice from the first century AD have been found in Roman camps in Germany. The


title: Rice content: Moors brought Asiatic rice to the Iberian Peninsula in the 10th century. Records indicate it was grown in Valencia and Majorca. In Majorca, rice cultivation seems to have stopped after the Christian conquest, although historians are not certain. Muslims also brought rice to Sicily with cultivation starting in the 9th century, where it was an important crop long before it is noted in the plain of Pisa (1468) or in the Lombard plain (1475), where its cultivation was promoted by Ludovico Sforza, Duke of Milan, and demonstrated in his model farms. After the 15th century, rice spread throughout Italy and


title: Rice content: then France, later propagating to all the continents during the age of European exploration. In European Russia, a short-grain, starchy rice similar to the Italian varieties, has been grown in the Krasnodar Krai, and known in Russia as "Kuban Rice" or "Krasnodar Rice". In the Russian Far East several "japonica" cultivars are grown in Primorye around the Khanka lake. Increasing scale of rice production in the region has recently brought criticism towards growers' alleged bad practices in regards to the environment. Most of the rice used today in the cuisine of the Americas is not native, but was introduced to


title: Rice content: Latin America and the Caribbean by European colonizers at an early date. However, there are at least two native (endemic) species of rice present in the Amazon region of South America, and one or both were used by the indigenous inhabitants of the region to create the domesticated form Oryza sp., some 4000 years ago. Spanish colonizers introduced Asian rice to Mexico in the 1520s at Veracruz, and the Portuguese and their African slaves introduced it at about the same time to colonial Brazil. Recent scholarship suggests that enslaved Africans played an active role in the establishment of rice in


title: Rice content: the New World and that African rice was an important crop from an early period. Varieties of rice and bean dishes that were a staple dish along the peoples of West Africa remained a staple among their descendants subjected to slavery in the Spanish New World colonies, Brazil and elsewhere in the Americas. In 1694, rice arrived in South Carolina, probably originating from Madagascar. Tradition (possibly apocryphal) has it that pirate John Thurber was returning from a slave-trading voyage to Madagascar when he was blown off course and put into Charleston for repairs. While there he gave a bag of


title: Rice content: seed rice to explorer Dr. Henry Woodward, who planted the rice and experimented with it until finding that it grew exceptionally well in the wet Carolina soil. In the United States, colonial South Carolina and Georgia grew and amassed great wealth from the slave labor obtained from the Senegambia area of West Africa and from coastal Sierra Leone. At the port of Charleston, through which 40% of all American slave imports passed, slaves from this region of Africa brought the highest prices due to their prior knowledge of rice culture, which was put to use on the many rice plantations


title: Rice content: around Georgetown, Charleston, and Savannah. From the enslaved Africans, plantation owners learned how to dyke the marshes and periodically flood the fields. At first the rice was laboriously milled by hand using large mortars and pestles made of wood, then winnowed in sweetgrass baskets (the making of which was another skill brought by slaves from Africa). The invention of the rice mill increased profitability of the crop, and the addition of water power for the mills in 1787 by millwright Jonathan Lucas was another step forward. Rice culture in the southeastern U.S. became less profitable with the loss of slave


title: Rice content: labor after the American Civil War, and it finally died out just after the turn of the 20th century. Today, people can visit the only remaining rice plantation in South Carolina that still has the original winnowing barn and rice mill from the mid-19th century at the historic Mansfield Plantation in Georgetown, South Carolina. The predominant strain of rice in the Carolinas was from Africa and was known as 'Carolina Gold'. The cultivar has been preserved and there are current attempts to reintroduce it as a commercially grown crop. In the southern United States, rice has been grown in southern


title: Rice content: Arkansas, Louisiana, and east Texas since the mid-19th century. Many Cajun farmers grew rice in wet marshes and low-lying prairies where they could also farm crayfish when the fields were flooded. In recent years rice production has risen in North America, especially in the Mississippi embayment in the states of Arkansas and Mississippi (see also Arkansas Delta and Mississippi Delta). Rice cultivation began in California during the California Gold Rush, when an estimated 40,000 Chinese laborers immigrated to the state and grew small amounts of the grain for their own consumption. However, commercial production began only in 1912 in the


title: Rice content: town of Richvale in Butte County. By 2006, California produced the second-largest rice crop in the United States, after Arkansas, with production concentrated in six counties north of Sacramento. Unlike the Arkansas–Mississippi Delta region, California's production is dominated by short- and medium-grain "japonica" varieties, including cultivars developed for the local climate such as Calrose, which makes up as much as 85% of the state's crop. References to "wild rice" native to North America are to the unrelated "Zizania palustris". More than 100 varieties of rice are commercially produced primarily in six states (Arkansas, Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, and California) in


title: Rice content: the U.S. According to estimates for the 2006 crop year, rice production in the U.S. is valued at $1.88 billion, approximately half of which is expected to be exported. The U.S. provides about 12% of world rice trade. The majority of domestic utilization of U.S. rice is direct food use (58%), while 16% is used in each of processed foods and beer. 10% is found in pet food. Rice was one of the earliest crops planted in Australia by British settlers, who had experience with rice plantations in the Americas and India. Although attempts to grow rice in the well-watered


title: Rice content: north of Australia have been made for many years, they have consistently failed because of inherent iron and manganese toxicities in the soils and destruction by pests. In the 1920s, it was seen as a possible irrigation crop on soils within the Murray-Darling Basin that were too heavy for the cultivation of fruit and too infertile for wheat. Because irrigation water, despite the extremely low runoff of temperate Australia, was (and remains) very cheap, the growing of rice was taken up by agricultural groups over the following decades. Californian varieties of rice were found suitable for the climate in the


title: Rice content: Riverina, and the first mill opened at Leeton in 1951. Even before this Australia's rice production greatly exceeded local needs, and rice exports to Japan have become a major source of foreign currency. Above-average rainfall from the 1950s to the middle 1990s encouraged the expansion of the Riverina rice industry, but its prodigious water use in a practically waterless region began to attract the attention of environmental scientists. These became severely concerned with declining flow in the Snowy River and the lower Murray River. Although rice growing in Australia is highly profitable due to the cheapness of land, several recent


title: Rice content: years of severe drought have led many to call for its elimination because of its effects on extremely fragile aquatic ecosystems. The Australian rice industry is somewhat opportunistic, with the area planted varying significantly from season to season depending on water allocations in the Murray and Murrumbidgee irrigation regions. Australian Aboriginal people have harvested native rice varieties for thousands of years, and there are ongoing efforts to grow commercial quantities of these species. In 2016, world production of paddy rice was 741 million tonnes, led by China and India with a combined 50% of this total (table). Other major producers


title: Rice content: were Indonesia, Bangladesh and Vietnam (table). Rice is a major food staple and a mainstay for the rural population and their food security. It is mainly cultivated by small farmers in holdings of less than 1 hectare. Rice is also a wage commodity for workers in the cash crop or non-agricultural sectors. Rice is vital for the nutrition of much of the population in Asia, as well as in Latin America and the Caribbean and in Africa; it is central to the food security of over half the world population. Developing countries account for 95% of the total production, with


title: Rice content: China and India alone responsible for nearly half of the world output. Many rice grain producing countries have significant losses post-harvest at the farm and because of poor roads, inadequate storage technologies, inefficient supply chains and farmer's inability to bring the produce into retail markets dominated by small shopkeepers. A World Bank – FAO study claims 8% to 26% of rice is lost in developing nations, on average, every year, because of post-harvest problems and poor infrastructure. Some sources claim the post-harvest losses to exceed 40%. Not only do these losses reduce food security in the world, the study claims


title: Rice content: that farmers in developing countries such as China, India and others lose approximately US$89 billion of income in preventable post-harvest farm losses, poor transport, the lack of proper storage and retail. One study claims that if these post-harvest grain losses could be eliminated with better infrastructure and retail network, in India alone enough food would be saved every year to feed 70 to 100 million people over a year. The seeds of the rice plant are first milled using a rice huller to remove the chaff (the outer husks of the grain). At this point in the process, the product


title: Rice content: is called brown rice. The milling may be continued, removing the bran, "i.e.", the rest of the husk and the germ, thereby creating white rice. White rice, which keeps longer, lacks some important nutrients; moreover, in a limited diet which does not supplement the rice, brown rice helps to prevent the disease beriberi. Either by hand or in a rice polisher, white rice may be buffed with glucose or talc powder (often called polished rice, though this term may also refer to white rice in general), parboiled, or processed into flour. White rice may also be enriched by adding nutrients,


title: Rice content: especially those lost during the milling process. While the cheapest method of enriching involves adding a powdered blend of nutrients that will easily wash off (in the United States, rice which has been so treated requires a label warning against rinsing), more sophisticated methods apply nutrients directly to the grain, coating the grain with a water-insoluble substance which is resistant to washing. In some countries, a popular form, parboiled rice (also known as converted rice and easy-cook rice) is subjected to a steaming or parboiling process while still a brown rice grain. The parboil process causes a gelatinisation of the


title: Rice content: starch in the grains. The grains become less brittle, and the color of the milled grain changes from white to yellow. The rice is then dried, and can then be milled as usual or used as brown rice. Milled parboiled rice is nutritionally superior to standard milled rice, because the process causes nutrients from the outer husk (especially thiamine) to move into the endosperm, so that less is subsequently lost when the husk is polished off during milling. Parboiled rice has an additional benefit in that it does not stick to the pan during cooking, as happens when cooking regular


title: Rice content: white rice. This type of rice is eaten in parts of India and countries of West Africa are also accustomed to consuming parboiled rice. Rice bran, called "nuka" in Japan, is a valuable commodity in Asia and is used for many daily needs. It is a moist, oily inner layer which is heated to produce oil. It is also used as a pickling bed in making rice bran pickles and "takuan". Raw rice may be ground into flour for many uses, including making many kinds of beverages, such as "amazake, horchata", rice milk, and rice wine. Rice does not contain


title: Rice content: gluten, so is suitable for people on a gluten-free diet. Rice may also be made into various types of noodles. Raw, wild, or brown rice may also be consumed by raw-foodist or fruitarians if soaked and sprouted (usually a week to 30 days – gaba rice). Processed rice seeds must be boiled or steamed before eating. Boiled rice may be further fried in cooking oil or butter (known as fried rice), or beaten in a tub to make "mochi". Rice is a good source of protein and a staple food in many parts of the world, but it is not


title: Rice content: a complete protein: it does not contain all of the essential amino acids in sufficient amounts for good health, and should be combined with other sources of protein, such as nuts, seeds, beans, fish, or meat. Rice, like other cereal grains, can be puffed (or popped). This process takes advantage of the grains' water content and typically involves heating grains in a special chamber. Further puffing is sometimes accomplished by processing puffed pellets in a low-pressure chamber. The ideal gas law means either lowering the local pressure or raising the water temperature results in an increase in volume prior to


title: Rice content: water evaporation, resulting in a puffy texture. Bulk raw rice density is about 0.9 g/cm³. It decreases to less than one-tenth that when puffed. Unmilled rice, known as "paddy" (Indonesia and Malaysia: padi; Philippines, palay), is usually harvested when the grains have a moisture content of around 25%. In most Asian countries, where rice is almost entirely the product of smallholder agriculture, harvesting is carried out manually, although there is a growing interest in mechanical harvesting. Harvesting can be carried out by the farmers themselves, but is also frequently done by seasonal labor groups. Harvesting is followed by threshing, either


title: Rice content: immediately or within a day or two. Again, much threshing is still carried out by hand but there is an increasing use of mechanical threshers. Subsequently, paddy needs to be dried to bring down the moisture content to no more than 20% for milling. A familiar sight in several Asian countries is paddy laid out to dry along roads. However, in most countries the bulk of drying of marketed paddy takes place in mills, with village-level drying being used for paddy to be consumed by farm families. Mills either sun dry or use mechanical driers or both. Drying has to


title: Rice content: be carried out quickly to avoid the formation of molds. Mills range from simple hullers, with a throughput of a couple of tonnes a day, that simply remove the outer husk, to enormous operations that can process 4,000 tonnes a day and produce highly polished rice. A good mill can achieve a paddy-to-rice conversion rate of up to 72% but smaller, inefficient mills often struggle to achieve 60%. These smaller mills often do not buy paddy and sell rice but only service farmers who want to mill their paddy for their own consumption. Because of the importance of rice to


title: Rice content: human nutrition and food security in Asia, the domestic rice markets tend to be subject to considerable state involvement. While the private sector plays a leading role in most countries, agencies such as BULOG in Indonesia, the NFA in the Philippines, VINAFOOD in Vietnam and the Food Corporation of India are all heavily involved in purchasing of paddy from farmers or rice from mills and in distributing rice to poorer people. BULOG and NFA monopolise rice imports into their countries while VINAFOOD controls all exports from Vietnam. World trade figures are very different from those for production, as less than


title: Rice content: 8% of rice produced is traded internationally. In economic terms, the global rice trade was a small fraction of 1% of world mercantile trade. Many countries consider rice as a strategic food staple, and various governments subject its trade to a wide range of controls and interventions. Developing countries are the main players in the world rice trade, accounting for 83% of exports and 85% of imports. While there are numerous importers of rice, the exporters of rice are limited. Just five countries – Thailand, Vietnam, China, the United States and India – in decreasing order of exported quantities, accounted


title: Rice content: for about three-quarters of world rice exports in 2002. However, this ranking has been rapidly changing in recent years. In 2010, the three largest exporters of rice, in decreasing order of quantity exported were Thailand, Vietnam and India. By 2012, India became the largest exporter of rice with a 100% increase in its exports on year-to-year basis, and Thailand slipped to third position. Together, Thailand, Vietnam and India accounted for nearly 70% of the world rice exports. The primary variety exported by Thailand and Vietnam were Jasmine rice, while exports from India included aromatic Basmati variety. China, an exporter of


title: Rice content: rice in early 2000s, was a net importer of rice in 2010 and will become the largest net importer, surpassing Nigeria, in 2013. According to a USDA report, the world's largest exporters of rice in 2012 were India (9.75 million tonnes), Vietnam (7 million tonnes), Thailand (6.5 million tonnes), Pakistan (3.75 million tonnes) and the United States (3.5 million tonnes). Major importers usually include Nigeria, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq, Malaysia, the Philippines, Brazil and some African and Persian Gulf countries. In common with other West African countries, Nigeria is actively promoting domestic production. However, its very heavy import


title: Rice content: duties (110%) open it to smuggling from neighboring countries. Parboiled rice is particularly popular in Nigeria. Although China and India are the two largest producers of rice in the world, both countries consume the majority of the rice produced domestically, leaving little to be traded internationally. The average world yield for rice was 4.3 tonnes per hectare, in 2010. Australian rice farms were the most productive in 2010, with a nationwide average of 10.8 tonnes per hectare. Yuan Longping of China National Hybrid Rice Research and Development Center, China, set a world record for rice yield in 2010 at 19


title: Rice content: tonnes per hectare on a demonstration plot. In 2011, this record was surpassed by an Indian farmer, Sumant Kumar, with 22.4 tonnes per hectare in Bihar. Both these farmers claim to have employed newly developed rice breeds and System of Rice Intensification (SRI), a recent innovation in rice farming. SRI is claimed to have set new national records in rice yields, within the last 10 years, in many countries. The claimed Chinese and Indian yields have yet to be demonstrated on seven-hectare lots and to be reproducible over two consecutive years on the same farm. In late 2007 to May


title: Rice content: 2008, the price of grains rose greatly due to droughts in major producing countries (particularly Australia), increased use of grains for animal feed and US subsidies for bio-fuel production. Although there was no shortage of rice on world markets this general upward trend in grain prices led to panic buying by consumers, government rice export bans (in particular, by Vietnam and India) and inflated import orders by the Philippines marketing board, the National Food Authority. This caused significant rises in rice prices. In late April 2008, prices hit 24 US cents a pound, twice the price of seven months earlier.


title: Rice content: Over the period of 2007 to 2013, the Chinese government has substantially increased the price it pays domestic farmers for their rice, rising to per metric ton by 2013. The 2013 price of rice originating from other southeast Asian countries was a comparably low per metric ton. On April 30, 2008, Thailand announced plans for the creation of the Organisation of Rice Exporting Countries (OREC) with the intention that this should develop into a price-fixing cartel for rice. However, little progress had been made by mid-2011 to achieve this. As of 2009 world food consumption of rice was 531.6 million


title: Rice content: metric tons of paddy equivalent (354,603 of milled equivalent), while the far largest consumers were China consuming 156.3 million metric tons of paddy equivalent (29.4% of the world consumption) and India consuming 123.5 million metric tons of paddy equivalent (23.3% of the world consumption). Between 1961 and 2002, per capita consumption of rice increased by 40%. Rice is the most important crop in Asia. In Cambodia, for example, 90% of the total agricultural area is used for rice production. U.S. rice consumption has risen sharply over the past 25 years, fueled in part by commercial applications such as beer production.


title: Rice content: Almost one in five adult Americans now report eating at least half a serving of white or brown rice per day. Rice cultivation on wetland rice fields is thought to be responsible for 11% of the anthropogenic methane emissions. Rice requires slightly more water to produce than other grains. Rice production uses almost a third of Earth’s fresh water. Long-term flooding of rice fields cuts the soil off from atmospheric oxygen and causes anaerobic fermentation of organic matter in the soil. Methane production from rice cultivation contributes ~1.5% of anthropogenic greenhouse gases. Methane is twenty times more potent a greenhouse


title: Rice content: gas than carbon dioxide. A 2010 study found that, as a result of rising temperatures and decreasing solar radiation during the later years of the 20th century, the rice yield growth rate has decreased in many parts of Asia, compared to what would have been observed had the temperature and solar radiation trends not occurred. The yield growth rate had fallen 10–20% at some locations. The study was based on records from 227 farms in Thailand, Vietnam, Nepal, India, China, Bangladesh, and Pakistan. The mechanism of this falling yield was not clear, but might involve increased respiration during warm nights,


title: Rice content: which expends energy without being able to photosynthesize. Rice requires high temperature above but not more than . Optimum temperature is around 30 °C (T) and 20 °C (T). The amount of solar radiation received during the 45 days leading up to harvest determines final crop output. High water vapor content (in humid tropics) subjects unusual stress which favors the spread of fungal and bacterial diseases. Light wind transports CO to the leaf canopy but strong wind causes severe damage and may lead to sterility (due to pollen dehydration, spikelet sterility, and abortive endosperms). Rice pests are any organisms or


title: Rice content: microbes with the potential to reduce the yield or value of the rice crop (or of rice seeds). Rice pests include weeds, pathogens, insects, nematode, rodents, and birds. A variety of factors can contribute to pest outbreaks, including climatic factors, improper irrigation, the overuse of insecticides and high rates of nitrogen fertilizer application. Weather conditions also contribute to pest outbreaks. For example, rice gall midge and army worm outbreaks tend to follow periods of high rainfall early in the wet season, while thrips outbreaks are associated with drought. Major rice insect pests include: the brown planthopper (BPH), several spp. of


title: Rice content: stemborers – including those in the genera "Scirpophaga" and "Chilo", the rice gall midge, several spp. of rice bugs – notably in the genus "Leptocorisa", the rice leafroller, rice weevils and the Chinese rice grasshopper. The fall army worm, a species of Lepidoptera, also targets and causes damage to rice crops. Rice blast, caused by the fungus "Magnaporthe grisea", is the most significant disease affecting rice cultivation. Other major rice diseases include: sheath blight, rice ragged stunt (vector: BPH), and tungro (vector: "Nephotettix" spp). There is also an ascomycete fungus, "Cochliobolus miyabeanus", that causes brown spot disease in rice. Several


title: Rice content: nematode species infect rice crops, causing diseases such as Ufra (Ditylenchus dipsaci), White tip disease (Aphelenchoide bessei), and root knot disease (Meloidogyne graminicola). Some nematode species such as "Pratylenchus" spp. are most dangerous in upland rice of all parts of the world. Rice root nematode ("Hirschmanniella oryzae") is a migratory endoparasite which on higher inoculum levels will lead to complete destruction of a rice crop. Beyond being obligate parasites, they also decrease the vigor of plants and increase the plants' susceptibility to other pests and diseases. These include the apple snail "Pomacea canaliculata", panicle rice mite, rats, and the weed


title: Rice content: "Echinochloa crusgali". Crop protection scientists are trying to develop rice pest management techniques which are sustainable. In other words, to manage crop pests in such a manner that future crop production is not threatened. Sustainable pest management is based on four principles: biodiversity, host plant resistance (HPR), landscape ecology, and hierarchies in a landscape – from biological to social. At present, rice pest management includes cultural techniques, pest-resistant rice varieties, and pesticides (which include insecticide). Increasingly, there is evidence that farmers' pesticide applications are often unnecessary, and even facilitate pest outbreaks. By reducing the populations of natural enemies of rice


title: Rice content: pests, misuse of insecticides can actually lead to pest outbreaks. The International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) demonstrated in 1993 that an 87.5% reduction in pesticide use can lead to an overall drop in pest numbers. IRRI also conducted two campaigns in 1994 and 2003, respectively, which discouraged insecticide misuse and smarter pest management in Vietnam. Rice plants produce their own chemical defenses to protect themselves from pest attacks. Some synthetic chemicals, such as the herbicide 2,4-D, cause the plant to increase the production of certain defensive chemicals and thereby increase the plant’s resistance to some types of pests. Conversely, other


title: Rice content: chemicals, such as the insecticide imidacloprid, can induce changes in the gene expression of the rice that cause the plant to become more susceptible to attacks by certain types of pests. 5-Alkylresorcinols are chemicals that can also be found in rice. Botanicals, so-called "natural pesticides", are used by some farmers in an attempt to control rice pests. Botanicals include extracts of leaves, or a mulch of the leaves themselves. Some upland rice farmers in Cambodia spread chopped leaves of the bitter bush ("Chromolaena odorata") over the surface of fields after planting. This practice probably helps the soil retain moisture and


title: Rice content: thereby facilitates seed germination. Farmers also claim the leaves are a natural fertilizer and helps suppress weed and insect infestations. Among rice cultivars, there are differences in the responses to, and recovery from, pest damage. Many rice varieties have been selected for resistance to insect pests. Therefore, particular cultivars are recommended for areas prone to certain pest problems. The genetically based ability of a rice variety to withstand pest attacks is called resistance. Three main types of plant resistance to pests are recognized as nonpreference, antibiosis, and tolerance. Nonpreference (or antixenosis) describes host plants which insects prefer to avoid; antibiosis


title: Rice content: is where insect survival is reduced after the ingestion of host tissue; and tolerance is the capacity of a plant to produce high yield or retain high quality despite insect infestation. Over time, the use of pest-resistant rice varieties selects for pests that are able to overcome these mechanisms of resistance. When a rice variety is no longer able to resist pest infestations, resistance is said to have broken down. Rice varieties that can be widely grown for many years in the presence of pests and retain their ability to withstand the pests are said to have durable resistance. Mutants


title: Rice content: of popular rice varieties are regularly screened by plant breeders to discover new sources of durable resistance. Rice is parasitized by the weed eudicot "Striga hermonthica", which is of local importance for this crop. While most rice is bred for crop quality and productivity, there are varieties selected for characteristics such as texture, smell, and firmness. There are four major categories of rice worldwide: indica, japonica, aromatic and glutinous. The different varieties of rice are not considered interchangeable, either in food preparation or agriculture, so as a result, each major variety is a completely separate market from other varieties. It


title: Rice content: is common for one variety of rice to rise in price while another one drops in price. Rice cultivars also fall into groups according to environmental conditions, season of planting, and season of harvest, called ecotypes. Some major groups are the Japan-type (grown in Japan), "buly" and "tjereh" types (Indonesia); "aman" (main winter crop), "aus" ("aush", summer), and "boro" (spring) (Bengal and Assam). Cultivars exist that are adapted to deep flooding, and these are generally called "floating rice". The largest collection of rice cultivars is at the International Rice Research Institute in the Philippines, with over 100,000 rice accessions held


title: Rice content: in the International Rice Genebank. Rice cultivars are often classified by their grain shapes and texture. For example, Thai Jasmine rice is long-grain and relatively less sticky, as some long-grain rice contains less amylopectin than short-grain cultivars. Chinese restaurants often serve long-grain as plain unseasoned steamed rice though short-grain rice is common as well. Japanese mochi rice and Chinese sticky rice are short-grain. Chinese people use sticky rice which is properly known as "glutinous rice" (note: glutinous refer to the glue-like characteristic of rice; does not refer to "gluten") to make zongzi. The Japanese table rice is a sticky, short-grain


title: Rice content: rice. Japanese sake rice is another kind as well. Indian rice cultivars include long-grained and aromatic Basmati (ਬਾਸਮਤੀ) (grown in the North), long and medium-grained Patna rice, and in South India (Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka) short-grained Sona Masuri (also called as Bangaru theegalu). In the state of Tamil Nadu, the most prized cultivar is "ponni" which is primarily grown in the delta regions of the Kaveri River. Kaveri is also referred to as ponni in the South and the name reflects the geographic region where it is grown. In the Western Indian state of Maharashtra, a short grain variety called


title: Rice content: Ambemohar is very popular. This rice has a characteristic fragrance of Mango blossom. Aromatic rices have definite aromas and flavors; the most noted cultivars are Thai fragrant rice, Basmati, Patna rice, Vietnamese fragrant rice, and a hybrid cultivar from America, sold under the trade name Texmati. Both Basmati and Texmati have a mild popcorn-like aroma and flavor. In Indonesia, there are also "red" and "black" cultivars. High-yield cultivars of rice suitable for cultivation in Africa and other dry ecosystems, called the new rice for Africa (NERICA) cultivars, have been developed. It is hoped that their cultivation will improve food security


title: Rice content: in West Africa. Draft genomes for the two most common rice cultivars, "indica" and "japonica", were published in April 2002. Rice was chosen as a model organism for the biology of grasses because of its relatively small genome (~430 megabase pairs). Rice was the first crop with a complete genome sequence. On December 16, 2002, the UN General Assembly declared the year 2004 the International Year of Rice. The declaration was sponsored by more than 40 countries. The high-yielding varieties are a group of crops created intentionally during the Green Revolution to increase global food production. This project enabled labor


title: Rice content: markets in Asia to shift away from agriculture, and into industrial sectors. The first "Rice Car", IR8 was produced in 1966 at the International Rice Research Institute which is based in the Philippines at the University of the Philippines' Los Baños site. IR8 was created through a cross between an Indonesian variety named "Peta" and a Chinese variety named "Dee Geo Woo Gen." Scientists have identified and cloned many genes involved in the gibberellin signaling pathway, including GAI1 (Gibberellin Insensitive) and SLR1 (Slender Rice). Disruption of gibberellin signaling can lead to significantly reduced stem growth leading to a dwarf phenotype.


title: Rice content: Photosynthetic investment in the stem is reduced dramatically as the shorter plants are inherently more stable mechanically. Assimilates become redirected to grain production, amplifying in particular the effect of chemical fertilizers on commercial yield. In the presence of nitrogen fertilizers, and intensive crop management, these varieties increase their yield two to three times. As the UN Millennium Development project seeks to spread global economic development to Africa, the "Green Revolution" is cited as the model for economic development. With the intent of replicating the successful Asian boom in agronomic productivity, groups like the Earth Institute are doing research on African


title: Rice content: agricultural systems, hoping to increase productivity. An important way this can happen is the production of "New Rices for Africa" (NERICA). These rices, selected to tolerate the low input and harsh growing conditions of African agriculture, are produced by the African Rice Center, and billed as technology "from Africa, for Africa". The NERICA have appeared in "The New York Times" (October 10, 2007) and "International Herald Tribune" (October 9, 2007), trumpeted as miracle crops that will dramatically increase rice yield in Africa and enable an economic resurgence. Ongoing research in China to develop perennial rice could result in enhanced sustainability


title: Rice content: and food security. Rice kernels do not contain vitamin A, so people who obtain most of their calories from rice are at risk of vitamin A deficiency. German and Swiss researchers have genetically engineered rice to produce beta-carotene, the precursor to vitamin A, in the rice kernel. The beta-carotene turns the processed (white) rice a "gold" color, hence the name "golden rice." The beta-carotene is converted to vitamin A in humans who consume the rice. Although some rice strains produce beta-carotene in the hull, no non-genetically engineered strains have been found that produce beta-carotene in the kernel, despite the testing


title: Rice content: of thousands of strains. Additional efforts are being made to improve the quantity and quality of other nutrients in golden rice. The International Rice Research Institute is currently further developing and evaluating Golden Rice as a potential new way to help address vitamin A deficiency. Ventria Bioscience has genetically modified rice to express lactoferrin, lysozyme which are proteins usually found in breast milk, and human serum albumin, These proteins have antiviral, antibacterial, and antifungal effects. Rice containing these added proteins can be used as a component in oral rehydration solutions which are used to treat diarrheal diseases, thereby shortening their


title: Rice content: duration and reducing recurrence. Such supplements may also help reverse anemia. Due to the varying levels that water can reach in regions of cultivation, flood tolerant varieties have long been developed and used. Flooding is an issue that many rice growers face, especially in South and South East Asia where flooding annually affects 20 million hectares. Standard rice varieties cannot withstand stagnant flooding of more than about a week, mainly as it disallows the plant access to necessary requirements such as sunlight and essential gas exchanges, inevitably leading to plants being unable to recover. In the past, this has led


title: Rice content: to massive losses in yields, such as in the Philippines, where in 2006, rice crops worth $65 million were lost to flooding. Recently developed cultivars seek to improve flood tolerance. Drought represents a significant environmental stress for rice production, with 19–23 million hectares of rainfed rice production in South and South East Asia often at risk. Under drought conditions, without sufficient water to afford them the ability to obtain the required levels of nutrients from the soil, conventional commercial rice varieties can be severely affected – for example, yield losses as high as 40% have affected some parts of India,


title: Rice content: with resulting losses of around US$800 million annually. The International Rice Research Institute conducts research into developing drought-tolerant rice varieties, including the varieties 5411 and Sookha dhan, currently being employed by farmers in the Philippines and Nepal respectively. In addition, in 2013 the Japanese National Institute for Agrobiological Sciences led a team which successfully inserted the DEEPER ROOTING 1 (DRO1) gene, from the Philippine upland rice variety Kinandang Patong, into the popular commercial rice variety IR64, giving rise to a far deeper root system in the resulting plants. This facilitates an improved ability for the rice plant to derive its


title: Rice content: required nutrients in times of drought via accessing deeper layers of soil, a feature demonstrated by trials which saw the IR64 + DRO1 rice yields drop by 10% under moderate drought conditions, compared to 60% for the unmodified IR64 variety. Soil salinity poses a major threat to rice crop productivity, particularly along low-lying coastal areas during the dry season. For example, roughly 1 million hectares of the coastal areas of Bangladesh are affected by saline soils. These high concentrations of salt can severely affect rice plants’ normal physiology, especially during early stages of growth, and as such farmers are often


title: Rice content: forced to abandon these otherwise potentially usable areas. Progress has been made, however, in developing rice varieties capable of tolerating such conditions; the hybrid created from the cross between the commercial rice variety IR56 and the wild rice species "Oryza coarctata" is one example. "O. coarctata" is capable of successful growth in soils with double the limit of salinity of normal varieties, but lacks the ability to produce edible rice. Developed by the International Rice Research Institute, the hybrid variety can utilise specialised leaf glands that allow for the removal of salt into the atmosphere. It was initially produced from


title: Rice content: one successful embryo out of 34,000 crosses between the two species; this was then backcrossed to IR56 with the aim of preserving the genes responsible for salt tolerance that were inherited from "O. coarctata". Extensive trials are planned prior to the new variety being available to farmers by approximately 2017–18. When the problem of soil salinity arises it will be opportune to select salt tolerant varieties (IRRI or to resort to soil salinity control. Soil salinity is often measured as the electric conductivity (EC) of the extract of a saturated soil paste (ECe). The EC units are usually expressed in


title: Rice content: millimho/cm or dS/m. The critical ECe value of 5.5 dS/m in the figure, obtained from measurements in farmers' fields, indicates that the rice crop is slightly salt sensitive. Producing rice in paddies is harmful for the environment due to the release of methane by methanogenic bacteria. These bacteria live in the anaerobic waterlogged soil, and live off nutrients released by rice roots. Researchers have recently reported in "Nature" that putting the barley gene SUSIBA2 into rice creates a shift in biomass production from root to shoot (above ground tissue becomes larger, while below ground tissue is reduced), decreasing the methanogen


title: Rice content: population, and resulting in a reduction of methane emissions of up to 97%. Apart from this environmental benefit, the modification also increases the amount of rice grains by 43%, which makes it a useful tool in feeding a growing world population. Rice is used as a model organism for investigating the molecular mechanisms of meiosis and DNA repair in higher plants. Meiosis is a key stage of the sexual cycle in which diploid cells in the ovule (female structure) and the anther (male structure) produce haploid cells that develop further into gametophytes and gametes. So far, 28 meiotic genes of


title: Rice content: rice have been characterized. Studies of rice gene OsRAD51C showed that this gene is necessary for homologous recombinational repair of DNA, particularly the accurate repair of DNA double-strand breaks during meiosis. Rice gene OsDMC1 was found to be essential for pairing of homologous chromosomes during meiosis, and rice gene OsMRE11 was found to be required for both synapsis of homologous chromosomes and repair of double-strand breaks during meiosis. Rice plays an important role in certain religions and popular beliefs. In many cultures relatives will scatter rice during or towards the end of a wedding ceremony in front of the bride


title: Rice content: and groom. The pounded rice ritual is conducted during weddings in Nepal. The bride gives a leafplate full of pounded rice to the groom after he requests it politely from her. In the Philippines rice wine, popularly known as "tapuy", is used for important occasions such as weddings, rice harvesting ceremonies and other celebrations. Dewi Sri is the traditional rice goddess of the Javanese, Sundanese, and Balinese people in Indonesia. Most rituals involving Dewi Sri are associated with the mythical origin attributed to the rice plant, the staple food of the region. In Thailand a similar rice deity is known


title: Rice content: as "Phosop"; she is a deity more related to ancient local folklore than a goddess of a structured, mainstream religion. The same female rice deity is known as "Po Ino Nogar" in Cambodia and as "Nang Khosop" in Laos. Ritual offerings are made during the different stages of rice production to propitiate the Rice Goddess in the corresponding cultures. A 2014 study of Han Chinese communities found that a history of farming rice makes cultures more psychologically interdependent, whereas a history of farming wheat makes cultures more independent. A Royal Ploughing Ceremony is held in certain Asian countries to mark


title: Rice content: the beginning of the rice planting season. It is still honored in the kingdoms of Cambodia and Thailand. Rice Rice is the seed of the grass species "Oryza sativa" (Asian rice) or "Oryza glaberrima" (African rice). As a cereal grain, it is the most widely consumed staple food for a large part of the world's human population, especially in Asia. It is the agricultural commodity with the third-highest worldwide production (rice, 741.5 million tonnes in 2014), after sugarcane (1.9 billion tonnes) and maize (1.0 billion tonnes). Since sizable portions of sugarcane and maize crops are used for purposes other than


title: "Palmer Raids" content: in Washington, D.C. At least one person was killed in this second attack, night watchman William Boehner, and fears were raised because it occurred in the capital. Flyers declaring war on capitalists in the name of anarchist principles accompanied each bomb. In June 1919, Attorney General Palmer told the House Appropriations Committee that all evidence promised that radicals would "on a certain day...rise up and destroy the government at one fell swoop." He requested an increase in his budget to $2,000,000 from $1,500,000 to support his investigations of radicals, but Congress limited the increase to $100,000. An initial raid in


title: "The Price Is Right (U.S. game show)" content: at 10:00 am ET and "Gambit" at 11:00 am ET. The show was first billed as "The New Price Is Right" to distinguish itself from the earlier/original version (1956–65) hosted by Bill Cullen, but it proved so popular in its own right that, in June 1973, the producers decided to drop the word "New" from its title. On March 26, 1973, CBS moved "The Price Is Right" to 3:00 pm ET, pairing it with "Match Game" as part of what became the highest-rated pairing in daytime. The show remained in that time slot until August 11, 1975 when it permanently


title: "Industrial Workers of the World" content: raising industry standards, as well as maintaining an active phone line for booking information. IWW musicians such as Utah Phillips, Faith Petric, Bob Bovee, and Jim Ringer also toured and promoted the union, and in 1987 an anthology album, "Rebel Voices", was released. Other IWW organizing campaigns of the 1970s included a ShopRite supermarket in Milwaukee, at Coronet Foods in Wheeling, West Virginia, chemical and fast food workers (including KFC and Roy Rogers) in State College, Pennsylvania, and hospital workers in Boston, all in 1973; shipyards in Houston, Texas and restaurant workers in Pittsburgh in 1974; unsuccessful campaigns at the


title: "Industrial Workers of the World" content: the Australian IWW had four members, according to surveillance by government authorities, and these members were consistently opposed to the Second World War. After the Second World War, the IWW would become one of the influences on the Sydney Libertarians who were in turn a significant cultural and political influence Today the IWW still exists in Australia, in larger numbers than the 1940s, but due to the nature of the Australian industrial relations system, it is unlikely to win union representation in any workplaces in the immediate future. More significant is its continuing place in the mythology of the militant


title: "Civil disobedience" content: and racial discrimination. Pro Public and typically peaceful resistance to political power would remain an integral tactic in modern American minority rights politics. Henry David Thoreau's 1849 essay "Resistance to Civil Government" was eventually renamed "Essay on Civil Disobedience". After his landmark lectures were published in 1866, the term began to appear in numerous sermons and lectures relating to slavery and the war in Mexico. Thus, by the time Thoreau's lectures were first published under the title "Civil Disobedience", in 1866, four years after his death, the term had achieved fairly widespread usage. It has been argued that the term


title: "Australian Secret Intelligence Service" content: roles of the organisations and commended the performance of ASIS. The "Intelligence Services Act 2001" (ISA) converted ASIS to a statutory body. The Act set out the functions of ASIS and the limits on those functions. Use of weapons by ASIS were prohibited (except for self-defence). Conduct of violent or para-military operations was also curtailed. The Act authorised the responsible minister to issue directions to the agency. Ministerial authorisation is required for intelligence collection activities involving Australians but limited the circumstances in which this could be done. The Act requires the responsible minister to make rules regulating the communication and


title: Causality content: (DAGs) are increasingly used in epidemiology to help enlighten causal thinking. Psychologists take an empirical approach to causality, investigating how people and non-human animals detect or infer causation from sensory information, prior experience and innate knowledge. Attribution theory is the theory concerning how people explain individual occurrences of causation. Attribution can be external (assigning causality to an outside agent or force—claiming that some outside thing motivated the event) or internal (assigning causality to factors within the person—taking personal responsibility or accountability for one's actions and claiming that the person was directly responsible for the event). Taking causation one step further,


title: "His Dark Materials" content: Pullman wrote with no target audience in mind. The fantasy elements include witches and armoured polar bears; the trilogy also alludes to concepts from physics, philosophy and theology. It functions in part as a retelling and inversion of John Milton's epic "Paradise Lost", with Pullman commending humanity for what Milton saw as its most tragic failing, original sin. The series has attracted controversy for its criticism of religion. The London Royal National Theatre staged a two-part adaptation of the series in 2003–2004. New Line Cinema released a film adaptation of "Northern Lights", "The Golden Compass", in 2007. Pullman followed the


title: "Radioactive waste" content: have a low level of radioactivity. Usually ranging from 1 millisievert (mSv) to 13 mSv annually depending on location, average radiation exposure from natural radioisotopes is 2.0 mSv per person a year worldwide. This makes up the majority of typical total dosage (with mean annual exposure from other sources amounting to 0.6 mSv from medical tests averaged over the whole populace, 0.4 mSv from cosmic rays, 0.005 mSv from the legacy of past atmospheric nuclear testing, 0.005 mSv occupational exposure, 0.002 mSv from the Chernobyl disaster, and 0.0002 mSv from the nuclear fuel cycle). TENORM is not regulated as restrictively


title: "Ion Antonescu" content: instruct their Romanian counterparts on "Blitzkrieg" tactics. On November 23, Antonescu was in Berlin, where his signature sealed Romania's commitment to the main Axis instrument, the Tripartite Pact. Two days later, the country also adhered to the Nazi-led Anti-Comintern Pact. Other than these generic commitments, Romania had no treaty binding it to Germany, and the Romanian-German alliance functioned informally. Speaking in 1946, Antonescu claimed to have followed the pro-German path in continuation of earlier policies, and for fear of a Nazi protectorate in Romania. During the National Legionary State period, earlier antisemitic legislation was upheld and strengthened, while the "Romanianization"


title: "Computer-aided design" content: for each. There are many producers of the lower-end 2D systems, including a number of free and open-source programs. These provide an approach to the drawing process without all the fuss over scale and placement on the drawing sheet that accompanied hand drafting since these can be adjusted as required during the creation of the final draft. "3D wireframe" is basically an extension of 2D drafting (not often used today). Each line has to be manually inserted into the drawing. The final product has no mass properties associated with it and cannot have features directly added to it, such as


title: "Brutus the Younger" content: Nonetheless, uproar among the population against the assassins caused Brutus and the conspirators to leave Rome. Brutus settled in Crete from 44 to 42 BC. In 43 BC, after Octavian received his consulship from the Roman Senate, one of his first actions was to have the people who had assassinated Julius Caesar declared murderers and enemies of the state. Cicero, angry at Octavian, wrote a letter to Brutus explaining that the forces of Octavian and Mark Antony were divided. Antony had laid siege to the province of Gaul, where he wanted a governorship. In response to this siege, Octavian rallied


title: Magma content: in a rock under pressure can stabilize a melt fraction. The presence of even 0.8% water may reduce the temperature of melting by as much as 100 °C. Conversely, the loss of water and volatiles from a magma may cause it to essentially freeze or solidify. Also a major portion of almost all magma is silica, which is a compound of silicon and oxygen. Magma also contains gases, which expand as the magma rises. Magma that is high in silica resists flowing, so expanding gases are trapped in it. Pressure builds up until the gases blast out in a violent,


title: "Central Park" content: Central Park Central Park is an urban park in Manhattan, New York City. It is located between the Upper West Side and Upper East Side, roughly bounded by Fifth Avenue on the east, Central Park West (Eighth Avenue) on the west, Central Park South (59th Street) on the south, and Central Park North (110th Street) on the north. Central Park is the most visited urban park in the United States, with 40 million visitors in 2013, and one of the most filmed locations in the world. In terms of area, Central Park is the fifth-largest park in New York City,


title: "Central Park" content: covering . The park was established in 1857 on of land acquired by the city. In 1858, landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted and architect/landscape designer Calvert Vaux won a design competition to improve and expand the park with a plan they titled the "Greensward Plan". Construction began the same year, and the park's first area was opened to the public in the winter of 1858. Construction north of the park continued during the American Civil War in the 1860s, and the park was expanded to its current size in 1873. After a period of decline in the early 20th century,


title: "Central Park" content: Robert Moses started a program to clean up Central Park. Another decline in the late 20th century spurred the creation of the Central Park Conservancy in 1980, which refurbished many parts of the park during the 1980s and 1990s. Central Park was designated a National Historic Landmark by the U.S. Department of the Interior in 1963, which in April 2017 placed it on the tentative list for UNESCO World Heritage sites. The park, managed for decades by the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation, is currently managed by the Central Park Conservancy under contract with the municipal government


title: "Central Park" content: in a public-private partnership. The Conservancy is a non-profit organization that contributes 75 percent of Central Park's $65 million annual budget and is responsible for all basic care of the 843-acre park. Central Park, which has been a National Historic Landmark since 1962, was designed by landscape architect and writer Frederick Law Olmsted and the English architect Calvert Vaux in 1858 after winning a design competition. They also designed Brooklyn's Prospect Park. Central Park is the fifth-largest park in New York City, behind Flushing Meadows-Corona Park, Van Cortlandt Park, the Staten Island Greenbelt, and Pelham Bay Park. Central Park is


title: "Central Park" content: located on of land, although its original area was . The park, with a perimeter of , is bordered on the north by Central Park North (110th Street), on the south by Central Park South (59th Street), on the west by Central Park West (Eighth Avenue), and on the east by Fifth Avenue. It is 2.5 miles (4 km) long between Central Park South and Central Park North, and is 0.5 mile (0.8 km) wide between Fifth Avenue and Central Park West. Central Park constitutes its own United States census tract, number 143. According to American Community Survey 5-year estimates,


title: "Central Park" content: the park's population was five people, all female, with a median age of 19.8 years. However Central Park officials have rejected the claim of anyone permanently living there. The real estate value of Central Park was estimated by property appraisal firm Miller Samuel to be about $528.8 billion in December 2005. Central Park's size and cultural position, similar to London's Hyde Park and Munich's Englischer Garten, has served as a model for many urban parks, including San Francisco's Golden Gate Park, Tokyo's Ueno Park, and Vancouver's Stanley Park. The park, which receives approximately 35 million visitors annually, is the most


title: "Central Park" content: visited urban park in the United States. It is also the most filmed location in the world. A December 2017 report found that 231 movies have used Central Park for on-location shoots, more than the 160 movies that have filmed in Greenwich Village or the 99 movies that have filmed in Times Square. The park is maintained by the Central Park Conservancy, a private, not-for-profit organization that manages the park under a contract with the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation, in which the president of the Conservancy is "ex officio" Administrator of Central Park. Today, the conservancy


title: "Central Park" content: employs 80% of maintenance and operations staff in the park. It effectively oversees the work of both the private and public employees under the authority of the Central Park administrator (publicly appointed), who reports to the parks commissioner, conservancy's president. , the conservancy had invested approximately $450 million in the restoration and management of the park; the organization presently contributes approximately 85% of Central Park's annual operating budget of over $37 million. The system was functioning so well that in 2006 the conservancy created the Historic Harlem Parks initiative, providing horticultural and maintenance support and mentoring in Morningside Park, St.


title: "Central Park" content: Nicholas Park, Jackie Robinson Park, and Marcus Garvey Park. The park has its own New York City Police Department precinct—the Central Park Precinct—which employs both regular police and auxiliary officers. In 2005, safety measures held the number of crimes in the park to fewer than one hundred per year (down from approximately 1,000 annually in the early 1980s). The New York City Parks Enforcement Patrol also patrols Central Park. There is an all-volunteer ambulance service, the Central Park Medical Unit, that provides free emergency medical service to patrons of Central Park and the surrounding streets. It operates a rapid-response bicycle


title: "Central Park" content: patrol, particularly during major events such as the New York City Marathon, the 1998 Goodwill Games, and concerts in the park. While planting and land form in much of the park appear natural, it is in fact almost entirely landscaped. The park contains several natural-looking lakes and ponds that have been created artificially by damming natural seeps and flows. There is a large area of woods in addition to seven major lawns, the "meadows", and many minor grassy areas; some of them are used for informal or team sports and some set aside as quiet areas; there are a number


title: "Central Park" content: of enclosed playgrounds for children. The of drives within the park are used by joggers, cyclists, skateboarders, and inline skaters, especially when automobile traffic is prohibited, on weekends and in the evenings after 7:00 pm. Between 1821 and 1855, New York City nearly quadrupled in population. As the city expanded northward up Manhattan Island, people were drawn to the few existing open spaces, mainly cemeteries, to get away from the noise and chaotic life in the city. Since Central Park was not part of the original Commissioners' Plan of 1811, John Randel, Jr., surveyed the grounds. The only remaining surveying


title: "Central Park" content: bolt from his survey is embedded in a rock located north of the present Dairy and the 65th Street Transverse, and south of Center Drive. The bolt marks the location where West 65th Street would have intersected Sixth Avenue. New York City's need for a great public park was resounded by the famed poet and editor of the "Evening Post" (now the "New York Post"), William Cullen Bryant, as well as by the first American landscape architect, Andrew Jackson Downing, who predicted and began to publicize the city's need for a public park in 1844. A stylish place for open-air


title: "Central Park" content: driving, similar to Paris' Bois de Boulogne or London's Hyde Park, was felt to be needed by many influential New Yorkers, and, after an abortive attempt in 1850–1851 to designate Jones's Wood, in 1853 the New York legislature settled upon a area from 59th to 106th Streets for the creation of the park, at a cost of more than US$5 million for the land. The state appointed a Central Park Commission to oversee the development of the park, and in 1857 the commission held a landscape design contest. Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux developed what came to be known


title: "Central Park" content: as the "Greensward Plan", which was selected as the winning design. According to Olmsted, the park was "of great importance as the first real Park made in this country – a democratic development of the highest significance...", a view probably inspired by his various trips to Europe during 1850 (he had visited several parks during these trips and was particularly impressed by Birkenhead Park and Derby Arboretum in England). The Greensward Plan called for some 36 bridges, all designed by Vaux, ranging from rugged spans of Manhattan schist or granite, to lacy Neo-Gothic cast iron; no two are alike. The


title: "Central Park" content: ensemble of the formal line of the Mall's doubled allées of elms culminating at Bethesda Terrace, whose centerpiece is the Bethesda Fountain, with a composed view beyond of lake and woodland, was at the heart of the larger design. Execution of the Greensward Plan was the responsibility of a number of individuals, including Jacob Wrey Mould (architect), Ignaz Anton Pilat (master gardener), George E. Waring, Jr. (engineer), and Andrew Haswell Green (politician), in addition to Olmsted and Vaux. Several influences came together in the design. Landscaped cemeteries, such as Mount Auburn (Cambridge, Massachusetts) and Green-Wood (Brooklyn, New York) had set