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Ponni rice (Tamil Nadu) Photo: Ragu Raja · Pexels License · source ↗

Ponni rice (Tamil Nadu)

Ponni is a family of medium-duration medium-slender white rice varieties bred at Tamil Nadu Agricultural University (TNAU), Coimbatore, and at the Tamil Nadu Rice Research Institute, Aduthurai. Named after the river Ponni (Cauvery), the group includes the original IR-derived release ADT-37 / Ponni and later improvements such as White Ponni, BPT-Ponni and Improved White Ponni. Ponni is the dominant table rice of Tamil Nadu and a major brand for parboiled (puzhungal arisi) rice across South India and the Gulf export trade.

Key characteristics

  • Released by: TNAU Coimbatore / TRRI Aduthurai, from 1970s onward
  • Duration: 135-150 days (medium to medium-long)
  • Grain: medium slender, white, low chalk; preferred for parboiling
  • Plant type: semi-dwarf, lodging-tolerant under balanced N
  • Yield: 5-6 t/ha under irrigated transplanted management

Cultivation

Ponni is the mainstay of the Cauvery delta samba and thaladi seasons in Thanjavur, Tiruvarur, Nagapattinam and Mayiladuthurai, and is also grown in Tiruchirapalli, Pudukkottai and parts of Andhra Pradesh adjoining the Tamil Nadu border. It is established almost exclusively through puddled transplanting from a wet bed nursery (Paddy Nursery Management, Transplanting Paddy), with 20-22 day seedlings transplanted at 20 x 15 cm spacing. Standard package recommends 150:50:50 NPK kg/ha with potash split-applied at tillering and panicle initiation.

Pest and disease profile

Ponni is moderately susceptible to bacterial leaf blight (Bacterial Leaf Blight Paddy), neck blast on late-sown samba crops (Paddy Blast Disease) and brown planthopper buildup under continuous flooding (Brown Planthopper Paddy). Sheath blight (Sheath Blight Paddy) is a common pre-harvest issue in the canopy-heavy delta crop. The variety lodges if late N exceeds 30 kg/ha at booting.

Adoption and use

Boiled (parboiled) Ponni is the default cooking rice across Tamil Nadu households, Chennai retail trade and Tamil-diaspora kitchens in Singapore, Malaysia and the Gulf. Branded rice mills in Chennai, Coimbatore and Karaikal market Ponni as a premium puzhungal arisi (parboiled rice) line, and Tamil Nadu Civil Supplies Corporation procures it under MSP-linked operations (Rice Msp Procurement States). Mill conversion typically gives 65-68% head rice recovery, comparable to Bpt 5204.

See also Bpt 5204, Mtu 1010, Transplanting Paddy, Paddy Nursery Management, Rice Msp Procurement States.

Sources

  1. Paddy Varieties - ADT and Ponni. TNAU Agritech Portal.
  2. Cauvery Delta Paddy Cultivation. TNAU Department of Rice.