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[[Image:LongjiTerraces.jpg|right|thumb|Rice terraces in Longji, [[Guangxi]], [[People's Republic of China]].]]
[[Image:Flooded paddy field in Wu-chih Taiwan.jpg|right|thumb|Paddy field prior to planting, in [[Taiwan]]]]
A '''paddy field''' is a flooded parcel of [[arable land]] used for growing [[rice]] and other [[Aquatic plant|semiaquatic crops]]. Rice can also be grown in dry-fields, but from the twentieth century paddy field agriculture became the dominant form of growing rice. Paddy fields are a typical feature of [[rice]]-growing countries of [[East Asia|east]], [[South Asia|south]] and [[අග්නිදිග ආසියාව]], including [[Cambodia]], [[Bangladesh]], [[People's Republic of China|China]], [[India]], [[ඉන්දුනීසියාව]], [[Japan]], [[Korea]], [[Malaysia]], [[Myanmar]], [[Nepal]], [[Pakistan]], the [[Philippines]], [[Sri Lanka]], [[Taiwan]], [[Thailand]], and [[Vietnam]]. They are also found in other rice-growing regions such as [[Piedmont]] (Italy), the [[Camargue]] (France) and the [[Artibonite]] Valley (Haiti), and the remains of rice paddies still define much of landscape of the [[Carolina Lowcountry]].
Paddy fields can be built adjacent to otherwise natural areas such as [[river]]s or [[marshes]]. They can be constructed, often on steep hillsides with much [[manual labour|labor]] and materials. The fields require large quantities of [[water]] for [[irrigation]]. Flooding provides water essential to the growth of the crop. Water also provides a favorable environment for the rice strains being grown as well as discouraging the growth of many [[species]] of [[weed]]s. The [[Domestic buffalo|water buffalo]] is the only [[working animal]] adapted for life in [[wetlands]] so they are extensively used in paddy fields.
Growing rice has an adverse environmental impact because of the large quantities of [[methane]] gas it generates. World methane production due to paddy fields has been estimated to be in the range of 50 to 100 million tonnes per annum.<ref>{{cite web
|url=http://www.ghgonline.org/methanerice.htm Methane gas generation from paddy fields
|title=Methane Sources - Rice Paddies
|accessdate=2007-07-15}}</ref> This level of [[greenhouse gas]] generation is a large component of the [[global warming]] threat produced from [[overpopulation|an expanding human population]]. However, recent studies have shown that methane can be significantly reduced while also boosting crop yield by draining the paddies allowing the soil to aerate, which interrupts methane production.<ref>{{cite web
|url=http://www.gsfc.nasa.gov/topstory/2002/1204paddies.html
|title=SHIFTS IN RICE FARMING PRACTICES IN CHINA REDUCE GREENHOUSE GAS METHANE
|accessdate=2002-12-19}}</ref>
The word "paddy" is derived from the [[Malay language|Malay]] word ''padi'', rice plant.<ref>{{cite web
|url=http://www.m-w.com/cgi-bin/dictionary?sourceid=Mozilla-search&va=paddy
|title=paddy
|publisher=Merrium Webster
|accessdate=2007-07-15
}}</ref>
==ඉතිහාසය==
[[Image:Pic11.jpg|250px]] [[Image:P20.jpg|250px]] [[Image:Pic10.jpg|250px]]
දුනීසියාව===ඉන===
[[Image:KerbauJawa.jpg|thumb|right|[[domestic buffalo|Water buffalo]]s are common tool to plough muddy paddy fields in [[ඉන්දුනීසියාව]].]]
Prime Javanese paddy yields roughly 6 metric tons of unmilled rice (2.5 metric tons of milled rice) per hectare. When irrigation is available, rice farmers typically plant [[Green Revolution]] rice varieties allowing three growing seasons per year. Since fertilizer and pesticide are relatively expensive inputs, farmers typically plant seeds in a very small plot. Three weeks following germination, the 6-8inch stalks are picked and replanted at greater separation, in a backbreaking manual procedure.
Rice harvesting in [[Central Java]] is often performed not by owners or [[sharecropper]]s of paddy, but rather by itinerant middlemen, whose small firms specialize in harvesting, transport, milling, and distribution to markets.
The fertile volcanic soil of much of the [[ඉන්දුනීසියාව]]n archipelago-- and particularly the islands of [[Java]] and [[Bali]]-- has made rice a central dietary staple. Steep terrain on Bali resulted in intricate cooperation systems, locally called ''[[Subak (irrigation)|subak]]'', to manage water storage and drainage for rice terraces.<ref>[http://www.santafe.edu/research/publications/workingpapers/03-05-030.pdf Lansing and Miller]</ref>
===Italy===
Rice is grown in northern [[Italy]], especially in the valley of the river [[Po River|Po]].<ref>Channel 4 notes for schools. [http://www.channel4.com/learning/main/netnotes/sectionid14_printyes.htm]</ref> The paddy fields are irrigated by fast-flowing streams descending from the [[Alps]]. [[Risotto]], a rice dish flavoured with [[saffron]] is a typical dish from the rice-growing area near [[Milan]] that has now travelled around the world.
===Japan===
[[Image:Kakashi2.jpg|right|thumb|Paddy field [[Scarecrow|scarecrows]] in Japan]]
The [[acid]]ic [[soil]] conditions common in Japan due to [[volcano|volcanic]] eruptions have made the paddy field the most productive farming method. Paddy fields are represented by the [[kanji]] {{lang|ja|田}} (commonly read as ''ta'') that has had a strong influence on Japanese culture. [[Image:Rice Paddies In Aizu, Japan.JPG|left|thumb|280px|Paddy fields near [[Lake Inawashiro]] in Japan]]In fact, the character {{lang|ja|田}}, which originally meant 'field' in general, is used in Japan exclusively to convey the meaning 'rice paddy field'. One of the oldest samples of writing in Japan is widely credited to the kanji {{lang|ja|田}} found on pottery at the archaeological site of [[Matsusaka, Mie]] that dates to the late 2nd century.
''Ta'' ({{lang|ja|田}}) is used as a part of many [[Japanese place names|place names]] as well as in many family names. Most of these places are somehow related to the paddy field and in many cases, are based on the history of a particular location. For example, where a river runs through a village, the place east of river may be called ''Higashida'' ({{lang|ja|東田}}), literally "east paddy field." A place with a newly irrigated paddy field, especially those during or later than [[Edo period]], may be called ''Nitta'' or ''Shinden'' (both {{lang|ja|新田}}), "new paddy field." In some places, lakes and marshes were likened to a paddy field and were named with ''ta'', like ''Hakkōda'' ({{lang|ja|八甲田}}).
Today, many family names have ''ta'' as a component, a practice which can be largely attributed to a government edict in the early [[Meiji Period]] requiring all Japanese people to have a family name. Many chose a name based on or near the place they lived or the job they had, and with nearly three fourths of population being farmers, many made family names using ''ta''. Some common examples are ''[[Tanaka]]'' ({{lang|ja|田中}}) and ''[[Nakata]]'' ({{lang|ja|中田}}), literally meaning "middle of paddy field," ''[[Kawada]]'' (川田), "paddy field by a river," and ''Furuta'' ({{lang|ja|古田}}), "old paddy field."
===Korea===
[[Image:Namwon8.jpg|thumb|right|Paddy field near [[Namwon]], [[දකුණු කොරියාව]], early June.]]
Arable land in small alluvial flats of most rural river valleys in South Korea are dedicated to paddy-field farming. Farmers assess paddy fields for any necessary repairs in February. Fields may be rebuilt, and bund breaches are repaired. This work is carried out until mid-March, when warmer spring weather allows the farmer to buy or grow rice seedlings. They are transplanted (usually by hand) from the indoors into freshly flooded paddy fields in May. Farmers tend and weed their paddy fields through the summer until around the time of [[Chuseok]], a traditional holiday held on August 15th of the [[Lunar Calendar]] (circa mid-September by Solar Calendar). The harvest begins in October. Coordinating the harvest can be challenging because many Korean farmers have small paddy fields in a number of locations around their villages, and modern harvesting machines are sometimes shared between extended family members. Farmers usually dry the harvested grains in the sun before bringing them to market.
The Chinese (or [[Sino-Korean vocabulary|Sino-Korean]]) character for 'field', ''jeon'' ([[Hangeul]]: 전; [[Hanja]]: 田), is found in some place names, especially small farming townships and villages. However, the specific Korean term for 'paddy' is derived from Sino-Korean and is literally 'water-field' or ''sujeon'' ([[Hangeul]]: 수전; [[Hanja]]: 水田).
===Myanmar===
Rice is grown primarily in three areas - the [[Ayeyarwaddy]] Delta, the area along and the delta of the [[Kaladan River]], and the Central plains around [[Mandalay]]. Up til the later 1960s, Myanmar was the main exporter of rice. Termed the rice basket of South East Asia, much of the rice grown in Myanmar does not rely on fertilizers and pesticides, thus, although "organic" in a sense, it has been unable to cope with population growth and other rice economies which utilized fertilizers.
Rice is now grown in all the three seasons of Myanmar, though primarily in the Monsoon season - from June to October. Rice grown in the delta areas rely heavily on the river water and sedimented minerals from the northern mountains, whilst the rice grown in the central regions require irrigation from the Ayeryarwaddy River.
The fields are tilled when the first rains arrive - traditionally measured at 40 days after [[Thingyan]], the Burmese New Year - around the beginning of June. In modern times, tractors are used, but traditionally, buffalos were employed. The rice plants are planted in nurseries and then transplanted by hand into the prepared fields. The rice is then harvested in late November - "when the rice bends with age". Most of the rice planting and harvesting are done by hand. The rice is then threshed and stored, ready for the mills.
===Philippines===
[[Image:NE rice paddy.jpg|thumb|right|A vast paddy field in [[San Leonardo, Nueva Ecija|San Leonardo]], [[Nueva Ecija]], [[Philippines]].]]
Paddy fields are a common sight in the Philippines. Several vast paddy fields exists in the [[Provinces of the Philippines|provinces]] of [[Nueva Ecija]], [[Isabela (province)|Isabela]], [[Cagayan]], [[Bulacan]], etc. [[Nueva Ecija]] produces the biggest share of rice for national food security.
==== Banaue rice terraces ====
[[Image:StereocardCarabao.jpg|thumb|right|Filipino farmer harrowing a flooded rice field; [[Luzon]], [[Philippines]]]]
{{මූලික|Banaue Rice Terraces}}
[[Image:Rice terraces.png|thumb|left|Banaue Rice Terraces, [[Ifugao Province]], [[Philippines]]]]
The Banaue Rice Terraces are located in Northern [[Luzon]] and were built by the [[Ifugao]]s 2,000 years ago. Streams and springs found in the mountains were tapped and channeled into irrigation canals that run downhill through the rice terraces. Other notable Philippine paddy fields are the Batad Rice Terraces, the Bangaan Rice Terraces, the Mayoyao Rice Terraces and the Hapao Rice Terraces.<ref name=Wow>[http://www.tourism.gov.ph/explore_phil/place_details.asp?content=famousefor&province=74 ''Ifugao is Famous for...'', Wow Philippines, Tourism.gov.ph (undated)], retrieved on: July 21, 2007</ref>
Located at Barangay Batad in Banaue, the Batad Rice Terraces are shaped like an [[amphitheatre]], and can be reached by a 12-kilometer ride from Banaue Hotel and a 2-hour hike uphill through mountain trails. The Bangaan Rice Terraces portray the typical Ifugao community, where the livelihood activities are within the village and its surroundings. The Bangaan Rice Terraces is accessible in a one-hour ride from Poblacion, Banaue, then a 20-minute trek down to the village. It can be viewed best from the road to Mayoyao. The Mayoyao Rice Terraces is located at Mayoyao, 44 kilometers away from Poblacion, Banaue. The town of Mayoyao lies in the midst of these rice terraces. All dikes are tiered with flat stones. The Hapao Rice Terraces can be reached within 55 kilometers from the capital town of Lagawe. Other Ifugao stone-walled rice terraces are located in the municipality of Hungduan.<ref name=Wow/>
===Vietnam===
[[Image:Canh-dong-Viet.JPG|right|thumb|A rice field in [[Vietnam]]]]
{{Cleanup-section|date=October 2007}}
Rice fields in [[Vietnam]] (''ruộng'', ''cánh đồng'' or ''điền'' in Vietnamese) are the predominant land use in the valley of the [[Red River (Vietnam)|Red River]] and the [[Mekong Delta]]). In the [[Red River Delta]] of northern Vietnam, farmers must dam up (nowadays 3000 km long) against the annual flood, and it is also the necessary condition to form an alliance among Vietnamese ancient tribals to found [[Vietnamese people]]'s first state. In the Mekong Delta of southern Vietnam, there is an interlacing drainage and irrigation canal system that has become the symbol of this area and impacts on the lifestyle of local people. In Northwestern Vietnam, [[Thai people]] built their ''"[[valley culture]]"'' based on the economic foundation of [[glutinous rice]] upland fields.
The primary festival related to rice fields is ''"lễ hạ điền"'' (Vietnamese)/''"lồng tồng"'' ([[Tay]] language) in the first day of every crop wishing for yield more than usual. In the past, this was the official national ceremony that the King would make the first plough and people would worship [[Than Nong]] (god of agriculture), ''thổ địa'' (god of the soil), ''thành hoàng làng'' (god of the village), and ''thần lúa'' (god of rice plants).
During the [[Trần Dynasty]], there were three kinds of rice field: ''ruộng quốc khố'' (national budget rice field) with 3 levels, ''ruộng thác điền'' with 3 levels (the name derives from a story about [[Lê Phụng Hiểu]]. He refused the King's present for his feat of arms but required that how far he would throw his knife, how wide of the rice field he could possess. Since then, it's become the name of rice field for rewarding Vietnamese mandarins: thác đao- abbreviation: thác- throw the knife and điền- rice field), and ''ruộng ao'' of the common people.
In [[Vietnamese literature]], a rice field is described as wide enough for flock of [[stork]]s to span their wings across: "''đồng lúa thẳng cánh cò bay''" and the sway of rice plants in the wind is compared to waves of the sea and called "''sóng lúa''". These images are very common phrases describing the beauty of the Vietnamese landscape.
==See also==
*[[වී වගාව - ශ්රී ලංකාව]]
*[[International Rice Research Institute]] (Philippines)
*[[Satoyama]]
==Notes==
{{reflist}}
==References==
*Bale, Martin T. Archaeology of Early Agriculture in Korea: An Update on Recent Developments. ''Bulletin of the Indo-Pacific Prehistory Association'' 21(5):77-84, 2001.
*Barnes, Gina L. Paddy Soils Now and Then. ''World Archaeology'' 22(1):1-17, 1990.
*Crawford, Gary W. and Gyoung-Ah Lee. Agricultural Origins in the Korean Peninsula. ''Antiquity'' 77(295):87-95, 2003.
*Kwak, Jong-chul. Urinara-eui Seonsa – Godae Non Bat Yugu [Dry- and Wet-field Agricultural Features of the Korean Prehistoric].In ''Hanguk Nonggyeong Munhwa-eui Hyeongseong'' [The Formation of Agrarian Societies in Korea]: 21-73. Papers of the 25th National Meetings of the [[Korean Archaeological Society]], Busan, 2001.
==External links==
[[Category:Filipino culture]]
[[Category:Malay words and phrases]]
[[de:Reis#Reisanbau]]
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