Steps on rice production

http://thingsasian.com/story/rice-much-more-food

Rice, much more than food.

by Ronald de Jong, Feb 28, 2014 | Destinations: Philippines / Mindanao

Rice, much more than food Image by Ronald de Jong

Image © 2014 Ronald de Jong
A Philippine proverb says that if anyone wastes rice or throws it away, his hand will become
deformed and he will never know abundance or prosperity. In the Philippines rice is much more
than food, it is sustenance with historical and numerous cultural values that are deeply woven
into the Filipino culture. The Filipino language has several different words for rice, it is locally
known as "Palay" (un-milled rice),"Bigas" (milled rice), "Kanin" (cooked rice) and a few more.
 
The average daily intake of food is based on rice; it is rich in nutrients, vitamins, minerals and is
an important source of carbohydrates. No other food is used so widely in the Philippines as rice;
it is the centre of the plate in every Filipino household, almost everybody can afford it. It can be
cooked, steamed, fried, sweetened, used as stuffing and baked in a cake (Bibingka). It can even
be made into strong liquor known as "Tapuy", a native wine from fermented rice, often used as
ceremonial wine served during special occasions and festivals. Other rice wines that are
produced in Mindanao are 'Pangasi' and 'kulapo', a reddish coloured wine with a strong odour
and a high percentage of alcohol. There are rice dishes of Spanish origin, like champorado,
paella and arroz caldo and there are local dishes as well, such as "Sinangag" (Garlic Fried Rice)
"Goto" (beef tripe) congee and "Puto" (steamed rice cake). It is served every day at breakfast,
lunch, dinner and often as merienda or snack, for most Filipinos a meal without rice is no meal at
all and a life without rice is absolutely unthinkable.
 
On the island of Mindanao rice is the grain that is the origin of many rituals and traditions. One
of the more well-known indigenous tribes on the island are the T'boli, this indigenous group still
practice the ritual "K'molot Libol" (Trial by judgment or ordeal. If a tribes member is accused of
adultery or stealing the "Datu" (village chief) fills a pot with water, grains of rice and a stone.
After the water had reached boiling temperatures the accused can prove his or hers guiltlessness
by taking the stone out of the pot with bare hands, if the hand is not burned the innocence is
confirmed. Another traditional tribe "The Tiruray "living in the north-western part of South
Cotabato, is holding a ritual feast four times a year, it is known as "Kanduli", the exchange of
portions of glutinous rice among all the families showcases the bonding of the community and of
all individual tribe-members. A more common and widely used ritual is throwing a handful of
rice upon newlyweds, originally it symbolized the blessing of many children, at present it
expresses the wish for abundance and prosperity. Likewise the bride and the groom solemnize
their sacred bond of marriage through the exchange of a handful of rice and a family's social
status is often measured by the quantity of rice that is stored. The Tiruray tribe is expressing their
hard labour in the rice paddies in a dance that is named   "Mag-asik" (sowing seeds). The
Manobo tribe is illustrating the rice planting in a dance known as "Talapak", a planting stick that
is used to dig a hole where the grain or seeds are planted. The B'laan tribe are showcasing the
several stages in upland rice planting in a dance named "Maral".  The "Kaingin" shows the
farmers search for a plot of land that can be cleared for farming by burning away the vegetation,
followed by the "Almigo", the clearing of the area and the "Amla", the planting stage. The dance
ends with "Kamto", the harvest done by the women of the tribe.
 
The rice paddies are a natural habitat to many wetland animals. Various birds thrive in these
fields; one of the most beautiful feathered creatures that inhabit the fast open plains in South
Cotabato is the Black-headed Chestnut Munia, once considered as the National Bird. This Munia
specialise in eating grass seeds and rice, they have large conical beaks adapted for this purpose.
Chestnut Munia stay close together in groups and are constantly on the move. Sometimes flocks
of Chestnut Munia (Red Maya), Java Finch (rice bird)  and Maya (Tree sparrow) destroy rice
fields that are almost ripe for harvest; desperate farmers explode noisemakers and cast long
plastic wires over the rice paddies to get rid of these animals. Aside from birds, the rice fields are
also home to other vertebrates (animals without backbones) like rats, snakes, turtles and frogs.
Frogs play a very important role in the ecosystems but are also a most wanted prey for the
locals.  As soon as sunset sets in youngsters go out in the fields to catch the edible rice field frogs
with a flashlight, they shine the light into the frog's face and catch them with bare hands.
In Mindanao frog meat is considered a delicacy and a part of everyday meal.
 
The rice crop is widely produced in Luzon, the Western Visayas, Southern and Central
Mindanao. In the Southern lowlands of Mindanao rice is mostly grown on small family based
farms in drained or puddled fields. Planting and harvesting rice became a way of life over the
centuries, the right to plant rice fields is considered as a unique endowment and privilege given
by the Gods and Mother Nature. In the provinces time is measured by the maturing of the rice
paddies. Each planting of the rice field marks the start of a new season. The decision when to
plant the crops is often made according to position of the sun, the monsoon rains and the
migration of birds. A carabao with its tedious and slow pace is used for preparing the soil, the
paddy is initially saturated with water from the irrigation canals and the carabao will then
trample the planting area until it is soggy enough to plant the rice seedlings. The carabao is a
multi-task animal, almost maintenance free and environment friendly. These water buffaloes are
not only used to plough rice fields, but to pull wagons or sleds as well. The sight of a plodding
 carabao, hauling rice from the fields is a daily sight in many villages. Most rice farmers in South
Cotabato own at least one Carabao which is one of their most treasured possessions. However,
before the rice will reach your plate, hard and back breaking work has to be done in the rice
fields. Work done by strong men and women, up to their knees in water, using their bare hands,
simple tools and water buffaloes to prepare the paddies, to plough, level and to till soil until
ready to plant the young rice plants. The seeds are planted out by hand in rows and the paddies
are flooded with water, either by rain or irrigation.
 
Harvesting means cutting the plants, moving the yield to another location, threshing and
cleaning. The grains are harvested before they are fully mature, after about four months, when
the rice turns golden yellow and the stems are straw coloured it is ready to be harvested. The
paddies are drained and the fields are allowed to dry. The next step is cutting the rice plants
halfway up the stem, also done by hand and a sickle; this is because the spirit of the rice shall not
be frightened away from the fields. The harvested grains are threshed to separate them from the
stalk and husk, dried in the field and bundled. Nowadays a threshing machine is used for this
task but occasionally still done by bashing bundles of rice stems on a stone. In remote villages
the traditional milling process, the hand pounding of paddy with a pestle in a mortar is still
widely practised. After winnowing the grain is dried in the sun and transported to the rice mill.
Winnowing is scattering the rice by shaking or tossing it on a rattan tray. The husk, chaff and
dust are blown away by the wind while the grain falls onto the mat. After the harvest is collected
and milled, the rice paddies are taken over by native ducks, known as “Itik”. These ducks are
usually taken to the field in the morning to pick the left over grains and taken home in the
afternoon. The Itik is also known for the balut; by selling the eggs the Itik tenders will earn an
extra Peso.
 
When the rice has arrived in the mill, the husk and the bran layers are removed, after cleaning
and packing the rice is ready to be sold to the public. The processing of rice creates many
valuable by-products, rice husks can be used as bedding in poultry houses, rice-stubble, broken
rice and rice straw are common ingredients in building and food products, rice bran is an additive
for pet food.  Other by-products are spring rolls wrapper made from rice flour, rice stick noodles,
rice brand oil, rice vinegar, rice glue and rice paper. The rice mill also benefits the rural
community in creating jobs and supplying the local market with rice. Rice is one of Mindanao's
most important food crops, many people depend on it for their daily meals, their culture and
livelihood are evolved around the growth and protection of this staple food, for them rice is a
symbol of love, rice equals life.

Rice milling : process description

1. Paddy Cleaning - Essential for removal of undesired foreign matter, paddy cleaning is
given utmost importance to ensure proper functioning of the Rice Milling machinery. Rough rice
 is passed through a series of sieves and closed circuit aspiration system is provided to remove
dust and light impurities through positive air suction.
Undesired material, heavier than rough rice (but of similar size) is removed through a de-
stoner/gravity separator. This machine works on the principle of specific gravity. Stones and
other heavy impurities, being heavier, stay on the screen surface whereas rough rice, being
lighter, fluidizes into the positive air gradient created by an external source.
2. Paddy De-husking - A streamlined paddy flow is directed into a pair of rubber rolls,
rotating at different speeds, in opposite directions. A horizontal inward pressure is applied on
the rubble rollers, pneumatically. Due to the difference in the seed of rotation, a shear force is
generated on the surface of hull (with two sides being rubber by tow rubber rolls) that breaks
apart of the surface/hull.
Husk, being of lower specific gravity, is then separated form brown rice by a closed circuit
aspiration system.
This process leads to breakage of brown rice. Although a proper horizontal inward pressure is
mot important factor for breakage or rice, de-husking efficiency is equally important and should
be maintained between 75 to 85%.
3. Paddy Separation - Rice surface is smooth as compared to rough paddy surface. This
difference in surface texture is utilized to separate brown rice from paddy through paddy
separator.
Grain surface with smooth texture, being of higher width, is removed off along with red grains by
precision sizes.
4. Rice Whitening - Brown rice is rubbed with a rough surface, created using emery
stones of specific grid size. The rough emery removes off the brown bran layer. The radial
velocity of the stone wheels, grid size of the stones, clearance between stone surface & the
other screen and the external pressure on the outlet chamber of the whitening machines
determine the extent of whiteness.
The bran layer removed from the surface if pneumatically conveyed to a separate room for
further processing /storage.
5. Rice Polishing - The surface of whitened rice is still rough and is smoothened by a
humidified rice polisher. The process involves rubbing of rice surface against another rice
surface with mystified air acting as lubricant between the two surfaces. Usually a modified
version of this process is used to produce superfine silky finish on rice surface.
The bran layer removed from the surface if pneumatically conveyed to a separate room for
further processing/storage.
6. Rice Grading - Broken rice is removed from whole rice by passing the lot through a
cylindrical indented screen rotating at a particular speed. The broken/small grains, fit into the
 indents of the rotating cylinder, are lifted by centrifugal force and gravitational pull falls the
grains into a trough. Adjusting the rotational speed and angle of trough can vary the average
length of grains.
7. Rice Colour Sorting - Discoloured rice grains are removed off from the like coloured
grains by Rice colour sorting machines. Photo sensors/CCD (Charged Coupled Device) sensors
generate voltage signal on viewing discoloured grains, which are then removed off by air jet
generated through solenoid valves.

Rice milling - present status

God is a perfectionist. So is his creation; Nature, where no two things are the same. We
experience this is Rice Kernel. No two rice kernels are the same. It is the similarity in their
appearance, physiological and chemical characteristics that make a flock homogeneous. This
flock helps Rice Technologist device milling machines.
A milling machine should ensure consistency in quality of the end product and hence enhance
the economic value of the raw material. Energy conservation, proper utilization of human
resource and consistently large volumes with least recurring costs is also a need of the hour. 
With over 94% of Rice Milling units in India relying completely on conventional Paddy and Rice
Processing techniques, there is still lot to be done in the field of Rice Milling Technology
adoption and up-gradation.
As observed, a modern rice processing unit, as compared to conventional unit, produces
consistent quality product with as much as 3-5% less breakage of kernel, a net power saving of
15-20% and practically negligible down time.  The performance of Rice mill in terms of Milled
Rice recovery and quality, not only depends on the type or the condition of the equipments but
also on the quality of rough rice (paddy) to be converted into milled rice.

Parameters that affect rice milling

The milling potential of rough rice largely determines the performance of the rice mill in terms of
milled rice recovery and quality.  These milling potentials can be varietal origin, can be related to
the quality condition of rough rice, or can be added through the pre-milling processes. A  brief
review of the impact of rough rice quality, specific varietal characteristics and parboiling on the
performance of the rice mills is covered in the sections below.
 Varietal Characteristics
Varieties of rough rice are differently grouped.  They are classed as short, medium, long and
extra long.  A sub-classification – round, bold and slender refers to ratio between length and
breadth of brown rice.  Most of the short varieties (e.g. Japonica) are round and bold.  Most of
the medium varieties are bold or slender and most of the long and extra long varieties (e.g.
Indica varieties) are bold or slender.
1. Hull weight of rough rice - The weight of hull as a percentage of the weight of rough
rice varies from 17 to 24%.  The thicker grains have the lowest percentage of hull weight and
the thinner grains have the highest.  The milled rice recovery is directly related the brown rice
yield.  Therefore a lower hull weight will result in higher miller rice recovery and vise versa.
2. Grain Shape - This refers to the length-width ratio of the brown rice.  Round grains with
low ratio are difficult to break, whereas the slender grains with higher ratio are easy to break.
3. Hardness - The surface hardness of the brown rice kernel is a varietal characteristic that
determines the extent to which the grain can resists the forces applied during milling.  Lower
surface hardness facilitates breakage during milling, resulting in lower milled rice recovery and
quality.
4. Chalkiness - Chalkiness can be developed as a result of prevailing weather conditions
during the growth period or introduced as a result of pre-milling processes such as improper
parboiling.  Chalkiness reduces the grain’s resistance to applied milling forces.

Quality parameters of rough rice

The extent of quality aspects is determined by prevailing weather conditions during the
production period, applied production practices, soil condition, applied harvesting methods and
applied post harvest practices such as field handling, threshing, winnowing, drying and storage.
1. Moisture Content - Rough rice has optimum milling potential at moisture content of
about 14%.  The drying process is therefore critical, for it determines whether or not fissures
and/or full cracks are introduced in the grain structure.  These are important as presence of
fissures and/or cracks lead to breakage in milling, resulting in lower milled rice recovery and
quality. Milling of very dried rough rice (<11% moisture content makes grains too brittle) results
in unnecessary breakage during milling.
2. Cracked Grains - Over exposure of matured rough rice to fluctuating weather conditions
leads to development of numerous fissures resulting into breakage during the milling process.
3. Immature Grains - Immature grain has a high hull weight and consequently a low yield
of brown rice.  Immature grains are very slender and dominantly chalky, resulting in excessive
production of bran and broken.
4. Damaged Grains - Presence of black spots around the germ end of the brown kernel,
caused by the development of micro-organisms (fungi) leads to excessive breakage of rice
during milling.
5. Varietal impurities - Grains of different varieties vary not only in length-width ration but
also in tensile strength.  Grains of lower tensile strength / higher length-width ration therefore
break in a higher proportion when milled along with other varieties.

Impact of Parboiling
Hydro Thermal treatment of rough rice leads to breaking of the tight hull seal, a structural
change of the outer bran layer, gelatintization of the starchy endosperm, hardening of the grains
and discoloration of the grain.
1. Breaking of the hull seal - Enormous swelling of the brown rice leads to breakage of
the hull seal during soaking and steaming of the rice.
2. Structural changes in the bran layer - As a result of steaming and soaking the
structure of bran layers are changed and their components redistributed; heat treatment results
in more sticky bran.
3. Gelatinization of starchy endosperm - This leads to elimination of all fissures and
crack.  The overall structure of the starchy endosperm becomes more compact and its tensile
strength increases many a fold.
4. Discoloration of grain - During the parboiling process, the color of brown rice kernel
changes from translucent white to a yellowish and sometimes a brownish color.  Color changes
result from microbiological activities, chemical changes and the pigment of hull being absorbed
in brown rice along with water.
5. Increased hardness - The hardness of brown rice kernel increases after parboiling and
drying, improving the grain’s resistance to the milling forces.
Page Rating (234 votes)

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Rohit Pandita Jun 13, 2019 11:42 AM

What is the expected growth of rice mills . 

Regards, 
Rohit Pandita
Tom P john Dec 05, 2017 03:07 PM
Is rice dried in sunlight or mechanical drying is best quality?(looking for a qualitative to answer)
POORNACHANDRARAO Jun 28, 2015 02:26 PM
TECHNOLOGIES FOR CULTIVATING--POST HARVEST PROCESSING& MARKETING OF EDIBLE
MUSHROOMS & MEDICINAL MUSHROOMS INCORPORATION WILL BE APPRECIATED .