61-638: Macrotrema Ophisternon Synbranchus Monopterus Rakthamichthys Typhlosynbranchus The swamp eels (also written "swamp-eels") are a family ( Synbranchidae ) of freshwater eel -like fishes of the tropics and subtropics. Most species are able to breathe air and typically live in marshes, ponds and damp places, sometimes burying themselves in the mud if the water source dries up. They have various adaptations to suit this lifestyle; they are long and slender, they lack pectoral and pelvic fins, and their dorsal and anal fins are vestigial, making them limbless vertebrates . They lack scales and
122-413: A swimbladder , and their gills open on the throat in a slit or pore. Oxygen can be absorbed through the lining of the mouth and pharynx, which is rich in blood vessels and acts as a "lung". Although adult swamp eels have virtually no fins, the larvae have large pectoral fins which they use to fan water over their bodies, thus ensuring gas exchange before their adult breathing apparatus develops. When about
183-612: A delicacy and prepared as curry or dry fry. It is believed there that these are good source of iron and good for blood deficiency. As of 2021, eleven species were listed by the IUCN as species of special concern: Typhlosynbranchus boueti (Liberian swamp eel), Rakthamichthys indicus (Malabar swamp eel), Rakthamichthys roseni , Rakthamichthys digressus , and Ophichthys hodgarti have been classified as data deficient , meaning that they require more study to determine their conservation status. Ophichthys indicus (Bombay swamp eel)
244-420: A delicacy, usually cooked in stirfries or casseroles. The recipe usually calls for garlic, scallions, bamboo shoots, rice wine, sugar, starch, and soy sauce with prodigious amounts of vegetable oil. It is popular in the region from Shanghai to Nanjing. The Chinese name in pinyin of this dish is chao shan hu . The name of the swamp eel is shan yu or huang shan . In Assam swamp eels are considered
305-464: A domestication of the wild rice Oryza rufipogon by cultures associated with pre-Austronesian and Hmong-Mien-speakers. This occurred 13,500 to 8,200 years ago south of the Yangtze River in present-day China. There are two likely centers of domestication for rice as well as the development of the wet-field technology. The first is in the lower Yangtze River , believed to be the homelands of
366-624: A family name. Many chose a name based on some geographical feature associated with their residence or occupation, and as nearly three-fourths of the population were farmers, many made family names using ta . Some common examples are Tanaka ( 田中 ), literally meaning "in the paddy field;" Nakata ( 中田 ), "middle paddy field;" Kawada (川田), "river paddy field;" and Furuta ( 古田 ), "old paddy field." In recent years, rice consumption in Japan has fallen and many rice farmers are increasingly elderly. The government has subsidized rice production since
427-528: A fortnight old they shed these fins and assume the adult form. Most species of swamp eel are hermaphrodite , starting life as females and later changing to males, though some individuals start life as males and do not change sex. In the Jiangnan region of China, swamp eels are eaten as a delicacy, usually cooked as part of a stir-fry or casserole . It is known as Kusia (কুচিয়া) in Assam and Bangladesh. It
488-559: A great deal of labor and materials to create and need large quantities of water for irrigation. Oxen and water buffalo , adapted for life in wetlands , are important working animals used extensively in paddy field farming. Paddy field farming remains the dominant form of growing rice in modern times. It is practiced extensively in Bangladesh , Cambodia , China , India , Indonesia , northern Iran , Japan , Laos , Malaysia , Mongolia , Myanmar , Nepal , North Korea , Pakistan ,
549-542: A major threat to populations of crayfish and some other small species. Macrotrema Symbranchus caligans Cantor, 1849 Macrotrema caligans is a species of swamp eel native to Peninsular Malaysia and the Mae Nam Chao Praya basin in Thailand. The male guards a nest in a burrow. This species is the only known member of its genus . This Synbranchiformes -related article
610-499: A newly irrigated paddy field, especially those made during or after the Edo period , may be called Nitta or Shinden (both 新田 ), "new paddy field." In some places, lakes and marshes were likened to a paddy field and were named with ta , like Hakkōda ( 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 which required all citizens to have
671-536: A possible environmental and commercial solution. The word "paddy" is derived from the Malay / Indonesian word padi , meaning "rice plant", which is itself derived from Proto-Austronesian *pajay ("rice in the field", "rice plant"). Cognates include Amis panay ; Tagalog pálay ; Kadazan Dusun paai ; Javanese pari ; and Chamorro faʻi , among others. Genetic evidence shows that all forms of paddy rice, including both indica and japonica , spring from
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#1732802400316732-473: 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 relies heavily on the river water and sedimented minerals from the northern mountains, whilst the rice grown in the central regions require irrigation from
793-524: Is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Rice paddies A paddy field is a flooded field of arable land used for growing semiaquatic crops, most notably rice and taro . It originates from the Neolithic rice-farming cultures of the Yangtze River basin in southern China, associated with pre-Austronesian and Hmong-Mien cultures. It was spread in prehistoric times by
854-681: Is archaeological evidence that unhusked rice was stored for the military and for burial with the deceased from the Neolithic period to the Han dynasty in China. By the late Neolithic (3500 to 2500 BC), population in the rice cultivating centers had increased rapidly, centered around the Qujialing - Shijiahe and Liangzhu cultures. There was also evidence of intensive rice cultivation in paddy fields as well as increasingly sophisticated material cultures in these two regions. The number of settlements among
915-489: 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 15-20 centimetre (6–8 in) stalks are picked and replanted at greater separation, in a backbreaking manual procedure. Rice harvesting in Central Java
976-473: Is classified as vulnerable . Ophichthys fossorius (Malabar swampeel), Ophisternon infernale (blind swamp eel), Ophisternon candidum (the blind cave eel), and Ophisternon afrum (Guinea swamp eel) are classified as endangered . Ophichthys desilvai (Desilvai's blind eel) is classified as critically endangered . On the other side of the endangerment issue, invasive swamp eels in Florida are
1037-507: Is considered a delicacy and cooked with curry as part of Assamese cuisine . The marbled swamp eel , Synbranchus marmoratus , has been recorded at up to 150 cm (59 in) in length, while the Bombay swamp eel , Monopterus indicus , reaches no more than 8.5 cm (3.3 in). Swamp eels are almost entirely finless; the pectoral and pelvic fins are absent, the dorsal and anal fins are vestigial, reduced to rayless ridges, and
1098-665: Is considered the main rice growing province of the Philippines . The Banaue Rice Terraces are an example of paddy fields in the country. They are located in Banaue in Northern Luzon , Philippines and were built by the Ifugaos 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
1159-463: Is determined by the variety and quality control of water. The tavy is traditionally the culture of flooded upland rice on burning of cleared natural rain forest (135,966 ha). Criticized as being the cause of deforestation, tavy is still widely practiced by farmers in Madagascar, who find a good compromise between climate risks, availability of labour and food security. By extension,
1220-534: Is divided into six genera as follows: In Indonesia swamp eel is called belut , and are commonly harvested from water ponds of rice paddies and become the protein source for rural population in Indonesia. Swamp eel is usually stir fried served with sambal hot chili sauce as belut penyet , curried, or deep fried to achieve crispy texture as kripik belut . In the Jiangnan region of China, swamp eels are
1281-457: Is found in some place names, especially small farming townships and villages. However, the specific Korean term for 'paddy' is a purely Korean word, "non" ( Korean : 논 ). In Madagascar , the average annual consumption of rice is 130 kg per person, one of the largest in the world. According to a 1999 study of UPDRS / FAO: The majority of rice is related to irrigation (1,054,381 ha). The choice of methods conditioning performance
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#17328024003161342-580: Is grown in Northern Italy, especially in the valley of the Po River . The paddy fields are irrigated by fast-flowing streams descending from the Alps . In the 19th century and much of the 20th century, the paddy fields were farmed by the mondine , a subculture of seasonal rice paddy workers composed mostly of poor women. The acidic soil conditions common in Japan due to volcanic eruptions have made
1403-548: Is often performed not by owners or sharecroppers of paddies, but rather by itinerant middlemen, whose small firms specialize in the harvest, transport, milling, and distribution of rice. The fertile volcanic soil of much of the Indonesian archipelago—particularly the islands of Java and Bali—has made rice a central dietary staple. Steep terrain on Bali resulted in complex irrigation systems, locally called subak , to manage water storage and drainage for rice terraces. Rice
1464-626: Is the largest in the world, only about 15% of its total land area can be cultivated. About 75% of the cultivated area is used for food crops. Rice is China's most important crop, raised on about 25% of the cultivated area. Most rice is grown south of the Huai River , in the Yangtze valley, the Zhu Jiang delta, and in Yunnan , Guizhou , and Sichuan provinces. Rice appears to have been used by
1525-887: The Comoros , and the coast of East Africa around the 1st millennium AD by Austronesian settlers from the Greater Sunda Islands . There are ten archaeologically excavated rice paddy fields in Korea. The two oldest are the Okhyun and Yaumdong sites, found in Ulsan , dating to the early Mumun pottery period . Paddy field farming goes back thousands of years in Korea. A pit-house at the Daecheon-ni site yielded carbonized rice grains and radiocarbon dates, indicating that rice cultivation in dry-fields may have begun as early as
1586-541: The Irrawaddy 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
1647-625: The Malaysian Peninsula , with most of the fields being located in the northern states such as Kedah , Perlis , Perak , and Penang . Paddy fields can also be found on Malaysia's east coast region, in Kelantan and Terengganu . The central state of Selangor also has its fair share of paddy fields, especially in the districts of Kuala Selangor and Sabak Bernam . Before Malaysia became heavily reliant on its industrial output, people were mainly involved in agriculture, especially in
1708-912: The Philippines , South Korea , Sri Lanka , Taiwan , Thailand , and Vietnam . It has also been introduced elsewhere since the colonial era, notably in northern Italy , the Camargue in France , and in Spain , particularly in the Albufera de València wetlands in the Valencian Community , the Ebro Delta in Catalonia and the Guadalquivir wetlands in Andalusia , as well as along
1769-552: The Philippines , bringing rice cultivation technologies with them. From Luzon, Austronesians rapidly colonized the rest of Maritime Southeast Asia , moving westwards to Borneo , the Malay Peninsula and Sumatra ; and southwards to Sulawesi and Java . By 500 BC, there is evidence of intensive wetland rice agriculture already established in Java and Bali , especially near very fertile volcanic islands. Rice did not survive
1830-583: The Spring and Autumn period (722–481 BC), two revolutionary improvements in farming technology took place. One was the use of cast iron tools and beasts of burden to pull plows, and the other was the large-scale harnessing of rivers and development of water conservation projects. Sunshu Ao of the 6th century BC and Ximen Bao of the 5th century BC are two of the earliest hydraulic engineers from China, and their works were focused upon improving irrigation systems. These developments were widely spread during
1891-493: The caudal fin ranges from small to absent, depending on species. Almost all of the species lack scales . The eyes are small, and in some cave-dwelling species, they are beneath the skin, so the fish is blind. The gill membranes are fused, and the gill opening is either a slit or pore underneath the throat. The swim bladder and ribs are also absent. These are all believed to be adaptations for burrowing into soft mud during periods of drought, and swamp eels are often found in
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1952-435: The expansion of Austronesian peoples to Island Southeast Asia , Madagascar , Melanesia , Micronesia , and Polynesia . The technology was also acquired by other cultures in mainland Asia for rice farming, spreading to East Asia , Mainland Southeast Asia , and South Asia . Fields can be built into steep hillsides as terraces or adjacent to depressed or steeply sloped features such as rivers or marshes . They require
2013-523: The tanety , which literally means "hill," is also growing upland rice, carried out on the grassy slopes that have been deforested for the production of charcoal (139,337 ha). Among the many varieties, rice of Madagascar includes: Vary lava - a translucent long and large grain rice, considered a luxury rice; Vary Makalioka - a translucent long and thin grain rice; Vary Rojofotsy - a half-long grain rice; and Vary mena , or red rice, exclusive to Madagascar. Paddy fields can be found in most states on
2074-515: The 1970s, and favors protectionist policies regarding cheaper imported rice. 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
2135-647: The Austronesian voyages into Micronesia and Polynesia ; however, wet-field agriculture was transferred to the cultivation of other crops, most notably for taro cultivation. The Austronesian Lapita culture also came into contact with the non-Austronesian ( Papuan ) early agriculturists of New Guinea and introduced wetland farming techniques to them. In turn, they assimilated their range of indigenous cultivated fruits and tubers before spreading further eastward to Island Melanesia and Polynesia . Rice and wet-field agriculture were also introduced to Madagascar ,
2196-636: The Early Neolithic populations of Lijiacun and Yunchanyan in China. Evidence of possible rice cultivation from ca. 11,500 BC has been found, however it is still questioned whether the rice was indeed being cultivated, or instead being gathered as wild rice. Bruce Smith, an archaeologist at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., who has written on the origins of agriculture, says that evidence has been mounting that
2257-629: The Early Mumun pottery period (c. 1100–850 BC). KUM has conducted excavations, that have revealed similarly dated paddy field features, at Yaeum-dong and Okhyeon, in modern-day Ulsan . The earliest Mumun features were usually located in low-lying narrow gullies, that were naturally swampy and fed by the local stream system. Some Mumun paddy fields in flat areas were made of a series of squares and rectangles, separated by bunds approximately 10 cm in height, while terraced paddy fields consisted of long irregular shapes that followed natural contours of
2318-604: The Middle Jeulmun pottery period (c. 3500–2000 BC) in the Korean Peninsula . Ancient paddy fields have been carefully unearthed in Korea by institutes such as Kyungnam University Museum (KUM) of Masan . They excavated paddy field features at the Geumcheon-ni Site near Miryang , South Gyeongsang Province . The paddy field feature was found next to a pit-house that is dated to the latter part of
2379-608: The Monsoon . The paddy cultivation plays a major role in socio-cultural life of rural India. Many regional festivals celebrate the harvest, such as Onam , Bihu , Thai Pongal , Makar Sankranti , and Nabanna . The Kaveri delta region of Thanjavur is historically known as the rice bowl of Tamil Nadu , and Kuttanadu is called the rice bowl of Kerala . Gangavathi is known as the rice bowl of Karnataka . Prime Javanese paddies yield roughly 6 metric tons of unmilled rice (2.5 metric tons of milled rice) per hectare . When irrigation
2440-402: The Yangtze cultures and their sizes increased, leading some archeologists to characterize them as true states , with clearly advanced socio-political structures. However, it is unknown if they had centralized control. In the terminal Neolithic (2500 to 2000 BC), Shijiahe shrank in size, and Liangzhu disappeared altogether. This is largely believed to be the result of the southward expansion of
2501-513: The Yangtze was probably the site of the earliest rice cultivation. In 1998, Crawford & Shen reported that the earliest of 14 AMS or radiocarbon dates on rice from at least nine Early to Middle Neolithic sites is no older than 7000 BC, that rice from the Hemudu and Luojiajiao sites indicates that rice domestication likely began before 5000 BC, but that most sites in China from which rice remains have been recovered are younger than 5000 BC. During
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2562-500: The Yangtze, but by 1250, 75% of China's population lived south of it. Such large-scale internal migration was possible due to introduction of quick-ripening strains of rice from Vietnam suitable for multi-cropping. Famous rice paddies in China include the Longsheng Rice Terraces and the fields of Yuanyang County, Yunnan . India has the largest paddy output in the world and is also the largest exporter of rice in
2623-532: The archaeological site of Matsutaka in Mie Prefecture that dates to the late 2nd century. Ta ( 田 ) is used as a part of many 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 the river may be called Higashida ( 東田 ), literally "east paddy field." A place with
2684-693: The area along and the delta of the Kaladan River , and the Central plains around Mandalay , though there has been an increase in rice farming in Shan State and Kachin State in recent years. Up until the later 1960s, Myanmar was the main exporter of rice. Termed the rice basket of Southeast Asia, much of the rice grown in Myanmar does not rely on fertilizers and pesticides, thus, although "organic" in
2745-699: The early Sino-Tibetan Longshan culture . Fortifications like walls (as well as extensive moats in Liangzhu cities) are common features in settlements during this period, indicating widespread conflict. This period also coincides with the southward movement of rice-farming cultures to the Lingnan and Fujian regions, as well as the southward migrations of the Austronesian, Kra-Dai, and Austroasiatic -speaking peoples to Mainland Southeast Asia and Island Southeast Asia . The spread of japonica rice cultivation and paddy field agriculture to Southeast Asia started with
2806-707: The eastern coast of Brazil , the Artibonite Valley in Haiti , Sacramento Valley in California , and West Lothian in Scotland among other places. Paddy cultivation should not be confused with cultivation of deepwater rice , which is grown in flooded conditions with water more than 50 cm (20 in) deep for at least a month. Global paddies' emissions account for at least 10% of global methane emissions . Drip irrigation systems have been proposed as
2867-636: The ensuing Warring States period (403–221 BC), culminating in the enormous Du Jiang Yan Irrigation System engineered by Li Bing by 256 BC for the State of Qin in ancient Sichuan . During the Eastern Jin (317–420) and the Northern and Southern Dynasties (420–589), land-use became more intensive and efficient, rice was grown twice a year and cattle began to be used for plowing and fertilization . By about 750, 75% of China's population lived north of
2928-635: The farmer to buy or grow rice seedlings. They are transplanted (usually by rice transplanter ) 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 15 August of the Lunar Calendar (circa mid-September on the Solar Calendar). The harvest begins in October. Coordinating
2989-406: The fins. At the age of about two weeks, the larva suddenly sheds the pectoral fins, and takes on the adult form. Most species are protogynous hermaphrodites, that is, most individuals begin life as females, but later change into males. This typically occurs around four years of age, although a small number of individuals are born male and remain so throughout their lives. The family Synbranchidae
3050-399: 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 Hanja character for 'field', jeon ( Korean : 전 ; Hanja : 田 ),
3111-507: The land animals evolved during the Devonian period. Although the adults are virtually finless, the larvae are born with greatly enlarged pectoral fins. The fins are used to propel streams of oxygenated water from the surface along the larva's body. The skin of the larva is thin and vascularised, allowing it to extract oxygen from this stream of water. As the fish grows, the adult air-breathing organ begins to develop, and it no longer requires
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#17328024003163172-636: The land at various levels. Mumun Period rice farmers used all of the elements that are present in today's paddy fields, such as terracing, bunds, canals, and small reservoirs. We can grasp some paddy-field farming techniques of the Middle Mumun (c. 850–550 BC), from the well-preserved wooden tools excavated from archaeological rice fields at the Majeon-ni Site. However, iron tools for paddy-field farming were not introduced until sometime after 200 BC. The spatial scale of paddy-fields increased, with
3233-572: The migrations of the Austronesian Dapenkeng culture into Taiwan between 3500 and 2000 BC. The Nanguanli site in Taiwan, dated to ca. 2800 BC, has yielded numerous carbonized remains of both rice and millet in waterlogged conditions, indicating intensive wetland rice cultivation and dryland millet cultivation. From about 2000 to 1500 BC, the Austronesian expansion began, with settlers from Taiwan moving south to migrate to Luzon in
3294-408: The mud underneath a dried-up pond. Most of the species can breathe air, allowing them to survive in low-oxygenated water, and to migrate overland between ponds on wet nights. The linings of the mouth and pharynx are highly vascularised, acting as primitive but efficient lungs. Although swamp eels are not themselves related to amphibians , this lifestyle may well resemble those of the fish from which
3355-419: The paddy field the most productive farming method. Paddy fields are represented by the kanji 田 (commonly read as ta or as den ) that has had a strong influence on Japanese culture. In fact, the character 田 , which originally meant 'field' in general, is used in Japan exclusively to refer to paddy fields. One of the oldest samples of writing in Japan is widely credited to the kanji 田 found on pottery at
3416-696: The pre-Austronesians and possibly also the Kra-Dai , and associated with the Kuahuqiao , Hemudu , Majiabang , Songze , Liangzhu , and Maquiao cultures . The second is in the middle Yangtze River, believed to be the homelands of the early Hmong-Mien speakers and associated with the Pengtoushan , Nanmuyuan , Liulinxi , Daxi , Qujialing , and Shijiahe cultures . Both of these regions were heavily populated and had regular trade contacts with each other, as well as with early Austroasiatic speakers to
3477-586: The production of rice. It was for that reason, that people usually built their houses next to paddy fields. The very spicy chili pepper that is often eaten in Malaysia, the bird's eye chili , is locally called cili padi , literally "paddy chili". Some research pertaining to Rainfed lowland rice in Sarawak has been reported. Rice is grown in Myanmar primarily in three areas – the Irrawaddy Delta ,
3538-749: The regular use of iron tools, in the Three Kingdoms of Korea Period (c. AD 300/400-668). The first paddy fields in Japan date to the Early Yayoi period (300 BC – 250 AD). The Early Yayoi has been re-dated, and based on studies of early Japanese paddy formations in Kyushu it appears that wet-field rice agriculture in Japan was directly adopted from the Lower Yangtze river basin in Eastern China. Although China's agricultural output
3599-492: The rice bends with age". Most of the rice planting and harvesting is done by hand. The rice is then threshed and stored, ready for the mills. In Nepal, rice (Nepali: धान, Dhaan) is grown in the Terai and hilly regions. It is mainly grown during the summer monsoon in Nepal . Paddy fields are a common sight in the Philippines. Several vast paddy fields exist in the provinces of Ifugao , Nueva Ecija , Isabela , Cagayan , Bulacan , Quezon , and other provinces. Nueva Ecija
3660-460: The west, and early Kra-Dai speakers to the south, facilitating the spread of rice cultivation throughout southern China. The earliest paddy field found dates to 4330 BC, based on carbon dating of grains of rice and soil organic matter found at the Chaodun site in Kunshan . At Caoxieshan, a site of the Neolithic Majiabang culture , archaeologists excavated paddy fields. Some archaeologists claim that Caoxieshan may date to 4000–3000 BC. There
3721-420: The world as of 2020. In India, West Bengal is the largest rice producing state. Paddy fields are a common sight throughout India, both in the northern Gangetic Plains and the southern peninsular plateaus. Paddy is cultivated at least twice a year in most parts of India, the two seasons being known as Rabi and Kharif respectively. The former cultivation is dependent on irrigation, while the latter depends on
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