Varieties of rice

Rice (Oryza sativa) is part of the Graminae family. It has a straight strain, with linear and elongated ears and is cultivated in humid soil. 

Rice is an essential element for a healthy diet. It is an important source of calcium, mineral salts, and vitamins of the B complex, amino acid, iron, magnesium, potassium and starch. 

In size, rice is the world’s third largest crop after maize and wheat. It is the food of more than half of the population of the planet. Rice crops are spread worldwide on an area of approximately 153 million hectares, with a production of over 400 million tones. The biggest growing surfaces around the globe are in India, China, Indonesia, Bangladesh and Thailand. The Chinese rice production exceeds the Indian, Indonesian, Bangladesh, Vietnamese and Thai. In Romania, rice is being cultivated in the south and west of the country, in the Romanian Plain and the West Plain, summing a total area of about 4 thousand hectares, as such, a production of over 14 thousand tons.

Estimates on the cultivation and production of rice in our country are favorable, especially because the Romanian rice is superior to that grown in the European Union. That is why Romania could become an important producer and exporter of rice in Europe. Approximately half of the planet's population works in agriculture, but there are major differences according to the Globe area. There are countries such as Nepal, where more than ¾ of the active population is engaged in agriculture, while in highly industrialized countries a lower percentage of the working population activates in this branch. Even so, thanks to advanced technologies the industrialized countries are the most important exporters of agricultural products in the world. In Romania, just like other developing countries, agriculture is the sector with the largest share in the population’s employment.

There are more than 7000 kinds of rice. Rice can be categorized by different criteria, namely: 

The place where it is grown:
• Puddle Rice - is grown on surfaces with the possibility of artificial irrigation, because these species require continuous maintenance on the field of water (from Seeding to harvest)
• Dry Soil Rice – is cultivated on worked soil, where humidity is constantly maintained through irrigation. These crops are inferior to the paddy rice.

By shape and size
• Rice with long grain
• Rice with oval grain
• Rice with round grain

By consistency of grains
• Floury
• Transparent
• Semi- transparent

By color
• White Rice
• Whole Rice
• Brown Rice

Varieties of Beans

Beans (Phaseolus vulgaris) is an annual herbaceous plant, legumes, bearing 3 leaflets, with white, green, pink, or purple flowers and is cultivated for its beans.

Beans are also an essential part of a healthy diet. Its nutritional content helps prevent and combat numerous diseases. It is an important source of B group vitamins, protein, fiber, potassium, magnesium, zinc, selenium as well as calcium. 

Regarding the production of dry beans in the world, the most important producers are Brazil, India, China, Myanmar and Mexico. In Romania beans are grown on approximately 22 thousand hectares, producing about 42 thousand tons. In our country the cultivation of beans has increased in recent years and important areas are being cultivated alongside corn. The most important crops of beans are located in the West Plain and the Transylvanian Plain.  There are many types of beans that can be classified according to variety, the color of the grains or grains’ form.