Tamil Nadu is India's fifth largest producer of rice, next to West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Punjab and Uttar Pradesh. The Cauvery delta region of the composite Thanjavur district in the state is known as the Rice Bowl of South India. Rice is grown in 2.1 million hectares accounting for about one-third of the gross cropped area under diverse environments in the state, like; rain-fed tank, tank, tank cum well, canal (river) and canal (reservoir) irrigation systems. The rice productivity growth had been declining at the rate of -0.40 per cent (during period 1990-91 to 1999-00) as the yields of...