{"id":88172,"date":"2026-02-16T22:00:29","date_gmt":"2026-02-16T16:30:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/?p=88172"},"modified":"2026-02-16T22:00:29","modified_gmt":"2026-02-16T16:30:29","slug":"pokkali-rice","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/pokkali-rice\/","title":{"rendered":"Pokkali Rice, Benefits, Organic Coastal Farming, Nutritional Value"},"content":{"rendered":"

Pokkali rice is a unique, <\/span>salt-tolerant rice variety<\/b> cultivated organically in the waterlogged coastal regions of Alappuzha, Thrissur, and Ernakulam in <\/span>Kerala, India<\/b>. It represents an important <\/span>example of climate-resilient agriculture in India.<\/b><\/p>\n

Pokkali Rice Key Features<\/b><\/h2>\n
    \n
  • Pokkali is <\/span>cultivated in low-lying coastal fields<\/b> that are subject to <\/span>tidal action, waterlogged<\/b> for several months and affected by <\/span>high salinity <\/b>during summer.<\/span><\/li>\n
  • Pokkali rice is grown in the <\/span>Vembanad-Kol wetland ecosystem<\/b> around Vembanad Lake, which is a Ramsar site recognized for its ecological importance.<\/span><\/li>\n
  • Pokkali Rice has <\/span>high salinity tolerance<\/b>. It can survive salinity levels that are fatal to ordinary rice varieties. This makes it extremely valuable in areas facing sea-water intrusion and soil salinization.<\/span><\/li>\n
  • Pokkali Rice is generally <\/span>sown before the onset of the southwest monsoon and harvested after floodwaters recede.<\/b><\/li>\n
  • It is largely <\/span>grown without chemical fertilizers and pesticides<\/b>, making it an organic and environmentally sustainable crop.<\/span><\/li>\n
  • Its <\/span>tall and elongating stem<\/b> prevents damage from rising floodwaters.<\/span><\/li>\n
  • The crop develops <\/span>strong roots<\/b> that help it remain anchored in soft, waterlogged soils.<\/span><\/li>\n
  • Traditional varieties like Pokkali are naturally <\/span>more resistant to pests compared to hybrid varieties.<\/b><\/li>\n
  • One of the most significant features of Pokkali cultivation is its <\/span>rotational farming system<\/b>. During monsoon (June-October), rice cultivation takes place in rain-fed conditions and during Post-harvest (November onwards), fields are opened to saline tidal water for prawn cultivation. This integrated system:<\/span><\/li>\n
  • \n
      \n
    • Enhances soil fertility naturally.<\/span><\/li>\n
    • Controls pests through ecological balance.<\/span><\/li>\n
    • Provides dual income to farmers<\/span><\/li>\n
    • Reduces dependency on chemical inputs.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n
    • Pokkali rice is <\/span>nutritionally superior <\/b>to many modern rice varieties. It is <\/span>rich in protein, high in antioxidants, contains iron and micronutrients.<\/b><\/li>\n
    • Due to its health benefits, it has increasing demand in niche health-conscious markets. It also serves as valuable genetic material in breeding programs aimed at developing salt-resistant rice varieties.<\/span><\/li>\n
    • Pokkali rice <\/span>received a Geographical Indication (GI) tag in 2007<\/b>, protecting its unique identity and traditional cultivation practices.<\/span><\/li>\n
    • The Pokkali farming system has been <\/span>recognized under the Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems (GIAHS) initiative<\/b> by the Food and Agriculture Organization.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      Pokkali rice is a salt tolerant organic rice from Kerala grown in the Vembanad Kol wetlands. Known for GI tag, prawn rotation, and high nutrition value.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":88100,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[786],"tags":[5479],"class_list":{"0":"post-88172","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-general-studies","8":"tag-pokkali-rice","9":"no-featured-image-padding"},"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88172","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/11"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=88172"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88172\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":88174,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88172\/revisions\/88174"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/88100"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=88172"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=88172"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=88172"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}