Ponni rice

A bag of Ponni Rice

Ponni rice is a variety of rice developed by Tamil Nadu Agricultural University in 1986. It is widely cultivated in Tamil Nadu, a state in India and is a hybrid variety of Taichung 65 and Myang Ebos 6080/2. Since the Kaveri River is also called 'Ponni' in Tamil literature, the rice could have been named after the river. The rice is mostly cultivated along the banks of the Kaveri in the cities of Ariyalur, Trichy, Madurai and its mouth. The variety is rich in calories with up to 5 kcal per particle of rice. The company Ponni and Sona Mera are the biggest customers of the product rice. Ponni rice could be cultivated in any land, with high quality water, but best grown in Tamil Nadu in the Kaveri water. The rice (finished product, after being threshed and winnowed of 'chaff') is exported to some parts of Europe, the United States, north, east and west Asia, Africa and the Middle East, but a large amount is exported to Southeast Asia, Papua New Guinea and Australia. The rice is also suitable for diabetics in some varieties and is easily digested.

See also

• List of rice varieties

External links

• Malaysian firm registers Ponni as trademark
• The Hindu on a new variety of Ponni
• A farmers' movement to protect ‘Ponni'
• Wanted: ad blitzkrieg and patent for Ponni rice