System of Rice Intensification (SRI) System of Rice Intensification (SRI) An innovative technology to produceAn innovative technology to produce

‘‘More crop per drop’ More crop per drop’

Dr. A. SATYANARAYANADirector of Extension

Acharya N. G.Ranga Agricultural UniversityRajendranagar, Hyderabad -30

Rice in India

Major food crop: Normal area: 45 million ha Normal production: 90 million tons

Rice production: 75.72 m.tons (2002-2003(lowest in last 10 years)

Reasons: * Irrigation water crisis* Diminishing returns to chemical

inputs (fertilizer, agrochemicals)

RICE IN ANDHRA PRADESH

Rice is the main food crop in AP

Area under rice: 4.0 m. ha

Cultivated through out the State ( 22 districts)

Wide range of soils, climate, irrigation sources

Diverse varieties under cultivation

Irrigation Status of Andhra Pradesh

Total geographical area : 274.40 lakh haTotal cultivable area : 93.0 lakh haArea under irrigation : 57.76 lakh ha

Source of Irrigation Area (lakh ha)

Canals 22.08

Tanks 7.19

Tube wells 14.42

Other wells 11.53

Other sources 2.54

Total 57.76

Salt Affected Area 8.00

Waterlogged Area 4.00

WATER PRODUCTIVITY IN RICE

Lowland rice (traditional) 0.5 g/kg of water Aerobic rice 1.0 g/kg of water SRI 1.2 g/kg of water Alternate wetting & 1.3 g/kg of water drying (5 cm – 7 DDW)

RICE WATER CONSUMPTION

- Irrigated rice is the leading consumer of water

- Rice is the most widely consumed staple crop

- Finding ways to reduce the demand for water to grow

irrigated rice in the necessity.

- If rice production can be increased while water

consumption is reduced, this is the need of the hour

Research done earlier has shown that

Water applications can be reduced without

sacrificing yield with little or no increase in

profitability

As long as water has been freely available, most

farmers have used water to reduce their labour

requirements for weed control

Downstream farmers are thereby deprived of

the water they need

Getting people to change long standing practices especially ones that require both learning new techniques and efforts, at least during learning phase has always been difficult.

- Motivating benefits are needed for change

- SRI is an innovative rice farming method that can: increase yields reduce costs of production decrease the amounts of irrigation water needed enhance profitability reduce dependence on agrochemicals and other external inputs

.

The growth and performance of rice are achieved with substantial reduction in water applications using SRI methods:

China up to 65% Yuan Longping (2001) achieve 16 t/ha

Philippines by 67% Lazaro et al. (2004)with yield increase 3.66→7.33 t/ha

China by 43.2% Li et al. (2004) village study inSichuan Province

# of irrigations reducedSri Lanka (IWMI) 32 → 24 Dry season(Namara et al., 2004) 29 → 22 Wet season

90% increase in water productivity (kg rice/water issue)33% fewer hours spent in irrigation activity

SRI has had the disadvantage of sounding “too good to be true” – but can get:

“More crop per drop”

SRI is a set of principles and insights about how rice plants can be induced to become more productive

An understanding of soil ecology reinforces the idea that water

application should be optimised rather than maximised.

20th Century Modern Agriculture

Has become overly genocentric

Productivity gains were possible with increased use of inputs – fertilizers, pesticides, water, etc.

These are now:

• Giving diminishing returns

• Creating environmental hazards and health risks

• Facing rising costs of production

• Declining efficiency

Biological power and eco-agriculture should Biological power and eco-agriculture should be the basic foundations for soil health and be the basic foundations for soil health and for 21for 21stst century agriculture century agriculture

Micro organisms and other soil biota as creators and maintainers of soil fertility

Contributions of soil microbial activity to soil fertility need to be taken more seriously

Greater attention to be paid to plant roots

The basic ideas of SRI

Rice plants do best when their roots can grow

large because

- young seedlings are transplanted carefully,

- given wider spacing and

- grown in soil that is kept well aerated\

- with abundant and diverse soil microorganisms

• SRI was first developed in Madagascar during 1980’s mainly to develop low-cost rice production technologies.This has led to the set of practices known as SRI.

• SRI was not known outside Madagascar until 1999

• SRI is under evaluation in 29 countries at present

• In A.P., SRI has been experimented with in all 22 districts with encouraging results

• Over 10,000 farmers are cultivating rice under SRI in AP at present.

On-farm evaluation of SRI in A.P.

ANGRAU DOAKharif 2003-04 200 500

Rabi 2003-04 >2000 Volunteer farmers with larger areas

Kharif 2004-05 250 800Rabi 2004-05 250 + Thousands of volunteer farmers

SRI methods useSRI methods use

Less external inputs

• Less seed (2 kg/ac)

• Fewer plants per unit area (25 x 25 cm)

• Less chemical fertilizer

• More organic manures

• Less pesticides

• Less water

SRI is initially labour-intensiveSRI is initially labour-intensive

- Needs 50% more man-days for transplanting and weeding

- Mobilises labour to work for profit

- It offers opportunities to the resource-poor, who rely on their family labour for household income

- Once skills are learned and implements are used, the labour costs will be less than for present-day rice cultivation

SRI encourages rice plant to grow healthy with

Large root volume

Profuse and strong tillers

Without lodging

Big panicles

More well-filled spikelets and higher grain weight

Resistance to insects

Because SRI allows rice to grow naturally

Tillering is greatly increasedTillering is greatly increased

30 tillers per plant are fairly easy to achieve

50 tillers per plant are quite attainable

With really good use of SRI, individual plants can have 100 fertile tillers or even more

Because no set-back due to early transplanting and no die-back of roots

Maximum tillering occurs concurrently with panicle initiation

With SRI, positive correlation is found between the number of panicles per plant and number of grains per panicle – this is reverse of usual observations

Rice plantRice plant Everybody believe that rice is an aquatic plant

and grows best in standing water Rice is not an aquatic plant; it can survive in water

but does not thrive under hypoxic conditions Rice plants spends a lot of its energy to develop air

pockets (aerenchyma tissue) in its roots under continuous inundation

70% of rice roots get degenerated by flowering period

Under SRI, paddy fields are not flooded but kept the soil moist during the vegetative growth phase

SRI requires only about half as much water as normally applied in irrigated rice

Conventional system with more water

Intermittent wetting and drying with soil aeration

SIX MECHANISMS AND PROCESSES FOR SRISIX MECHANISMS AND PROCESSES FOR SRI

1. EARLY TRANSPLANTING

seedlings 8-12 days old, when plant has only two small leaves, before the fourth phyllochron

2. CAREFUL TRANSPLANTING

Minimize trauma in transplanting Remove plant from nursery with the

seed and soil attached, handling roots carefully, and place it in the field without plunging too deep into soil

More tillering potential

More root growth potential

More tillering potential

Main field preparation

Land preparation is not different from regular irrigated rice cultivation

Leveling should be done carefully so that water can be applied very evenly

At every 2 m distance, form a canal to facilitate drainage

With the help of a marker, draw lines both ways 25 x 25 cm apart and transplant at the intersection

Diagram of possible stalks of a rice shootDiagram of possible stalks of a rice shootstalks grow following a regular cycle (phyllochron)stalks grow following a regular cycle (phyllochron)

Contd..

3. WIDE SPACING Plant single seedlings, not in clumps, and in a square pattern, not in rows, 25cm x 25cm, or eventually wider

4. WEEDING AND AERATION

Needed because no standing water; use simple mechanical ‘rotating hoe’ that churns up soil; 2 weedings are required, with 4 recommended before panicle initiation; first weeding 10 days after transplanting

More root growth potential

More root growth, due to reduced weed competition, and aeration of soil, giving roots more oxygen and N due to increased microbial activity in soil; can add 1+ tons per weeding? Each additional weeding after two rounds results in increased productivity up to 2 t/ha per weeding

Contd..

5. WATER MANAGEMENT

Regular water applications to keep soil moist but not saturated,

with intermittent dryings, alternating aerobic and anaerobic soil

conditions

6. ORGANIC MANURES Applied instead of or in addition to chemical fertilizer; 10 tons/ha

preferably in diverse forms

More root growth because avoids root degeneration able to acquire more and more varied nutrients from the soil

More plant growth because of

better soil health and structure, and more balanced nutrient supply

Crop residues

Green Manure crop (Sunhemp)

Crop residues

Nursery Management

Seed rate 2 kg/ac

Nursery area 1 cent/ac

Select healthy seed

Pre-sprouted seeds are sown on raised nursery bed

Prepare nursery bed like garden crops

Apply a layer of fine manure

Spread sprouted seed sparcely

Cover with another layer of manure

Mulch with paddy straw

Water carefully

Banana leaf sheath may be used for easy lifting and transport of seedlings

PADDY YIELDS UNDER SRI IN COASTAL AREA Kharif 2003-04 YIELD( Kg/ha)

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PADDY YIELDS UNDER SRI IN TELANGANA AREA Kharif 2003-04 YIELD( Kg/ha)

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PADDY YIELDS UNDER SRI IN RAYALASEEMA Kharif 2003-04 YIELD( Kg/ha)

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Performance of SRI in AP-Kharif 2004(ANGRAU)

No. of trials 194

SRI 7.6 t/ha

Conventional 5.9 t/ha

Advantage 1.7 t/ha

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PADDY YIELDS UNDER SRI IN KHARIF 2004-05 IN A.P. (ANGRAU) YIELD( Kg/ha)

Performance of SRI in AP- Kharif 2003-04 (Trials organized by State DOA)

No. of trials - 476

Average SRI yield (t/ha) - 7.92

Control (t/ha) - 5.48

State average productivity (t/ha) - 3.01

2 districts averaged over 10 t/ha10 t/ha

6 districts averaged over 6 districts averaged over 9 t/ha 9 t/ha

Report on SRI CultivationName of the Farmer : Mr.A.Jayasurya ReddyAddress : Tarimala Village, Singanamala Mandal Anantapur district, Andhra PradeshSeason : Rainy season 2003Area under SRI : 0.2 haVariety : BPT 5204

S.No. Parameter Farmers method SRI

1. No. of productive tillers/m2 503 706

2 No. of grains/panicle 87 152

3 Length of panicle (cm) 15.5 14.2

4 1000 grain weight (g) 13.3 14.4

5 Chaffy grain (%) 19.2 3.2

6 Grain yield (kg/ha) 5850 13297

7 Straw yield (kg/ha) 7110 12600

8 Duration(days) 150 140

Report on SRI CultivationName of the Farmer : Mr.K.Venka Subba ReddyAddress : Konidedu Village, Panyam Mandal Kurnool district, Andhra PradeshSeason : Rainy season 2003Area under SRI : 840 m2

Variety : BPT 5204

S.No. Parameter Farmers method SRI

1. Date of sowing 22-6-2003 19-7-2003

2 Date of Transplanting 31-7-2003 28-7-2003

3 Date of harvesting 10-12-2003 10-12-2003

4 Productive tillers/m2 510 1040

5 Panicle length (cm) 17.2 20.2

6 No. of grains/panicle 105 202

7 1000 grain weight(g) 18.8 21.1

8 Grain yield kg/ha 5625 15774

9 Cost of cultivation (Rs/ha) 16250 18000

Report on SRI CultivationName of the Farmer : Mr.RakeshAddress : EdulapalliVillage, Kotturu Mandal Mahabubnagar district, Andhra PradeshVariety : BPT 5204Area under SRI : 0.8 ha

S.No. Parameter Farmers method SRI (*)

1. Date of sowing 6-6-2003 7-7-2003

2 Date of Transplanting 28-6-2003 17-7-2003

3 Date of harvesting 6-11-2003 5-12-2003

4 No. of productive tillers/hill 20 40

5 Length of the panicle (cm) 14 20

6 No. of grains/panicle 150 210

7 Grain yield t/ha 4.7 8.9

(*) Only organic manures were applied

Report on SRI CultivationName of the Farmer : Mr.T.Sambi ReddyAddress : Bhadirajupalem Village, ThotlavallurMandal Krishna district, Andhra PradeshArea under SRI : 0.2 haVariety : BPT 5204

S.No. Parameter Farmers method SRI

1. Date of sowing 20-7-2003 20-7-2003

2 Date of Transplanting 17-8-2003 1-8-2003

3 Date of harvesting 13-12-2003 13-12-2003

4 No. of productive tillers/hill 13 42

5 Length of the panicle(cm) 22 30

6 No. of grains/panicle 254 357

7 Grain yield (kg/ha) 8036 12576

8 Cost of cultivation per ha 15,000 17,500

Performance of Rice under SRI during Rabi 2003-04

No. of trials (data reported so far) - 94

Average SRI yield (kg/ha) - 9,669

Average conventional yield (kg/ha) - 7,125

Yield advantage (kg/ha) - 2,554

Highest yield recorded under SRI (kg/ha) - 17,250

SRI is Counterintuitive

Less can produce more

Younger seedlings becomes larger and more productive

Fewer plants/hill and per m2 give more yield

Less water can give greater yield

Less chemical fertilizers can result in higher yields

Less pesticides to control pests

SRI Utilizes Biological PowerSRI Utilizes Biological Power

Rice root systems grown under SRI, i.e., aerated soil, do not degenerate and are much larger and function better

Soils that are aerated and well-supplied with organic matter can support longer and diverse populations of soil microorganisms, which in turn mobilize nutrients to the plant

Phytohormones produced by bacteria and fungi living in soils and roots promote root growth and the health of the plants

Root exudates provide food to microorganisms

Application of fertilizers and other agrochemicals has an inhibiting effect on soil biota

Benefits of SRIBenefits of SRI

1. Higher yields – Both grain and straw

2. Reduced duration (by 10 days)

3. Lesser chemical inputs

4. Less water requirement

5. Less chaffy grain %

6. Grain weight increased without change in grain size

7. Higher head rice recovery

8. Withstood cyclonic gales

9. Cold tolerance

10. Soil health improves through biological activity

11. Drought tolerance

Research Priorities on SRI

Whether SRI can achieve super yields ?

How much rice is produced per unit of land, labour, water and investment under SRI ?

  Changes and improvements in the ‘standard’ SRI methodology    Development of varieties best suited for SRI growing environment      Systematic data generation on water management

Quality of rice with SRI methods

Root growth and soil ecology and soil fertility

SRI has potential to achieve super high yields

The potential of young seedlings, wider spacing,

less water, no tillage, and organic matter improve

root growth and microorganism and yield is known;

but why then SRI is not accepted as scientific?

Do not dismiss SRI with misconceptions

Farmers’ experiences on large areas and in diverse

conditions should be taken seriously

Swarna under SRI