Ram B KhadkaProgramme Coordinator

European Union Food Facility Project, FAYA- Nepal, Dhangadhi, Kailali

SYSTEM OF WHEAT INTENSIFICATION (SWI): A NEW TECHNOLOGY FOR WHEAT

INTENSIFICATION PRACTICED IN KAILALI, NEPAL

What is SWI ?

New concept and practice of wheat cultivation manipulating the soil environment favorably for better root and shoot growth using principles of SRI

Wide spacing of plants for better light and air utilization

Increases use of compost and organic matterQuality seed to be selected and treated using

appropriate biotic and biotic agentsBetter soil aeration by use of mechanical weeder

What have done at Kailali?• Four farmers' controlled field trials were designed and established at

Ramsikharjhala, Lalbojhi, and Fulbari• Each trial had two treatments: 300m2 for farmer's practices and 300

m2 for SWI • Variety used: Gautam and Bhirkuti• Broadcasting of seed with recommended dose of fertilizer in farmers’

practice• Germinated seeds planted in-line at a distance of 20 cm plant-to-

plant and 20 cm line-to-line by dibbling methods• Gap-filling was done by transplanting individual wheat seedlings at

10 DAS• Fertilizer dose 100:50:50 Kg NPK/ha and 10 MT FYM per ha• At 20, 40 and 60 DAS, irrigation were done and each 5 days after

irrigation weedings were done by SWI weeder machine•

Obser-vations

• Tiller number• Plant height• Spike number per hill• Number of grains per spike• Total grain weight• Number of spike per m2

Data were taken separately for conventional practices, for SWI direct sowing, and for SWI seedling transplanting by randomly selecting 10 plants from each type

SN Parameters (average of 10 plants)

Fulbari Lalbojhi Ramsikharjhala

Conv. SWI Conv. SWI Conv.

SWI

1 Tiller number 525

(18-36) 434

(22-54) 325

(19-42)2 Number of spike per hill 5 22.5 4 33 2.4 23.5

3 Number of grains per spike 22.5 45.4 50.1 72.4 60 80

4 Number of spike per m2 310 400 414 446 210 2565 Spike length (cm) 9 16 9.3 12.3 13 186 TGW (gm) 50 75 40 45 45 507 Productivity (Mt/ha) 4 8 5.8 7.95 4.8 6.958 Difference in productivity 100% 37% 44%

Results

What was lacking in SWI practices at Kailali?

• Seeds were selected and treated by hot water only; but better results can be expected with treatment using a mixture of jaggery, vermi-compost, cow urine, and biotic agents like Aspergillium in usual practice of SWI

• Dibbling of seed was done manually so there were differences in seed depth (3-4 cm is most appropriate) hampering germination percentage; use of a SWI drill machine can help uniform seed depth

Discussion

• Wheat plants in SWI (leaf width, leaf colour, root length, and root distribution ) were seen to be quite different; in SWI, leaves were more green and wide, roots are deep and well distributed

• The transplanted seedlings did not have as good performance in tillering as did direct sowing

• SWI wheat remains greener than conventional, even when ready to harvest ; seen as more tolerant of hot stress; later senescence appeared in SWI

Different between SWI and conventional practices observed at Kailali

SN Parameters SWI Conventional

1 Seed requirement 25-30 kg/ha 100-120 Kg/ha

2 Seed treatment Should be done by with biotic and biotic agents

Not necessary

3 Methods of sowing Dibbling in line Broadcasting

4 Spacing 20 x20 cm No proper spacing

5 Weeding 2-3 weedings by using cono-weeder

Not done

6 Length of panicle (cm) 18 12

7 No of grains per panicle 60-75 40-50

8 No. of panicles per hill 53-40 2-5

9 TGW (gm) 70-75 45-50

10 Stem, roots & leaves Thick stem, long root and wide and green black leaf

Thin stem, short and surface root and narrow and pale green leaf

Thanks for your kind attention