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About SRI Method |
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System of Rice Intensification (SRI) is a package of intensive
management practices developed for irrigated rice cultivation,
first developed and evolved through participatory on-farm
experimentation in 1980s and 90s in Madagascar.
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The main
components of this package are:
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Transplanting
young seedlings (less than 14 days old)
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Careful
transplanting of single seedlings per hill
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Transplanting
in a square pattern, preferably with 25 x 25 cms spacing
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Emphasis on
organic fertilizers
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Weeding
through weeders to increase aeration as well as weed control
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Alternate
wetting and drying up to the panicle initiation stage through
irrigation by way of a thin film of standing water.
SRI follows
alternate wetting and drying till panicle initiation. Thereafter a
thin film of water is continuously maintained in the field. This
is a great water saving measure over the conventional system where
standing water is maintained throughout the crop growth period,
which leads to increased percolation rates, seepage rates and
evaporation. These unproductive water losses can be minimized by
SRI. Water saved worked out to about 40-50 percent in experimental
studies conducted in India.
Benefits likely to accrue from this practice are:
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A proven experience in Andhra Pradesh..
 When SRI was identified as a potential system, The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) in
partnership with Acharya N.G. Ranga Agricultural University (ANGRAU),
conducted SRI evaluation trials in about 212 farmers’ fields in
11 districts in rabi 2004. The districts included Adilabad,
Anantapur, Chittoor, East Godavari, Karimnagar, Mahboobnagar,
Medak, Nalgonda, Rangareddy, Warangal and West Godavari.
Participating farmers had a wide range of irrigation sources
including canal irrigation, borewells or open wells and the trials
represented several soil types found in Andhra Pradesh. The survey
showed that SRI performed well in all districts. Average yields
ranged from 4.9 tons/ha in Warangal district to 9.5 tons/ha in
West Godavari. The variation in average yields was due to
cultivation on poor sandy, saline or alkaline soils vis-à-vis
highly fertile clay soils. Some individual farmers achieved upto
10 to 12 tons/ha. The seed rate consumed in this practice
substantially reduced from 50 kg/ha to a mere 5 kg/ha.
The following points emerged from the trials:
Some
constraints:
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Weed control
under this system is a labour-intensive operation
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Farmers also
faced problems with mechanical weeders available to them
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Lack of
proper training of the workforce in the correct procedure for
transplanting is a bottleneck
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Non-availability
of sufficient organic manures is another area of concern.
Andhra Pradesh
government has recognized SRI cultivation as irrigated dry crop
management practice and extended its support for wider promotion.
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