On-farm Evaluation of SRI in On-farm Evaluation of SRI in Tamiraparani Command Area, Tamiraparani Command Area,

Tamil Nadu, IndiaTamil Nadu, India

T.M. ThiyagarajanT.M. Thiyagarajan

DeanDeanAgricultural College & Research InstituteAgricultural College & Research Institute

Killikulam, Vallanadu 628 252Killikulam, Vallanadu 628 252Tamil Nadu, IndiaTamil Nadu, India

Tamil Nadu

INDIA

Tamil Nadu

Total geographical area 13.0 m ha

Net area sown 5.79 m ha

Gross rice area 2.19 m ha

Annual rice production

Average yield

7.5 m t

3.42 t/ha

Water demand and supply in 2025 for Tamil Nadu

(million ha m)

Total water supply 4.74

Demand for non-agricultural purposes

1.65

Available for agricultural purposes

3.09

Demand for agricultural purposes

Excess demand over supply

3.57 - 4.5515.5-47.9%

System of Rice Intensification

Young seedlingSoft handling

Wider spacing

Weed incorporation Limited water

Experimental ResultsSRI evaluations were begun

in 2001 by TNAU, preceding firstextension to farmers in 2002

Two field experiments on SRI

conducted in India in Tamil Nadu

Location : Wetland experimental areas at Tamil Nadu

Agricultural University, Coimbatore

Experiment I : Wet season (Sept. 2001- Jan. 2002)

hybrid rice CORH-2 (125 d)

Experiment II : Dry season (Feb. - June 2002)

hybrid rice ADTRH-1 (115 d)

Crop establishment factors

P1 Conventional planting: 24-day-old seedlings; single seedling per hill.

P2 Modified SRI planting: in the wet season, 14-day-old single seedling per hill; in dry season, direct wet seeding, 2-3 seeds manually sown, but later thinned to single seedling per hill.

Irrigation factors

I1 Conventional irrigation: irrigating to 5 cm depth one day after disappearance of surface water.

I2 Limited irrigation after crop establishment: irrigating to 2 cm depth after development of surface cracks; in the wet season, limited irrigation up to flowering stage, followed by conventional irrigation during grain filling;

in dry season, limited irrigation till maturity.

Weed management factors

W1 Conventional weeding: in the wet season, weeds were removed by manual weeding (three times); in the dry season, pre-emergence application of herbicide Butachlor, followed by manual weeding (two times).

W2 Weeds mechanically incorporated with a rotary weeder, used crisscross (five times) during the growing season.

Nutrient management factors

N1 Recommended amount of N (150 kg ha-1), P2O (60 kg ha-1), K2O (90 kg ha-1) and Zn in splits applied.

N2 The same as N1, plus green manure (fresh weight 6.25 t ha-1).

Water used for the rice hybrid CORH2 (wet season)

Conventional planting

Modified planting

Conventional

irrigation

Limited irrigation

Conventional

irrigation

Limited irrigation

Total water irrigated (m3 ha-1)

11853 5205 13347 6699

Total number of irrigations

14 9 16 11

Cumulative rainfall during the crop period (m3 ha-1)

3560 3560 3560 3560

Total water used (m3 ha-1)

15143 8765 16907 10259

Water used for the rice hybrid ADTRH1 (dry season)

Conventional planting

Modified SRI planting

Conventional

irrigation

Limited irrigation

Conventional

irrigation

Limited irrigation

Total water irrigated (m3 ha-1)

13406 6213 16634 8419

Total number of irrigations

21 15 25 18

Cumulative rainfall during the crop period (m3 ha-1)

560 560 560 560

Total water used (m3 ha-1)

13966 6773 17194 8979

Grain yield (kg ha-1) of rice hybrid CORH 2 under conventional and SRI

Factors

Conventional seedlings Younger seedlings

Mean Mean Conventional irrigation

Water saving

irrigation

Conventional irrigation

Water saving

irrigation

Weeds removed

N16151 6199 6841 6268 6365

6076N2 6000 6195 5893 5059 5787

Weeds incorporated

N16008 6908 6838 6707 6615

6737N2 6343 6349 7612 7126 6858

Mean 6126 6413 6796 6290

Mean 6269 6543

Factors

Conventional seedlings Direct Seeded

Mean Mean Conventional irrigation

Water saving

irrigation

Conventional irrigation

Water saving irrigation

Weeds removed

N1 6009 5694 6682 6366

6187

6226

N2 6261 5809 6600 6391

6265

Weeds incorporated

N1 6240 6014 6890 6400

6386

6436

N2 6311 6080 6941 6612

6486

Mean 6205 5899 6778 6442

Mean 6052 6610

Grain yield (kg ha-1) of rice hybrid ADTRH 1 under conventional and SRI

0

0.2

0.4

0.6

0.8

1

Conventional Planting +Coventional Irrigation

Conventional Planting +Limited Irrigation

Modif ied Planting +Conventional Irrigation

Modif ied Planting +Limited Irrigation

Wat

er P

rod

uct

ivit

y (k

g m

-3)

Wet Season

Dry Season

Labour Productivity (US$)

Management options

Wet season

Dry season

Conventional 3.29 3.46

Conventional planting

Limited irrigation

Conventional weeding

3.55 3.39

Modified planting

Conventional irrigation

Mechanical weeding

4.71 3.85

SRI 4.64 3.91

SRI resulted in higher LAI during grain filling period

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

0 20 40 60 80 100 120

Days after transplanting

Leaf

are

a in

dex

Conventionalirrigation

Modified SRIirrigation

SRI method of planting resulted in higher root volume at panicle initiation, flowering and grain filling stages

0

20

40

60

80

AT PI FF GF

Crop growth stages

Roo

t vol

ume

( cc

pla

nt-1

)

Conventional planting

Modif ied SRI planting

Mechanical weedingConventional weeding

Root growth

Microbial population in rice rhizosphere

Microorganism Conventional SRI

Total bacteria 88 x 106 105 x 106

Azospirillum 8 x 105 31 x 105

Azotobacter 39 x 103 66 x 103

Phosphobacteria 33 x 103 59 x 103

Effect of SRI on crop physiology Wet season (CORH2) Dry season (ADTRH1)

Conventional SRI Conventional SRI

Total Chlorophyll (mg g-1)

2.76 3.20 2.60 3.13

Soluble protein (mg g-1)

8.35 12.62 10.25 11.95

Nitrate reductase (mg NO2g-1 h-1)

12.42 18.11 11.74 16.70

Root CEC (mg 100g-1)

- - 8.40 11.23Cytokinin (pmol g-1)

- - 56.77 72.47

Insects and their damage / population

SRI cultivation

(Mean ± SE)

Conventional cultivation

(Mean ± SE)

t value

Cut worm(% damaged leaves

per seedling)

0.0 ± 0.0

(0.0)

20.4 ± 4.8

(19.1)

16.1**

Thrips(per seedling)

0.5 ± 0.2

(0.9)

6.1 ± 0.5

(2.5)

19.3**

Green leaf hopper

(per seedling)

0.1 ± 0.0

(0.8)

0.4 ± 0.1

(0.9)

14.8**

BPH(per seedling)

0.0 ± 0.0

(0.0)

0.2 ± 0.0

(0.8)

11.5**

Whorl maggot(% damaged leaves

per seedling)

0.8 ± 0.2

(0.9)

9.3 ± 2.6

(9.1)

12.5**

Pest abundance in nursery

Figures in parentheses are transformed values ** significant difference (P<0.001)

Insects and their damage / population

SRI cultivation(Mean ± SE)

Conventional cultivation(Mean ± SE)

t value

Whorl maggot(% damaged leaves

per hill)

17.9 ± 1.9

(18.0)

23.2 ± 2.0

(19.1)

6.6**

Thrips(per hill)

6.6 ± 0.1

(2.2)

20.2 ± 2.0

(4.1)

12.2**

Green leaf hopper(per hill)

0.6 ± 0.1

(1.0)

1.1 ± 0.2

(1.2)

10.7**

BPH(per hill)

1.1 ± 0.2

(1.2)

2.7 ± 0.2

(1.8)

14.4**

Whorl maggot(% truncated leaves

per hill)

5.6 ± 1.8

(5.9)

8.8 ± 1.4

(9.1)

4.5**

Pest abundance in main field

Figures in parentheses are transformed values ** significant difference (P<0.001)

Insects and their damage / population

SRI cultivation(Mean ± SE)

Conventional cultivation(Mean ± SE)

t value

Gall midge(% silver shoot

per hill)

5.0 ± 1.2

(6.8)

11.0 ± 1.5

(19.1)

9.3**

Stem borers(deadheart/white

ear per hill)

11.7 ± 1.3

(15.5)

7.3 ± 1.0

(10.0)

10.1**

Leaf folder(scraped leaves

per hill)

20.3 ± 1.6

(21.7)

6.5 ± 1.0

(11.8)

15.4**

Earhead bug(No. per hill)

0.9 ± 0.1

(1.1)

0.9 ± 0.1

(1.1)

0.4NS

Pest abundance in main field

Figures in parentheses are transformed values

** significant difference (P<0.001)

NS : not significant

Prospects

SRI offers scope for considerable reduction in water use, seed requirements, labour for weeding, with concurrent increase in yield

Evaluation in Farmers’ Fields

The Government of Tamil Nadu approved US$ 30,000 to conduct Adaptive Research Trials (ART) in 100 farmers’ fields in Tamiraparani River Command area in 2003-2004

Locations of ARTs in Tamiraparani Basin

LEGEND

ANICUTS IN THAMBIRA BARANI RIVER BASIN

1.Kodaimalalagian2.Nadhiyunni3. Kannadian4.Arianayakiapuram5. Palavor6. Suthamalli7. Maruthur 8. Srivaigundam

LOCATION OF ART’s

KADAYANALLURSANKARAN KOIL

KALUGU MALAI

KAYATHAR

THENKASI

SHENKOTAI

COURTALLAM

Factors Conventional rice cultivation

SRI

Seedling 21 – 30 days

2-3 seedlings hill-1

14 days

Single seedling hill-1

Planting density

15 x 10 cm

20 x 10 cm

20 x 20 cm

Irrigation 5 cm depth 1 day after disappearance

of ponded water

2.5 cm depth (up to PI : after surface cracks develop in the soil; after PI : 1 day

after disappearance of water)

Weed control Herbicide + hand weeding , or 2 hand

weedings

Rotary weeder (3-4 times)

SRI Training for Extension PersonnelSRI Training for Extension Personnel

SRI Training for FarmersSRI Training for Farmers

SRI Training for FarmersSRI Training for Farmers

SRI Nursery

SRI NurserySRI Nursery

SRI Planting

Rotary weeder useRotary weeder use

SRI nursery

Conventional nursery

Pulling out of seedlings

Conventional SRI

Transport of seedlings

Conventional SRI

Conventional planting

SRI planting

Transplanted field

Conventional

SRI

Conventional weeding

Using rotary weeder

Using cono weeder

Rotary weeder

Cono weeder

Conventionally weeded Mechanically weeded

Conventional irrigation

Water-saving irrigation

Crop growth at different stages

Just transplantedJust transplanted TilleringTillering

MaturityMaturity

SRI farmer showing the difference in no. of panicles to TNAU Vice- Chancellor

Grain yield assessment• All panicles from 5 randomly chosen

areas (1 m2) were harvested from both conventional and SRI plots

• Panicle number and number of grains per panicle were counted

• Grains were separated, cleaned, weighed, and moisture % was estimated

• Yield is reported at 14 % moisture level

GRAIN YIELD UNDER CONVENTIONAL PRACTICES

0

1000

2000

3000

4000

5000

6000

7000

8000

9000

10000

ART Locations

Yie

ld (

kg /

ha)

GRAIN YIELD UNDER SRI PRACTICES

0

2000

4000

6000

8000

10000

12000

1 5 9 13 17 21 25 29 33 37 41 45 49 53 57 61 65 69 73 77 81 85 89 93 97

ART location numbers

Yie

ld (K

g / h

a)

Grain yield in conventional practices

3887

8730

5657

0

1000

2000

3000

4000

5000

6000

7000

8000

9000

10000

Minimum Maximum Mean

Yie

ld (

kg

/ ha)

Grain yield in SRI practices

4214

10655

7227

0

2000

4000

6000

8000

10000

12000

Minimum Maximum Mean

Yie

ld (k

g / h

a)

Benefits of SRI

Nursery is smaller and simpler

Wet land Garden land

Seed requirement is reduced

Conventional : 60 – 75 kg ha-1

SRI : 7.5 kg ha-1

Higher tillering in a reportedly shy-tillering variety (ASD16)

Multiple advantages of using weeder

• No need to use herbicides

• Weed incorporation into soil

• Less labour needed for weeding

• Incorporation of top dressed fertilizer

• Disturbance of the soil’s surface aerates the top horizon

• Promotion of crop growth

Saving of irrigation water = 40 – 50 %

SRI crop resists lodging

Leaves remain green up to harvest

COSTS OF CULTIVATION PER HECTARE

Sl. No.

Practices

Tractor hours @ Rs.

150 / hr

Bullock pair @ Rs.

200 / hr

Men’s Labour

@ Rs. 40 / manday

Women’s Labour

@ Rs. 40 / manday

Cost (Rs.)

Con SRI Con SRI Con SRI Con SRI Con SRI

1. Nursery Preparation 1 - - - 6 3 0.5 5.5 2110 681

2. Main Field Preparation

7.5 7.5 2 2 12 12 - - 2005 2005

3. Manures & Fertilizers

- - - - 7 7 10 10 7254 7254

4. Transplanting - - - - 5 5 55 75 2400 3200

5. Weeding - - - - - 38 80 - 3200 1520

6. Irrigation - - - - 7.5 6 - - 300 240

7. Plant Protection - - - - 2 2 2 2 660 660

8. Harvesting 1 1 - - 12.5 12.5 75 75 3500 3500

Total 9.5 8.5 2 2 52 85.5 222.5 167.5 21,429 19,060

Saving in SRI system over conventional system – Rs. 2,369 (11 %)

Economics of Cultivation (ha-1)

Sl. No.

ParticularsConventional

practicesSRI

practices

1. Income from grains

(Rs. 5.00 / kg)US$ 659 US$ 870

2. Income from straw

(Rs. 0.25 / kg)US$ 49 US$ 63

3. Gross return US$ 708 US$ 933

4. Cost of cultivation US$ 466 US$ 414

5. Net return US$ 242 US$ 519

6. B : C ratio 1.52 2.25

Joint Director of Agriculture (Thanjavur District) :

Initially a strong critic of SRI in 2003 has laid out more than 2000 SRI demo trials in 2004.

Thank YouThank You