0955 opportunities for improving asian agriculture agroecology: observations from the system of rice...
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Opportunities for Improving Asian
Agriculture Agroecologically:
Observations from the System of Rice Intensification
ECHO Conference on Asian Agriculture Chiangmai –
September 21, 2009
Norman Uphoff Cornell University
What is Agroecology? Most simply: a superdiscipline
based on concepts/ principles/insights/practices that
rely on changes in the management of plants, soil, water
& nutrients -- to capitalize on existing genetic
potentials in crops, animals and soil systems, rather than on (a) changes in genetic potentials, or (b) external
inputs -- to get more productive
phenotypes thru ecological dynamics/interactions
Agroecological principles understand and manage
crops and animalsnot as isolated species --
but as organisms that always function (having
evolved) in an ecological context
‘Ascending Migration of Endophytic Rhizobia, from Roots and Leaves, inside Rice Plants and Assessment of Benefits to
Rice Growth Physiology’Feng Chi et al.(2005), Applied and Envir. Microbiology 71,
7271-7278Rhizo-bium test strain
Total plant root
volume/pot (cm3)
Shoot dry weight/ pot (g)
Net photo-synthetic
rate (μmol-2 s-1)
Water utilization efficiency
Area (cm2) of flag leaf
Grain yield/ pot (g)
Ac-ORS571 210 ± 36A 63 ± 2A 16.42 ± 1.39A 3.62 ± 0.17BC 17.64 ± 4.94ABC 86 ± 5A
SM-1021 180 ± 26A 67 ± 5A 14.99 ± 1.64B 4.02 ± 0.19AB 20.03 ± 3.92A 86 ± 4A
SM-1002 168 ± 8AB 52 ± 4BC 13.70 ± 0.73B 4.15 ± 0.32A 19.58 ± 4.47AB 61 ± 4B
R1-2370 175 ± 23A 61 ± 8AB 13.85 ± 0.38B 3.36 ± 0.41C 18.98 ± 4.49AB 64 ± 9B
Mh-93 193 ± 16A 67 ± 4A 13.86 ± 0.76B 3.18 ± 0.25CD 16.79 ± 3.43BC 77 ± 5A
Control 130 ± 10B 47 ± 6C 10.23 ± 1.03C 2.77 ± 0.69D 15.24 ± 4.0C 51 ± 4C
Agroecological principle #1:
SUPPORT the recycling of biomass to optimize nutrient
availability in the soil and balance nutrient flows in the soil
and biosphere over time
Agroecological principle #2:
PROVIDE the most favorable soil conditions which enhance soil structure and the functioning of soil
systems, esp. by managing organic matter and by
enhancing soil biotic activity
Agroecological principle #3:
MINIMIZE losses of energy and other growth factors
within plants’ microenvironments -- both above & below ground -- in ways that can maximize
resource-use efficiency
Agroecological principle #4:
DIVERSIFY the species and the genetic resources within
agroecosystems, both over time and over space
Agroecological principle #5:
ENHANCE beneficial biological interactions and synergies among all of the
components of agrobiodiversity, thereby
promoting key ecological processes and services
(Reijntjes et al., 1992; Altieri 2002;)
Agroecology can be summarized in these recommendations:1. Enhance the life in the soil (in soil systems), recognizing the precedence of soil biology which shapes soil’s chemistry and physics
2.Improve the growing environment (E) of crops in order to induce more productive phenotypes from any given crop genotype (G)
CUBA: rice plants of same variety (VN 2084) and same age
(52 DAP)
What is SRI? Most simply, SRI is a set of
concepts/ principles/insights/practices that
change the management of plants, soil, water & nutrients:
(a) to produce larger, more effective, longer-lived ROOT SYSTEMS, and (b) to enrich the LIFE IN THE SOIL
to achieve more productive,healthier PHENOTYPES
from any GENOTYPE
CAMBODIA: Farmer in Takeo Province: yield of 6.72 tons/ha > 2-3 t/ha
NEPAL:Single rice
plant grownwith SRI methods, Morang district
MALI: Farmer in the Timbuktu region
showing the difference between
‘normal’ rice and SRI rice plant
2007: 1st year trials -
SRI yield 8.98 t/hacontrol yield 6.7 t/ha(best mgmt practices)
2008: trials expanded
with 5 farmers in 12 villages doing on-farm comparison
trials (N=60)
SRI Control Farmer Practice
Yield t/ha* 9.1 5.49 4.86Standard Error (SE) 0.24 0.27 0.18SRI compared to Control (%) + 66 100 -11SRI compared to Farmer Practice (%)
+ 87 + 13 100
Number of Farmers 53 53 60
• * adjusted to 14% grain moisture content
Rice grain yield for SRI plots, control plots, and farmer-practice plots,
Goundam circle, Timbuktu region, 2008
Indonesia:Rice plants
same varietyand same age
in LombokProvince
Indonesia: Results of on-farm comparative evaluations of SRI
by Nippon Koei team, 2002-06 • No. of trials: 12,133 (over 9 seasons)• Total area covered: 9,429.1 hectares• Ave. increase in yield: 3.3 t/ha (78%)• Reduction in water requirements: 40%• Reduction in fertilizer use: 50%• Reduction in costs of production: 20% (Sato and Uphoff, CAB Review, 2007)
AFGHANISTAN: SRI field in Baghlan Province, supported by Aga Khan Foundation Natural Resource Management
program
SRI field in Baghlan Province, Afghanistan at 30 days
SRI rice plant @ 72 days after
transplanting – 133 tillers
Yield was calculated at
11.56 tons/ha
IRAQ: Comparison trials at Al-Mishkhab Rice Research Station, Najaf
SRI originated in MadagascarInitially called le Systéme de Riziculture Intensive(in Latin America, SICA) by Henri de Laulanié, SJ, who, by 1984, assembled SRI’s counterintuitive practices after 2 decades of working with small, poor farmers to improve their production and incomes without requiring any dependence on inputs
Fr. de Laulaniémaking field visitshortly before his
death in 1995
MADAGASCAR: Rice field grown with SRI methods
Rice sector needs in 21st century
(IRRI/DG, Intl. Year of Rice, 2004)• Increased land productivity-- higher yield• Higher water productivity -- crop per drop• Technology that is accessible for the poor• Technology that is environmentally friendly • Greater resistance to pests and diseases • Tolerance of abiotic stresses (climate change) • Better grain quality for consumers, and• Greater profitability for farmers
SRI practices can meet all these needs:
• Higher yields by 50-100%, or more• Water reduction of 25-50% (also rainfed)• Little need for capital expenditure• Little or no need for agrochemical inputs• Pest and disease resistance • Drought tolerance, and little/no lodging• Better grain quality, less chalkiness• Lower costs of production by 10-20% → resulting in higher income for farmers
Additional benefits of SRI practice:
• Time to maturity reduced by 1-2 weeks• Milling outturn is higher by about 15%• Other crops’ performance is also being improved by SRI concepts and practices, e.g., wheat, sugar cane, millet, teff, others• Human resource development for farmers through participatory approach• Diversification and modernization of smallholder agriculture; can adapt to larger- scale production through mechanization
Requirements/constraints for SRI:
For best results, we need:•Water control to apply small amounts reliably (rainfed SRI now being developed)•More labor at first during learning phase; but SRI can even become labor-saving --also, SRI practices can become mechanized•Skill and motivation of farmers is key!•Crop protection in some situationsSRI is a matter of degree more than of kind --methods get applied in wide range of agroecologies
SRI is Ideas/Insights; not Technology
1. Use young seedlings to preserve growth potential -- however, direct seeding is becoming an option
2. Avoid trauma to the roots --transplant quickly, carefully, shallow; no inversion of root tips upward
3. Give plants wider spacing – one plant per hill, square pattern for better root/canopy growth
4. Soil is kept moist but unflooded – mostly aerobic, not continuously saturated (hypoxic)
5. Actively aerate the soil as much as possible6. Enhance soil organic matter as much as possiblePractices 1-3 support more PLANT growth; practices 4-6
enhance the growth and health of ROOTS and soil BIOTA
Two Paradigms for Agriculture:
• GREEN REVOLUTION strategy was to:(a) Change the genetic potential of plants, and(b) Increase the use of external inputs -- more water, more fertilizer and biocides
• SRI (AGROECOLOGY) changes instead the management of plants, soil, water & nutrients: (a) Promote the growth of root systems, and(b) Increase the abundance and diversity of
soil organisms to better enlist their benefitsThe goal is to produce better PHENOTYPES
SRI
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
IH H FH MR WR YRStage
Org
an d
ry w
eigh
t(g/
hill)
CK
I H H FH MR WR YR
Yellowleaf andsheathPanicle
Leaf
Sheath
Stem
47.9% 34.7%
“Non-Flooding Rice Farming Technology in Irrigated Paddy Field”Dr. Tao Longxing, China National Rice Research Institute, 2004
China National Rice Research Institute (CNRRI): factorial trials, 2004 & 2005
using two super-hybrid varieties --seeking to break ‘plateau’ limiting
yieldsStandard Rice Mgmt• 30-day seedlings• 20x20 cm spacing• Continuous
flooding• Fertilization:
– 100% chemical
New Rice Mgmt (~SRI)• 20-day seedlings• 30x30 cm spacing• Alternate wetting
and drying (AWD)• Fertilization:
– 50% chemical, – 50% organic
Average super-rice YIELD (kg/ha) with new rice
management (SRI) vs.standard rice management
at different PLANT DENSITIES ha-1
0100020003000400050006000700080009000
10000
150,000 180,000 210,000
NRMSRM
0
2000
4000
6000
8000
10000
12000
14000
0 100 200
N uptake (kg/ha)
Grain yield (kg/ha)
Grain yield SRI (kg/ha)
Grainyield Conv
(kg/ha)
Poly.:Grain yield SRI (kg/ha)
Poly.: Grain yield
Conv. (kg/ha)
Rice grain yield response to N uptake
Regression relationship between N uptake and grain yield for SRI and conventional methods using QUEFTS model (Barison,
2002) – same for P and K
SRI LANKA: Rice paddies,with same soil, same variety, same irrigation system and same drought, three weeks after water was stopped: conventional
(left), SRI (right)
Journal of Sichuan Agricultural Science and Technology
(2009), Vol. 2, No. 23“Introduction of Land-Cover Integrated Technologies with Water Saving and High Yield” -- Lv S.H., Zeng X.Z., Ren G.H., Zhang F.S.
Yield increase in normal year is 150-200 kg/mu (2.25-3.0 t/ha); while in drought year, increase is 200 kg/mu or more (≥3.0 t/ha)
• In a normal year, net income with the new methods can be increased from 100 ¥/mu to 600-800 ¥/mu, i.e., from $220/ha to >$1,500/ha, while• In drought year with the new methods, net income can go from a loss of 200-300 ¥/mu to a profit of 300-500 ¥/mu, i.e., from a loss of $550/ha to a profit of $880/ha
VIETNAM: Farmer in Dông Trù village – after typhoon
Reduction in Diseases and PestsVietnam National IPM Program evaluation based on data from 8
provinces, 2005-06Spring season Summer season
SRIPlots
Farmer
Plots
Differ-ence
SRIPlots
Farmer
Plots
Differ-ence
Sheath blight 6.7
%18.1
%63.0% 5.2
%19.8
%73.7%
Leaf blight -- -- -- 8.6
%36.3
%76.5%
Small leaf folder *
63.4 107.7 41.1% 61.8 122.3 49.5%
Brown plant hopper *
542 1,440 62.4% 545 3,214 83.0%
AVERAGE
55.5% 70.7%* Insects/m2
Period Period Mean Mean max. max.
temp. temp. 00CC
Mean Mean min. min.
temp. temp. 00C C
No. of No. of sunshine sunshine
hrshrs1 – 151 – 15 NovNov 27.727.7 19.219.2 4.94.916–3016–30 Nov Nov 29.629.6 17.917.9 7.57.51 – 15 Dec1 – 15 Dec 29.129.1 14.614.6 8.68.616–31 Dec 16–31 Dec 28.128.1 12.212.2** 8.68.6
Meteorological and yield data from ANGRAU IPM evaluation, Andhra
Pradesh, India, 2006
SeasonSeason Normal (t/ha)Normal (t/ha) SRI (t/ha)SRI (t/ha)Rabi 2005-06Rabi 2005-06 2.25 2.25 3.473.47Kharif 2006Kharif 2006 0.21*0.21* 4.164.16* Low yield due to cold injury (see above)
*Sudden drop in min. temp. during 16–21 Dec. (9.2-9.8oC for 5 days)
Measured Differences in Grain Quality
Conv. Methods SRI Methods Characteristic (3 spacings) (3 spacings) DifferenceChalky
kernels (%)
39.89 – 41.07 23.62 – 32.47 -30.7%
General chalkiness (%)
6.74 – 7.17 1.02 – 4.04 -65.7%
Milled rice outturn (%)
41.54 – 51.46 53.58 – 54.41 +16.1%
Head milled rice (%)
38.87 – 39.99 41.81 – 50.84 +17.5%Paper by Prof. Ma Jun, Sichuan Agricultural University,
presented at 10th conference on “Theory and Practice forHigh-Quality, High-Yielding Rice in China,” Haerbin,
8/2004
Status of SRI: As of 1999
Known and practiced only in Madagascar
Spread of SRI demonstrations and use in 10 years
Up to 1999 Madagascar1999-2000 China, Indonesia2000-01 Bangladesh, Cambodia,
Cuba, India, Laos, Nepal, Myanmar, Philippines, Gambia, Sierra Leone, Sri Lanka, Thailand
2002-03 Benin, Guinea, Mozambique, Peru
2004-05 Senegal, Mali, Pakistan, Vietnam
2006 Burkina Faso, Bhutan, Iran, Iraq, Zambia
2007 Afghanistan 2008 Brazil, Egypt, Rwanda,
Ecuador, Costa Rica, Timor Leste2009 Ghana . . .
THANK YOU
• Web page: http://ciifad.cornell.edu/sri/
• Email: [email protected] or [email protected]