The System of Rice Intensification (SRI): Capitalizing on Existing Yield Potentials by Changing Management Practices to Increase Rice Productivity with Fewer Inputs and More Profitability Norman Uphoff, Cornell International Institute for Food, Agriculture and Development (CIIFAD) World Rice Research Conference, Nov. 7, 2004

What Is SRI? A set of principles & methods to get more productive PHENOTYPES from any existing GENOTYPE of rice This is accomplished with SRI methods (a) by inducing greater ROOT GROWTH, and (b) by nurturing more abundant and diverse populations of SOIL BIOTA -- through changing the management of plants, soil, water, and nutrients

For Centuries, Even Millennia: We have FLOODED rice plants, drowning their roots and causing roots to degenerate We have CROWDED plants, inhibiting the growth potential of their shoots and roots We now apply various FERTILIZERS and AGROCHEMICALS that affect the soil biota These provide many services to rice plants: N fixation, P solubilization, protection against diseases and abiotic stresses, etc. Standard practices interfere with these benefits

Different Paradigms of Production: The GREEN REVOLUTION paradigm: (a) Changed the genetic potential of plants, and (b) Increased the use of external inputs – with more water, more fertilizer, insecticides, etc. This succeeded, but at fairly high (growing) cost SRI just changes the way that farmers manage their plants, soil, water and nutrients, reducing water use and costs of production while raising factor productivity and farmers’ income These benefits result from (a) promoting the growth of root systems, and (b) increasing the abundance and diversity of soil organisms, which in turn contribute to plant productivity

SRI Sounds ‘Too Good to be True’ – But It Is True, as seen from papers These countries represent over 2/3 of the world’s production/consumption of rice No longer any question whether SRI works SRI practices change the E in the G x E equation: get more productive phenotypes But there is still much about SRI that is not well understood – work in progress Many opportunities for scientific work on soil biology, plant physiology and nutrition, genetic signaling, disease resistance, etc.

Cambodian farmer with rice plant grown from single seed, using SRI methods and traditional variety

Comparison of Dry Matter Accumulation (kg ha -1 ) for SRI vs. Control (CK) Practices at Maturity (Zheng et al., SAAS, 2003)

Figure 1. Change of leaf area index (LAI) during growth cycle (Zheng et al., 2003)

Root Oxygenation Ability with SRI vs. Conventionally-Grown Rice Research done at Nanjing Agricultural University, Wuxianggeng 9 variety (Wang et al. 2002)

Plant Physical Structure and Light Intensity Distribution at Heading Stage (Tao et al., CNRRI, 2002)

47.9%34.7% Non-Flooding Rice Farming Technology in Irrigated Paddy Field, Dr. Tao Longxing, China National Rice Research Institute, 2004

Roots of a single rice plant (MTU 1071) grown at Agricultural Research Station Maruteru, AP, India, 2003 season

Two rice plants in Cuba: same variety (VN 2084) and same age (52 days); 42 tillers on SRI plant vs. 5 tillers on the other

Figure 8: Linear regression relationship between N uptake and grain yield for SRI and conventional methods, using QUEFTS modeling methodology (Barison, 2002) Results are from on-farm comparisons (N = 108)

Madagascar -- SRI field at Ambatovy, 2003

Sri Lanka – SRI field, 2002, with yield of 13 t ha -1

Cuba -- CPA Camilo Cienfuegos cooperative t ha -1

China -- SRI rice field, hybrid variety, Yunnan, 2004 – 18 t ha -1

The System of Rice Intensification Was evolved in Madagascar over 20 yrs by Fr. Henri de Laulanié, S.J. – working with farmers, observing, experimenting, also having some luck in season SRI is now spreading around the world with positive results in 21+ countries: Bangladesh, Benin, Cambodia, China, Cuba, Gambia, Guinea, India, Indonesia, Laos, Madagascar, Myanmar, Mozambique, Nepal, Peru, Philippines, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and Vietnam; more to come Association Tefy Saina was set up in 1990 to promote SRI; CIIFAD partnership 1994

Fr. de Laulanié not long before he died in 1995

Sebastien Rafaralahy and Justin Rabenandrasana, president and secretary of Association Tefy Saina

SRI Practices Should Always be Varied to Suit Conditions The basic practices -- starting points -- are: Transplant young seedlings ( < 15 days ) – although direct-seeding is becoming an option Wide spacing – single plants, in square pattern Soil aeration – thru water management and weeding, so aerobic conditions prevail in soil Organic matter added to enhance the soil – fertilizer not needed though it raises SRI yield Weed control with ‘rotating hoe’ is recommended Farmer innovation is an important part of SRI

Roller-marker devised by Lakshmana Reddy, East Godavari, AP, India, to mark a square pattern on field and save time in transplanting operations; his yield in season was 16.2 t/ha paddy rice (dry weight)

Seeder developed by Luis Romero, Cuba, for planting pregerminated seed, sowing 40x40 cm (too wide)

4-row weeder designed by Gopal Swaminathan, Tamil Nadu, India

Motorized weeder developed by S. Ariyaratna, Sri Lanka

SRI is controversial in some circles “Niche innovation” (Dobermann, Agric. Systems, 2004) “Voodoo science” (Cassman and Sinclair, ACSSA, 2004) “…[SRI] has no major role in improving rice production generally” (Sheehy et al., Field Crops Research (2004) “Discussion of SRI is unfortunate because it implies SRI merits serious consideration. SRI does not deserve such consideration…” (Sinclair, Rice Today, 2004) However, these critiques are not based on any extended or empirical work with SRI, which is unfortunate Best refutation is the empirical results that can be reported from many different countries (purpose of this panel) SRI creates new logic for rice production: Less gives more

LESS CAN PRODUCE MORE by utilizing biological potentials & processes Smaller, younger seedlings become larger, more productive mature plants Fewer plants per hill and per m 2 will give higher yield if used with other SRI practices Half as much water produces more rice because aerobic soil conditions are better Greater output is possible with use of fewer or even no external/chemical input when soil communities are unimpaired – living soil is the key to SRI performance

What Are the Negatives? Labor requirements initially are increased but with experience, SRI can become: –labor-neutral (GTZ evaluation in Cambodia) or –even labor-saving (CAU evaluation in China) Water control is necessary for best results, but can be achieved through investment/orgzn Farmer learning = benefit as much as cost Disadoption? – only reported in Madagascar Nematodes? – problem in Thailand and Laos No claim that SRI will be successful everywhere

CAU Evaluation of SRI in Xinsheng Village, Dongxi Township, Jianyang County, Sichuan Province, August – 7 farmers used SRI (SAAS) 2004 – 398 farmers used SRI (65%) 2003 – SRI plot size average 0.07 mu 2004 – SRI plot size average 0.99 mu 86.6% of SRI farmers (65/75) said they would expand their SRI area next year or keep their whole rice area under SRI

Xinsheng Village, Dongxi Township RICE YIELD (kg mu -1 ) * 2004 Standard Methods SRI SRI Increase (%) +46.6% +34.8% *Drought year Water saving/mu -- calculated at 43.2% Farmers said labor-saving greatest benefit

Advantages of SRI – beyond yield Cost reduction – increased profitability Lower capital requirements – accessible for poorer households – food security Resistence to biotic stresses – less pest and disease problems, no agrochemicals Resistance to abiotic stresses – greater drought, cold, storm and salinity tolerance, no lodging Environmental benefits – less chemicals, lower water demand, reduced GHGs? Biodiversity conservation – tradl. varieties Grain quality – higher milling outturn, nutrients?

Two rice fields in Sri Lanka -- same variety, same irrigation system, and same drought : conventional methods (left), SRI (right)

MEASURED DIFFERENCES IN GRAIN QUALITY Characteristic SRI (3 spacings) Conventional Diff. Chalky kernels (%) General chalkiness (%) Milled rice outturn (%) Head milled rice (%) Paper by Prof. Ma Jun, Sichuan Agricultural University, presented at 10th conference on Theory and Practice for High-Quality, High-Yielding Rice in China, Haerbin, 8/2004

SRI STILL RAISES MORE QUESTIONS THAN WE HAVE ANSWERS FOR There are many researchable issues to be taken up by scientists, in association with farmers and with extension personnel However, enough is known now to pursue a two-pronged strategy with (a) research and (b) practice proceeding in parallel

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Effects of SRI vs. Conventional Practices Comparing Varietal and Soil Differences

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