1 2 nd National Symposium 3 rd -5 th October, Agartala System of Rice Intensification in Andhra Pradesh Department of Agriculture Andhra Pradesh

2 General scenario of rice  Rice is the most important food crop of India, and it occupies 23.3% of gross cropped area of the country.  Rice contributes 43% of total food grains production.  AP stands 6 th in area, 3 rd in production, and 2 nd in productivity and contributes nearly 12% of the national rice production.  AP farmers grow rice annually in an area of 3.98 M Ha in 22 districts.

3 Need for SRI Depletion of water resources Stagnating rice productivity Growing importance of organic agriculture Increasing production costs Need best utilization of family labour for small and marginal farmers.

4 Six key principles of SRI 1. Young-aged seedlings 2. Careful single seedling transplanting 3. Wider spacing 4. Water management 5. Weeding 6. Compost/organic manuring

5 SRI technology uses: SRI technology uses: Less water Less seed (2 kg/ac) Fewer plants per unit area (25 x 25 cm) Less chemical fertilizers More organic manures Less pesticides

6 Tillering is greatly increased: 30 tillers per plant are fairly easy to achieve 50 tillers per plant are quite attainable With really good use of SRI, individual plants can have 100 fertile tillers or even more. Why? Because there is no set-back to plant growth thanks to early and careful transplanting and no die-back of roots Maximum tillering occurs concurrently with panicle initiation With SRI, a positive correlation is found between the number of panicles per plant and number of grains per panicle

7 Increased tillers

8 Increased yields

9 Conventional method SRI method Seed rate25kg/acre2kg/acre Nursery area5 cents/acre1 cent/acre Age of seedlings30 days(5-6 leaves)8-12 days(2 leaves) Spacing15 cm x 10 cm25 cm x 25 cm Plants/hill3-41 Hills/ sq.m3316 WeedingManual/chemicalMechanical Water managementContinuous inundation Keep soil moist till panicle initiation stage

10 Benefits of SRI 1. Higher yields – of both grain and straw 2. Reduced duration of crop cycle (by days) 3. Less chemical inputs 4. Less water requirement 5. Less chaffy grain (%) 6. Grain weight increased without change in grain size 7. Higher head rice recovery rate 8. Withstands cyclonic gales 9. Soil health improves through biological activity

11  Increase in yield by 26.68%  Reduction in cost of cultivation  Lower seed rate  Less use of fertilizers and pesticides  Fewer non-filled grains  More grain weight  More rice recovery  Non-lodging  Harvest early by 10 days Observations in these demonstrations

12 Action Plan for : Kharif Rs lakhs Incentive of Rs. 3500/- per acre demonstration ComponentTotal cost (Rs)Subsidy allowed (Rs) Application of vermicompost (1 ton/acre) (25% subsidy) Supply of cono-weeders and markers ( 75% subsidy) Erection of demonstration board (full cost ) Total

13 YearRice area covered in Ha. (in 000) Rice area covered in SRI cultivation in Ha. KharifRabiTotalKharifRabiTotal , , , , ,4512, ,5261,4563,9821,1276,3067, ,6411,3373,9783,0612,4805,541 SYSTEM OF RICE INTENSIFICATION( SRI ) CULTIVATION PARTICULARS, TO IN ANDHRA PRADESH

14 YearSeasonNumber of Demon- stration plots organised Yield in SRI methods Paddy kg/ha Yield in conventional methods Paddy/kg ha Yield advantage Paddy kg/ ha Percentage SRI increase in yield over conventional methods Kharif698,3584,8873, Rabi4767,9175,4792, Kharif5997,3105,5611,74924 Rabi3117,3105,7771, Kharif2,8647,4765,4512,02527 Rabi12,2777,3905,6201, Kharif7,6536,7245,0051, Rabi6,2016,8305,5581, Productivity recorded under SRI demonstrations Average increase in yield – 26.68%

15  No clear specifications regarding the designs of markers and weeders most suitable under different soil types  Labourers are facing difficulty to carry out the SRI practices, particularly in weeding with present-designed weeder.  Farmers are facing operational difficulties to adopt SRI in larger areas.  There is no specific recommendation of percentage of water saving by adopting SRI technology. CONSTRAINTS IN ADOPTION OF SRI

16 Seed Village concept should be encouraged with SRI Mass media can be utilized for wide publicity Capacity-building of farmers, tenant farmers, extension staff, NGOs, and labourers is needed. Studies on varietal trails should be conducted with SRI Formulating location-specific package for SRI Designing of mechanized weeder suitable for different soils Supply of suitable mechanized weeders and markers on 90% subsidy Supply of paddy puddler and levelers on 75% subsidy Intensive training for labourers who are involved in SRI SUGGESTIONS FOR SCALING UP SRI METHOD Cont….

17 Supply of recommended chemical fertilisers on 50% subsidy and vermicompost on 75% subsidy to SRI farmers Supply of knapsack hand compression sprayers on 75% subsidy to SRI farmers Organising of field trips and exposure visits Supply of green manure seeds on 75% subsidy Supply of power tillers on 50% subsidy Research on saving of water in SRI technology Research on uptake of nutrients in SRI technology SUGGESTIONS FOR SCALING UP SRI METHOD

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