PROMOTING SYSTEM OF RICE INTENSIFICATION (SRI) AMONG MARGINAL FARMERS OF UTTARAKHAND AND HIMACHAL PRADESH DEBASHISH SEN, S.P. CHATURVEDI, HIRALAL BHARTI, AND RAJENDRA BANSAL

Paddy – A Mountain Farmers’ Crop S. No. ParticularsUttarakhandHimachal Pradesh Total 1Total geographical area (in lakh ha) Average rainfall (mm)1800 3Net sown area (in lakh ha) Irrigated area (as % of net sown area) Area under paddy (in lakh ha) Total paddy production (000 M. tons) Average yield of paddy (t/ha) Paddy yields in H.P. & Uttarakhand range from 1.5 to 2.0 t/ha Paddy yields in H.P. & Uttarakhand range from 1.5 to 2.0 t/ha

PSI’s Intervention (Kharif 2006) S. No. Name of Watershed, DistrictAltitude (m) No. of villages No. of farmers covered Area covered (ha) AUttarakhand 1Bhanaj Gad, Rudraprayag Hilai Gad, Rudraprayag Sem Gadera, Tehri Garhwal Niranjanpur & Vikasnagar, Dehradun BHimachal Pradesh 1Bhagan Khadd, Kangra Nakehad Khadd, Kangra Silh Nala, Bilaspur Chalara Khas, Chamba TOTAL

Orientation workshops – briefing for mobilisation, nursery & seed sowing Training and demonstration programmes - preparation of field, transplanting, weeding and organic composting Field support at transplanting, tillering & milking stages Experience-sharing workshops farmers, 21 NGOs, and 28 government officials Our Approach

Methodology Adopted Nursery Transplanting (25cm x 25 cm) Repeated use of single-row Mandava weeder Application of organic compost (Panchgavya, Amritjal, Matka Khad) Alternative wetting and drying Draining the field 25 days before harvesting

Comparison of results for SRI and conventional methods of paddy for farmers’ plots (1m x 1m) at Kangra, H.P. S. No. ParticularsTilak Raj (conventional) Tilak Raj (SRI) Dharam Chand (conventional) Dharam Chand (SRI) 1VarietyChina-4 Parmal 2No. of hills No. of total tillers No. of grains/panicle Total weight (grain+straw) in kg Total weight of grain (kg) Net weight of grain (kg) 3.0 (3.0 t/ha) 7.5 (7.5 t/ha) 4.0 (4.0 t/ha) 7.0 (7.0 t/ha) 8Weight of chaff (kg) Height of chaff (cm) While SRI estimates stood close to quintals per hectares, non-SRI yields were projected at a dismal quintals per hectare.

S.No.ParticularsGroup 1Group 2 Group 3Group 4 1Variety Type-3 (conventional) Type-3 (SRI) Pusa Sugandh (conventional) Pusa Sugandh (SRI) 2No. of hills No. of total tillers No. of grains/panicle Total weight (grain + straw) (in grams) Total weight of grain (g per m 2 ) Net weight of grain (g) 250 (2.5 T/ha) 390 (3.9T/ha) 380 (3.8T/ha) 650 (6.5T/ha) 8Weight of chaff (g) Height of chaff (cm) Comparison of results for SRI and conventional methods of paddy for PSI plots (1m x 1m) at Dehradun While Type-3 SRI paddy showed a yield increment of 56%, the Pusa Sugandh SRI paddy showed a yield increment of 71%.

Comparison of results for SRI and conventional methods of paddy at Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand S. No.ParticularsHimachal PradeshUttarakhand ConventionalSRIConventionalSRI 1No. of Farmers Area (sq. m.)-5,800-3,580 3No. of total tillers (min-max) Plant height (cm) Panicles/plant (min-max) Panicle length (cm) Average no. of grains/panicle Yield (Q/ha) While non-SRI yields stood close to 30 quintals per ha, the SRI yields were around quintals per ha, an average increase of 66%.

S. No. MethodConventionalSRI Total expen- diture (Rs./ha) Gross income (Rs./ha) Net profit (Rs./ha) B:C ratio Total expen- diture (Rs./ha) Gross income (Rs./ha) Net profit (Rs./ha) B:C ratio 1Direct dry seed sowing 10,53012,6002,0701.2:113,91520,3006,3851.5:1 2Germinated seed sowing 11,08021,0009,9201.9: Trans- planting 14,06526,62012,5551.9:118,62543,75025,1252.4:1 4Trans- planting (Basmati- Type-3) 16,00041,00025,0002.6:120,000101,72081,7205:1 Comparison of cultivation costs for SRI and conventional methods of paddy cultivation Organic Basmati Type 3 variety is most profitable for mountain regions having altitude less than 1500m.

Lessons & Recommendations for SRI Paddy for Mountainous Regions Seed Sowing Time for Nursery (i)High Altitude (>1500m) :1-7 June (ii)Medium Altitude ( m):10-20 June (iii) Low Altitude (<1000m) :25June-5 July Transplanting Time (i) days -Yield 70-75Q/Ha (ii) days -Yield Q/Ha (iii) > 23 days – Q/HaWeeding (i) Three Times - Yield 70-75Q/Ha (ii) Two Times - Yield Q/Ha (iii) One Time -Yield Q/Ha

Comparison of results for SWI and conventional method of HD-2329 wheat variety at Dehradun S. No. ParticularsSWIConventional Row-to-row spacing (cm)20 X 2015 x 1510 x 1015 x 15Broadcasting Plant-to-plant spacing (cm)20 X 2015 x 1510 x 10 1Area (sq.m) Ave. no. of tillers (range)16 (8-23) 20 (8-36) 20 (8-32) 23 (9-39) 5 (2-9) 5 (2-9) 3Ave. plant height (cm) Ave. no. of panicles per plant Ave. panicle length (cm) Ave. no. of grains/panicle Grain yield (Q/Ha) Straw yield (Q/Ha) The highest SWI yield was obtained with spacing: 15 cm x 15 cm row-to-row and 15 cm x 15 cm plant-to-plant

S. No. ParticularsSWIConventional Row-to-row spacing (cm)20 X 2015 x 1510 x 1015 x 15Broadcasting Plant-to-plant spacing (cm)20 X 2015 x 1510 x 10 1Area (sq.m) Ave. no. of tillers (range)17 (10-27) 15 (7-22) 17 (7-36) 11 (6-16) 4 (2-8) 5 (2-9) 3Ave. plant height (cm) Ave. no. of panicles per plant Ave. panicle length (cm) Ave. no. of grains/panicle Grain yield (Q/ha) Straw yield (Q/ha) Comparison of results for SWI and conventional method of PBW wheat variety at Dehradun Highest SWI yields with this variety were obtained at spacing: 20 cm x 20 cm row-to-row and 20 cm x 20 cm plant-to-plant

Optimum row to row and plant to plant spacing is 15 cms x 15 cms and 20 cms x 20 cms SWI is too labour-intensive Need to design a seed drill for sowing at fixed spacing. Weeder/hoe needs to be designed for intercultural operations Organic composting required for higher yields Lessons & Recommendations for SWI for Mountainous Regions

SRI: Perceived benefits & constraints A.BENEFITS Less seed requirement Saving in water Decreased workload Promotes equity Early maturity Higher grain yields Increased biomass Improves soil fertility B.CONSTRAINTS Time-bound operations Labour-intensive Accessibility to weeders and markers Design modifications required in the Mandava weeder for small terraces Availability of water under rainfed conditions needed, especially after milking stage Strategy required for popularising and promoting SRI

Kharif capacity building workshops organised covering about 1000 farmers More than 600 farmers have adopted SRI in about 40 ha of paddy lands Application of SRI method for cultivation of finger millets (mandwa) and pulses (rajma) in 100 mountain farms Moving ahead

SRI: A boon for mountain farmers Small farmholding, about 0.4 ha (1 acre) per family SRI POTENTIAL TO ADDRESS THE FOOD SECURITY AND LIVELIHOOD NEEDS OF SMALL AND MARGINAL FARMERS Rice is the staple food of the residing populace Higher stalk volume means more fodder for the cattle More farmyard manure and possibly increased milk yields Promotes a sustainable and more equitable mode of paddy cultivation

Thank You 252, Vasant Vihar, Phase I Dehra Doon Uttarakhand INDIA Web: Mail : Phone: , Fax :