A Brief Proposal on SRI (System of Rice Intensification)

SRI Paddy Cultivation requires less water and less expenditure gives more yields,
Beneficial for small and marginal farmers.

SRI was first developed in Madagaskar during 1980's. Not known outside Madagaskar
until 1997. Its potential is under testing in China, Indonesia, Combodia, Thailand,
Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, India. In A.P., SRI is experimented in all the 22 districts during
2003 Kharif with encouraging results. Over 1, 00,000 farmers are experimenting with this
system world wide at present.

SRI Technology Uses - Less External Inputs

In SRI Paddy Cultivation Less Seed (2kg/ac) is required and fewer plants per unit area
(25x25cm) where as in general Paddy Cultivation 40 to 50 kg seed is required per acre.

SRI requires less expenditure on fertilizers and plant protection chemicals.

Root Growth

In SRI System Rice Crop grows healthy in natural conditions and its root growth can be
massive receives nutrients from deeper layers of the soil. 3 hills under conventional
method required 28kg of force to be pulled up where as single SRI Rice plants required
53kg for uprooting

SRI is initially labor intensive

• Needs 50% more man days for transplanting and weeding.

• Mobilizes labor to work for profit.
• It offers an alternative to resource poor, who puts in their family labour.
• Once skills are learnt and implements are used, the labour costs will be lesser than
the present day rice cultivation.

SRI encourages rice plant to grow healthy with

• Large root volume

• Profuse and strong tillers
• Non lodging
• Big panicle
• More and well filled spikelets and higher grain weight
• Resists insects because it allows rice to grow naturally

Tillering is greatly increased

 • 30 tillers per plant are fairly easy to achieve
• 50 tillers pen plant are quite attainable.
• With really good use of SRI, individual plants can have 100 fertile tillers or even
more.

Because no set back due to early transplanting and no die back of roots.

Maximum tillering occurs concurrently with panicle initiation. More filled grain per
panicle and no lodging of crop.

• Everybody believes that Rice is an aquatic plant and grows best in standing water.
• Rice is not an aquatic plant, it can survive in water but does not thrive under
hypoxic conditions.
• Rice plants spend lot of its energy to develop air pockets (parenchyma tissue) in
its roots under continuous inundation.
• 70% of Rice root tips get degenerated by flowering period.
• Under SRI Paddy fields are not flooded but keep the soil moist during vegetative
phase later only one inch water depth is sufficient.
• SRI requires only about half as much water as normally applied in irrigated rice.

Six Mechanisms and Processes for SRI

Process Rationality
1 Early Transplanting Seedling More tillering potential
8-12 days old, when plant has
only
two small leaves, before fourth More root growth potential
phyllochron.
2 Careful Transplanting More tillering potential
Minimize trauma in
transplanting. Remove plant
from nursery with the seed, soil
and roots carefully and place it
in the field without plunging too
deep into soil.
3 Wide Spacing plant single More root growth potential
seedlings, not in clumps, and in a
square pattern, not rows, 25cm x
25cm or wider
4 Weedling and Aeration needed More root growth, due to reduced weed
because no standing water, use competition, and aeration of soil, giving roots
simple mechanical "rotating hoe" more oxygen and N due to increased
that churns up soil; 2 weedings microbial activity we left in soil; can add
required, with 4 recommended 1+tons per weeding? Each additional
 before panicle initiation; first
weeding 10 days after
transplanting.
5 Water Management regular
water applications to keep soil
moist but not saturated, with
intermittent dryings, alternating
aerobic and anaerobic soil
conditions.
6 Compost / FYM applied instead
of or in addition to chemical
fertilizer; 10 tons/ha;
weeding after two rounds results in increased
productivity up to 2 t/ha / weeding.
More root growth because avoids root
degeneration able to acquire more and more
varied nutrients from the soil
More Plant growth because of better soil
health and structure, and more balanced
nutrient supply.

Note-

In SRI Cultivation 8 to 12 days old seedlings are planted. So root system grows well and
gives 30 to 50 tillers. When all the 6 management practices are followed then per plant 50
to 100 tillers are produced and high yields can be realized.

Nursery Management

• Seed rate 2 kg/ac

• Nursery area 1 cent / ac
• Select healthy seed
• Pre-sprouted seeds are sown on raised nursery bed
• Prepare nursery bed like garden crops
• Apply a layer of fine manure
• Spread sprouted seed sparsely
• Cover with another layer of manure
• Mulch with paddy straw
• Water carefully
• Banana leaf sheath may be used for easy lifting and transport of seedlings.

Field Preparation

• Land preparation is not different from regular irrigated rice cultivation.

• Leveling should be done carefully so that water can be applied very evenly.
• At every 3m distance form a canal to facilitate drainage.
• With the help of a marker draw lines both way at 25x25cm apart and transplant at
the intersection

Benefit of SRI
 • Higher yields - Both grain and straw
• In Grain (30 to 31 Quintal)/ Acre
• Reduced duration (by 10 days)
• Lesser chemical inputs
• Less water requirement
• Less chaffy grain %
• Grain weight increased without change in grain Size
• Higher head rice recovery
• Withstood cyclonic gales
• Cold tolerance
• Soil health improves through biological activity

Cost Estimate- For cultivating SRI (System of Rice Intensification) in one acre the total
cost will come 2178( Two thousand one hundred seventy eight rupees only) This cost is
including Seeds, Medicine, ,Potas,DAP,Urea + Including Kono weeder Machine( Which
is require for weeding in field)

Breaking of Budget- See the Annexure-1

Estimated Budget for 1 Acre ( Annexture-1)

Sl.No Particulars Quantity Rate(Kg) Total

1 Seeds ( General 2 K.G 25 50
Quality)
2 Babisteen 10 Gram 8 8
3 DAP 30 KG 18 510
4 UREA 30 KG 7 210
5 POTAS 20 KG 10 200
Total cost of 1 978
Acre
6 Kono weeder 1 Unit 1200 1200
Total Cost 2178/
including Kono
weeder