2nd National Symposium 3rd -5th October, Agartala

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2nd National Symposium 3rd -5th October,
Agartala

• System of Rice Intensification in Andhra Pradesh
• Department of Agriculture
• Andhra Pradesh

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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 6th in area, 3rd in production, and
  2nd 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.

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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.

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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

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• 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

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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

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Increased tillers
Increased tillers
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Increased yields
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Benefits of SRI
1. Higher yields of both grain and straw 2.
Reduced duration of crop cycle (by 10-15 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
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Observations in these demonstrations

• 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

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Action Plan for 2007-08

• Kharif 2007 - Rs. 91.945 lakhs  
• Incentive of Rs. 3500/- per acre demonstration

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SYSTEM OF RICE INTENSIFICATION( SRI )
CULTIVATION PARTICULARS, 2003-04 TO 2006-07
IN ANDHRA PRADESH
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Productivity recorded under SRI demonstrations
Average increase in yield 26.68
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CONSTRAINTS IN ADOPTION OF SRI

• 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.

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SUGGESTIONS FOR SCALING UP SRI METHOD

• 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

Cont.
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SUGGESTIONS FOR SCALING UP SRI METHOD

• 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

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Thank You