System of Rice Intensification (SRI)

1. About

System of Rice Intensification (SRI) was first developed in Madagascar in the 1980s and since then several countries in the world have been practising it, including India.
It is also called the Madagascar method of rice cultivation.
It Promises to save 15 to 20 per cent of groundwater and improves rice productivity, which is almost at a stagnant point now.
Experts said that it gives equal or more productivity than conventional rice cultivation, with less water, less seed and fewer chemicals.

The net effect is a substantial reduction in the investments in external inputs.

Direct Seeding of Rice (DSR): In DSR, the pre-germinated seeds are directly drilled into the field by a tractor-powered machine. There is no nursery preparation or transplantation involved in this method. Farmers have to only level their land and give one pre-sowing irrigation.
The System of Rice Intensification involves cultivating rice with as much organic manure as possible, starting with young seedlings planted singly at a wider spacing in a square pattern; and with intermittent irrigation that keeps the soil moist but not inundated, and frequent inter-cultivation with weeder that actively aerates the soil.
SRI is not a standardized, fixed technological method. It is rather a set of ideas, a methodology for comprehensively managing and conserving resources by changing the way that land, seeds, water, nutrients, and human labour are used to increase productivity from a small but well-tended number of seeds. As Father de Laulanié observed, SRI is an amalgamation of multiple beneficial practices.

2. Associated procedure

First, the field is prepared by ploughing. It should be laser levelled before

transplanting for proper water management and efficiency for a good crop stand.

Then irrigation is applied in the field which is not flooding of the field like

traditional methods but less than that of a well-irrigated field.

Early Transplanting: Transplant 8-12 day old seedlings, with only two small leaves,( More tillering potential and root growth potential)
Careful Transplanting: Minimise trauma in transplanting. Remove the plant from nursery with the seed, soil and roots carefully and place it in the field without plunging too deep into the soil (More tillering potential)
Wide Spacing: plant single seedlings, not in clumps, and in a square pattern 25cm x 25cm apart or wider. Do not plant in rows. (More root growth potential)
Weeding and Aeration: use a simple mechanical "rotating hoe" that churns up soil; 2 weedings are required, (More root growth, due to reduced weed competition, and aeration of the soil, giving roots more Oxygen and Nitrogen due to increased microbial activity) Each additional weeding after two rounds results in increased productivity up to 2 t/ha/weeding.
Water Management: regular water application to keep the soil moist but not saturated, with intermittent dryings, alternating aerobic and anaerobic soil conditions (More root growth because it avoids root degeneration, and enables better absorption of nutrients from the soil).
Compost / FYM applied instead of or in addition to chemical fertilizer; 10 tons/ha (More plant growth because of better soil health and structure, and more balanced nutrient supply)

3. Irrigation and water management

The purpose of irrigation is just to wet the soil, just enough to saturate the soil with moisture
Subsequent irrigation is only when soil develops fine cracks.
Regular wetting and drying of soil results in increased microbial activity in the soil and easy availability of nutrients to the plants.

4. Weed management

5. Benefits of SRI

6. Disadvantages

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