SYSTEM OF Rice Intensification (SRI) technology is an innovative and cost-saving approach to boost rice yields. Also called `Madagascar Technology,' this seed-and water-saving method of rice farming was introduced in Southern India by the scientists at the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) under the leadership of Dr. V. Balasubramanian.
It is popularised by conducting extensive trials in the research stations and at the farmers' holdings by the Tamil Nadu Agricultural University (TNAU) and the Acharya N.G. Ranga Agricultural University (ANGRAU).
The extension support for promoting this technology came from the farmers' programme of All India Radio and the Department of Agriculture. Several progressive farmers in Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh have reaped rich dividends by adopting the SRI technology.
Using young seedlings
"This is a technology that focuses on using young seedlings of 15 days and planting one robust seedling per hill in square planting with a wider spacing of 20 cm by 20 cm in a perfectly puddled and levelled field.
It uses only 5 to 7.5 kg of seeds per hectare as against 50 kg of seeds per hectare used conventionally," say IRRI scientists.
It also involves judicious use of water. A thin film of water is retained on the fields, and the next irrigation follows when hairline cracks appear on the soil.
A sound nutrient management with liberal application of organic manure, bio-fertilizers and mineral fertilizers will prove to be highly rewarding. Weed management is a crucial aspect of SRI, and by employing cono-rotary weeder, the fields can be kept free of weed menace.
The technology requires some skills and farmers can easily acquire them with some practice. Special type of nurseries has to be prepared for healthy, robust seedlings. When farmers plant only one seedling per hill in the field, they should ensure that the seedlings are planted vertically in the soft, puddle soil.
Each seedling will develop in to a thick clump accounting for a profusion (ranging between 60 to 70) of productive tillers.
The wider spacing facilitates better aeration to encourage extensive root formation and easy weeding using mechanical gadgets.
The plants have more room and sunlight to grow vigorously. The SRI technology can be used for all improved varieties of rice varieties of short- and medium-duration.Several farmers in Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh who have successfully adopted this technology have recorded high yields of over 10 tonnes of paddy per hectare. A group of farmers from Thiruvallur district of Tamil Nadu visited a progressive farmer of Kalahasthi to learn the nuances of this technology.
Extensively propagated
SRI technology is extensively propagated by the Krishi Vigyan Kendra of ANGRAU at Kalahasthi, and farmers are using specially fabricated rotary-markers for planting the seedlings in line adopting a wider spacing says Mr. S.S. Nagarajan, Senior Vice President (Agricultural Research and Development), Tractors and Farm Equipment Limited (TAFE), Chennai."Farmers should exercise some caution while adopting this technology on a large scale. Planting one15-day-old seedling needs some expertise and weed management using the mechanical weeder should be adopted with great care," says Dr. Ramachandran, a progressive farmer of Red Hills. The cost of cultivation using SRI will be about Rs. 17,500 per hectare. Some innovative farmers have recorded a net profit of Rs.62, 500 per hectare from a rice variety of 130 days duration, according to Mr. Nagarajan.The technology requires some skills and farmers can easily acquire them with practice.SUCCESSFULLY ADOPTED: Improved rice variety showing profusion of tillers. Inset: An improvised rotary marker for sowing the seedlings at wider spacing.
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