1. SCIENTIFIC OPPORTUNITIES AND CHALLENGES WITHTHE SYSTEM OF RICE INTENSIFICATION(SRI) Norman Uphoff, CIIFAD Cornell University, USAInstitute of Plant Nutrition, University of Bonn October 6, 2005

2. SRI is anew kind of intensification -- not based on external inputs

Initially = intensification oflabor -- but this is a transitory effect

Intensification of management

With also an intensification of knowledge and skill - and mostly

Intensification of BIOLOGICAL PROCESSESIN THE SOIL

3. Ms. Im Sarim,Cambodia, withrice plant grown from a single seed of traditional varietyusing SRI methods -- yield of 6.72 t/ha 4. SRI plant grown from a single seed Nepal, 2005 5. Field of SRIBasmati rice -- Sri Lanka, 2005 6. SRI plot at Sapu Research Station -- The Gambia, 2001 7. Madagascar SRI field, 2003 8. SRI story starts in Madagascar

Thanks to the lifes work ofFr. Henri de Laulani , SJ fascinating, serendipitous story

• SRI was assembled over 20 yrs

• Synthesized in 1983-84(Laulani, 1993)

• Association Tefy Sainain 1990

• CIIFAD involvement since 1994

9. Fr. de Laulani making field visit 10. Sebastien Rafaralahy and Justin Rabenandrasana, Association Tefy Saina 11. Different Paradigms of Production

GREEN REVOLUTION strategy was to:

(a) Change thegenetic potentialof plants, and

(b) Increase theuse of external inputs--more water, fertilizer, insecticides, etc.

SRI changesneither-- only themanagement of plants, soil, water, nutrientsin ways that

• Promotethe growth of root systems ,

• Increase theabundance and diversityof soil organisms

This reduceswater use and costs of production

12. What is System of Rice Intensification?

Start withyoung seedlings 8-12 days old ( cold temperatures

Wider spacing> crowding of roots/canopy

More illumination>shading of plants

Ample nutrients in soil >nutrient deficits

Soil penetrability> compaction of soil

Sufficient moisture> drought conditions

Sufficient oxygen>hypoxic soil conditions

50. Agronomic Benefits of SRI Methods

Conservation of

rice biodiversity?

SEED Initiative Award 2005

from UNEP, UNDP and IUCN

51. 52. Agronomic Benefits of SRI Methods

Application to other crops

Finger millet (ragi) in India

Sugar cane in India

Winter wheat in Poland

Cotton and vegetables in TN?

Chickens in Cambodia?

53. Guli VidhanaMethod (Millet)

Yields in Karnataka State, India: 500-600 kg/ha, maximum is 1,500 kg/ha

Guli VidhanaMethod:average yield of 1,800-2,000 kg/ha -- up to 2,500 kg/ha

Plant in square pattern (18 x 18 in.)

Two seedlings per hill

Abuseyoung millet plants at 25 days induce profuse tillering and root growth, with tripled yield (farmer innovation)

54. Increase in Finger Millet Yield withGuli VidhanaMethod, as reported by Green Foundation, Bangalore Methods: Broadcast - Drill sowing - Close transplant -Guli Vidhana 55. SRI RAGI (FINGER MILLET), Rabi 2004-05 60 days after sowing Varieties 762 and 708 VR 762 VR 708 10 15 21* *Age at which seedlings were transplanted from nursery Results of trials being being done by ANGRAU 56. 57. Sugar Cane Adaptation

Andhra Pradesh State, India:Farmer adaptation based on SRI experience

Instead of planting 8-12 sets in rows 3 apart -- incubate 3 sets (with one bud each) in plastic bags and compost, in warm, humid environment for 45 days; plant 1 apart in rows 5-6 apart --reduce material by 85%

Save cost of 3 irrigations and 1 herbicide

Yield is100 tons/acreinstead of30 tons

58. Other Adaptations

UPLAND RICE got 7.2 t/ha averagefor unirrigated rice in Philippines;have reached 4 t/ha in Madagascar

COTTONis starting to be grown withSRI concepts, and alsoVEGETABLES,by innovative farmers in India

CHICKEN INTENSIFICATIONis tried in Cambodia fence in compost pile and raise chickens within it they feed on worms and add manure to compost

FEWER PLANTS/ANIMALS WITH BETTER NUTRITION AND HEALTH

59. LESSCAN PRODUCEMORE

byutilizingbiological potentials & processes

Smaller, younger rice seedlings becomelarger, more productive mature plants

Fewer rice plants per hill and per m 2givehigher yieldif used with other SRI practices

Half as much water producesmore rice because aerobic soil conditions are better

Greater outputis possiblewith use of

fewer or evenno external/chemical inputs

Even more yield inless time

There is nothing magical about SRI not voodoo science(Cassman & Sinclair, 2004)

60. Well-Documented Processes

Soil organisms are able to:

Fixnitrogen[biological N fixation]

Mobilize/cyclenitrogen[protozoa]

Solubilizephosphorus[bacteria]

Increaseuptake of water, P and other nutrients[mycorrhizal fungi]

Inducesystemic resistance[ISR]

Producephytohormones[auxins, cytokinins, gibberellines, etc.]etc.?

61. 62. SRI rice field, hybrid variety, Yunnan province, 2004 18 t/ha 63. SRI farmer in Chibal village, Srey Santhor district, Kampong Cham province, Cambodia 64. Guinea: Chinese hybrid (GY032) with SRI methods 9.2 t/ha 65. Table 1.Summary of results from SRI vs. BMP evaluations in China and India, 2003-2004 * Chinese comparisons were made using hybrid rice varieties. 1.57 (27.7%) 7.23 5.66 100 trials (SRI and BMP trialseach 0.1 ha) Tamil Nadu state 2.42 (33.8%) 8.73 6.31 1,525 trials (average 0.4 ha; range 0.1-1.6 ha) Andhra Pradesh state 3.31* (40.7%) 11.44* 8.13* 8 trials (0.2 ha each) Sichuan province3.1* (35.2%) 11.9* 8.8* 16.8 ha of SRI rice with 2 hybrid varieties Zhejiang province SRI advantage (t ha-1 ) (% incr.) SRIave. yield (t ha -1 ) BMP ave. yield (t ha -1 ) No. of on-farm comparison trials (area in parentheses) Province/state 66. Prospects for Food Security

are nowmuch betterthan commonly thought withagroecologicalmeans

Biotechnologycan play more useful roleif it takes agroecological perspective

Need more attention tophenotypes not justgenotypes-- understandhow organisms function -- and can prosper -- within agroecological systems utilizing symbiotic relations

67. THANK YOU

Web page:http://ciifad.cornell.edu/sri/

Email:[email_address] or[email_address]or

[email_address]

68. Roller-marker devised by Lakshmana Reddy, East Godavari, AP, India, to save time in transplanting operations; his yield in 2003-04 rabi season was 17.25 t/ha paddy (dry weight) 69. 4-row weeder designed by Gopal Swaminathan, Thanjavur, TN, India Aerate soil at same time that weeds are removed/incorporated 70. Motorized weeder developed by S. Ariyaratna Sri Lanka 71. Seeder Developed in Cuba Direct seeding will probably replace transplanting in future Essential principle is toavoid trauma to the young roots 72. Liu Zhibin, Meishan Inst. of Science & Technology, in raised-bed,no-till SRI field with certified yield of 13.4 t/ha 73. Seedlings are started at the end of winter in plastic greenhouses 74. Normal 3-S 75. 76. 77. 78. 79. 80.