Presented by: Norman Uphoff, CIIFAD, Cornell University, USA Presented at: CNRRI Workshop, Hangzhou Date: 3/1/10

1. An Overview of Opportunities with the System of Rice Intensification (SRI) CNRRI Workshop, Hangzhou February 28-March 2, 2010 Prof. Norman Uphoff Cornell University

5. CUBA: farmer with two plants of same variety (VN 2084) and same age (52 DAP)

6. IRAN: SRI roots and normal (flooded) roots: note difference in color as well as size

7. VIETNAM: D ông Trù village, Hanoi province, after typhoon

8. INDIA: Meteorological and yield data from ANGRAU IPM evaluation, Andhra Pradesh, 2006 * Low yield was due to cold injury for plants (see above) *Sudden drop in min. temp. during 16–21 Dec. (9.2-9.8 o C for 5 days) Period Mean max. temp. 0 C Mean min. temp. 0 C No. of sunshine hrs 1 – 15 Nov 27.7 19.2 4.9 16–30 Nov 29.6 17.9 7.5 1 – 15 Dec 29.1 14.6 8.6 16–31 Dec 28.1 12.2 * 8.6 Season Normal (t/ha) SRI (t/ha) Rabi 2005-06 2.25 3.47 Kharif 2006 0.21* 4.16

9. NEPAL: Crop duration (from seed to seed) for different rice varieties, with SRI (6.3 t/ha) vs. conventional methods (3.1 t/ha): 125 vs.141 days Varieties Conventional duration SRI duration Difference Bansdhan/Kanchhi 145 127 (117-144) 18 (28-11) Mansuli 155 136 (126-146) 19 (29- 9) Swarna 155 139 (126-150) 16 (29- 5) Sugandha 120 106 (98-112) 14 (22- 8) Radha 12 155 138 (125-144) 17 (30-11) Barse 3017 135 118 17 Hardinath 1 120 107 (98-112) 13 (22- 8) Barse 2014 135 127 (116-125) 8 (19-10)

10. VIETNAM: Reduction in Diseases & Pests National IPM Program conducted evaluation based on data from 8 provinces, 2005-06 * Insects/m 2 Spring season Summer season SRI Plots Farmer Plots Differ-ence SRI Plots Farmer Plots Differ-ence Sheath blight 6.7% 18.1% 63.0% 5.2% 19.8% 73.7% Leaf blight -- -- -- 8.6% 36.3% 76.5% Small leaf folder * 63.4 107.7 41.1% 61.8 122.3 49.5% Brown plant hopper * 542 1,440 62.4% 545 3,214 83.0% AVERAGE 55.5% 70.7%

11. 47.9% 34.7% Non-Flooding Rice Farming Technology in Irrigated Paddy Field Dr. Tao Longxing, China National Rice Research Institute, 2004

13. Average super-rice yields with standard rice management (SRM) vs. new rice management (NRM~SRI) at different plant densities ha -1 Plant density (plants per hectare) Yield (kg per hectare)

14. AN ASSESSMENT OF PHYSIOLOGICAL EFFECTS OF THE SYSTEM OF RICE INTENSIFICATION (SRI) COMPARED WITH RECOMMENDED RICE CULTIVATION PRACTICES IN INDIA A.K. Thakur, N. Uphoff, E. Antony Experimental Agriculture , 46(1), 77-98 (2010) Water-use efficiency is reflected in the ratio of photosynthesis to transpiration For the loss of 1 millimol of water by transpiration, In SRI plants, 3.6 millimols of CO 2 are fixed In RMP plants, 1.6 millimols of CO 2 are fixed

16. Liu Zhibin, Meishan, Sichuan province, China, standing in raised-bed, zero-till SRI field; measured yield 13.4 t/ha; his SRI yield in 2001 (16 t/ha) set provincial yield record

19. INDIA: Cultivation costs & net profits Subject SRI (Rs) Conv (Rs) Land preparation 2,800 2,800 Seed 45 450 Labour (8) 400 750 DAP-75kg 750 750 Urea -50Kg 310 310 Weeding 600 1,000 Harvesting 420 420 Tractor hiring charges 450 450 Threshing 1,200 1,200 TOTAL COST 6,975 8,130 Irrigation - alternate (hrs) 3 7 Yield (bags) 39 32 Tons/ha 2.73 2.24 GROSS PROFIT 25,389 20,832 NET PROFIT 18,414 12,702

21. Seeder Developed in Cuba

22. INDIA: Southern Andhra Pradesh Direct-seeder at KVK

24. Mechanical transplanter in Costa Rica

25. 8 t/ha yield vs. 4.2 t/ha before

26. Costa Rica – mechanized SRI crop 8 t/ha yield without fertilizer

27. IRAQ: Comparison trials at Al-Mishkhab Rice Research Station, Najaf

28. Mechanical transplanting with SRI spacing in Iraq

29. Pakistan, Punjab Province: Raised beds (dry) formed on laser-leveled fields

30. Multi-function transplanting machine: laborers drop 10-day seedlings into holes; machine sprays water into holes and bands compost and fertilizer

31. Weeder/soil aerator: removes weeds and breaks soil crust for 9 inch (22.5cm) spacing

32. Growing crop – reached 90 tillers at 72 days

35. ‘ Rice Aplenty in Aceh (Indonesia)’ CARITAS NEWS Spring 2009 SRI methods were introduced in Aceh in 2005 by CARITAS Australia after tsunami had devastated the area – new methods raised local rice yields from 2 t/ha to 8.5 t/ha: “Using less rice seed, less water and organic compost, farmers in Aceh have quadrupled their crop production.”

36. 2009 Report from Aga Khan Foundation : Baghlan Province, Afghanistan 2008: 6 farmers got SRI yields of 10.1 t/ha vs. 5.4 t/ha regular 2009: 42 farmers got SRI yields of 9.3 t/ha vs. 5.6 t/ha regular 2 nd year SRI farmers got 13.3 t/ha vs. 5.6 t/ha 1 st year SRI farmers got 8.7 t/ha vs. 5.5 t/ha

37. AFGHANISTAN : SRI field in Baghlan Province, supported by Aga Khan Foundation Natural Resource Management program

38. SRI field at 30 days

39. SRI plant with 133 tillers @ 72 days after transplanting 11.56 t/ha

40. BHUTAN: Report on SRI in Deorali Geog , 2009 Sangay Dorji, Jr. Extension Agent, Deorali Georg, Dagana SRI @ 25x25cm 9.5 t/ha SRI random spacing 6.0 t/ha SRI @ 30x30cm 10.0 t/ha Standard practice 3.6 t/ha

41. MALI: SRI nursery in Timbuktu region – 8-day seedlings ready for transplanting

42. SRI transplanting in Timbuktu, Mali

43. MALI: Farmer in Timbuktu region showing difference between regular and SRI rice plants -- 2007: SRI yield was 8.98 t/ha

45. Normal 3-S 3-S rice-growing method developed by Prof. Jin Xueyong, Northeast Agricultural University, Haerbin, Heilungjiong

46. 3-S seedlings are started at the end of winter in plastic greenhouses

47. Seedling for transplanting -- and resulting plant

48. 3-S has good grain quality

50. Soil-aerating hand weeder in Sri Lanka costing <$10

51. Effects of Active Soil Aeration with Mechanical Weeder Mechanical Weedings (N) Yield (t ha -1 ) MADAGASCAR: 1997-98 main season -- Ambatovaky (N=76) None 2 5.97 One 8 7.72 Two 27 7.37 Three 24 9.12 Four 15 11.77 NEPAL: 2006 monsoon season – Morang district (N=412) One 32 5.16 (3.6 – 7.6) Two 366 5.87 (3.5 – 11.0) Three 14 7.87 (5.85 – 10.4)

53. Microbial populations in rice rhizosphere Tamil Nadu Agricultural University research T. M. Thiyagarajan, WRRC presentation, Tsukuba, Japan, 2004 Microorganisms Conventional SRI Total bacteria 88 x 10 6 105 x 10 6 Azospirillum 8 x 10 5 31 x 10 5 Azotobacter 39 x 10 3 66 x 10 3 Phosphobacteria 33 x 10 3 59 x 10 3

54. Total bacteria Total diazotrophs Microbial populations in rhizosphere soil in rice crop under different management at active tillering, panicle initiation and flowering (SRI = yellow; conventional = red) [units are √ transformed values of population/gram of dry soil] Phosphobacteria Azotobacter

55. Total microbes and numbers of beneficial microbes (CFU g -1 ) under conventional and SRI cultivation methods, Tanjung Sari, Bogor, Indonesia, Feb-Aug 2009 (Iswandi et al., 2009) Cultivation method and fertilization Total microbes (x10 5 ) Azoto-bacter (x10 3 ) Azospi- rillum (x10 3 ) P-solubilizing bacteria (x10 4 ) Conventional crop mgmt with NPK 2.3a 1.9a 0.9a 3.3a Inorganic SRI (NPK fertilizer) 2.7a 2.2a 1.7ab 4.0a Organic SRI (compost) 3.8b 3.7b 2.8bc 5.9b Inorganic SRI + biofertilizer 4.8c 4.4b 3.3c 6.4b

56. Ascending Migration of Endophytic Rhizobia, from Roots and Leaves, inside Rice Plants and Assessment of Benefits to Rice Growth Physiology Feng Chi et al., Applied and Envir. Microbiology 71 (2005), 7271-7278 Rhizo-bium test strain Total plant root volume/ pot (cm 3 ) Shoot dry weight/ pot (g) Net photo-synthetic rate (μmol -2 s -1 ) Water utilization efficiency Area (cm 2 ) of flag leaf Grain yield/ pot (g) Ac-ORS571 210 ± 36 A 63 ± 2 A 16.42 ± 1.39 A 3.62 ± 0.17 BC 17.64 ± 4.94 ABC 86 ± 5 A SM-1021 180 ± 26 A 67 ± 5 A 14.99 ± 1.64 B 4.02 ± 0.19 AB 20.03 ± 3.92 A 86 ± 4 A SM-1002 168 ± 8 AB 52 ± 4 BC 13.70 ± 0.73 B 4.15 ± 0.32 A 19.58 ± 4.47 AB 61 ± 4 B R1-2370 175 ± 23 A 61 ± 8 AB 13.85 ± 0.38 B 3.36 ± 0.41 C 18.98 ± 4.49 AB 64 ± 9 B Mh-93 193 ± 16 A 67 ± 4 A 13.86 ± 0.76 B 3.18 ± 0.25 CD 16.79 ± 3.43 BC 77 ± 5 A Control 130 ± 10 B 47 ± 6 C 10.23 ± 1.03 C 2.77 ± 0.69 D 15.24 ± 4.0 C 51 ± 4 C

57. Data are based on the average linear root and shoot growth of three symbiotic (dashed line) and three nonsymbiotic (solid line) plants. Arrows indicate the times when root hair development started. Ratio of root and shoot growth in symbiotic and nonsymbiotic rice plants -- symbiotic plant seeds were inoculated with Fusarium culmorum Russell J. Rodriguez et al., ‘Symbiotic regulation of plant growth, development and reproduction,’ Communicative and Integrative Biology , 2:3 (2009).

58. Growth of nonsymbiotic (on left) and symbiotic (on right) rice seedlings. On growth of endophyte (F. culmorum) and plant inoculation procedures, see Rodriguez et al., Communicative and Integrative Biology , 2:3 (2009).

59. Estimated marginal value product of nitrogen fertilizer (Kshs/kg N) conditional on plot soil carbon content (Marenya and Barrett, AJAE, 2009) Plot content (%) of soil organic carbon (SOC) In Western Kenya, applying N fertilizer to soil with < 3-4% SOC does not repay farmers’ expenditure

60. PERFORMANCE OF SCI CROPS DURING DROUGHT SEASON 2009 Experiences from Himachal Pradesh & Uttarakhand PEOPLE’S SCIENCE INSTITUTE, DEHRADUN

61. Up-scaling of SRI in Himachal Pradesh & Uttarakhand, 2006-08 Average SRI increase in grain yield has been about 70 per cent -- SRI concepts and methods now being applied to OTHER CROPS Particulars 2006 2007 2008 Conv. SRI Conv. SRI Conv. SRI No. of farmers (villages) 40 (25) 591 (133) 12,214 (496) Area (ha) - 0.95 - 15.00 252.98 Average grain yield (t/ha) 3.15 5.25 2.85 5.40 3.95 6.05 % increase in grain yield - 67 - 89 - 53 Average straw yield (t/ha) 5.8 7.25 5.5 7.35 11.0 14.5 % increase in straw yield - 25 - 34 - 31

62. SRI Comparative Crop-Cut Results, 2009 ** In this drought year, grain yields of conventional crop decreased by 31% , as compared to a reduction of only 13% in the SRI crop ** Conventional yields stood close to 2.5 tons per ha while SRI yields were 4.8 tons per ha -- 92% higher Normal (2006-2008) Drought (2009) Conv. SRI Conv. SRI No. of effective tillers/ plant 7 21 5 18 Average plant height (cm) 99 122 88 102 Average panicle length (cm) 18 24 19 25 Average no. of grains/panicle 93 177 90 174 Grain yield (t/ha) 3.6 5.5 2.5 4.8 Straw yield (t/ha) 11.1 14.5 5.1 8.5

63. Experiments on System of Crop Intensification (SCI), 2009 Crops Total Farmers Area (in Ha) Maize 183 10.34 Kidney bean ( Rajma ) 679 14.01 Sesame ( Til ) 22 0.41 Finger millet ( Mandwa ) 340 8.04 Black gram ( Urad ) 314 2.00 Soyabean 77 2.47 Tomato 45 4.36 French bean 44 0.35 1,704 41.98

64. Results of SCI with Finger Millet & Maize, Kharif 2009 Finger Millet Maize Conv. SCI Conv. SCI Ave. ears/plant (cobs/plant) 3 5 2 3 Average plant height (cm) 69.5 88.5 149.4 173.7 Ave. no. of grains /ear (kernels/cob) 290 428 225 248 Grain yield (T/ha) 1.2 1.8 17.1 22.9 % increase in grain yield - 50% - 34%

66. INDONESIA – Starting with four-day seedlings

67. Transplanting four-day seedlings

68. Fields transplanted with four-day seedlings

69. Comparison of SRI and usual rice plants – Miyatty Jannah, Crawuk village, Ngawi, E. Java