The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh / Vijayawada News : Plans to train farmers in new method of rice cultivation

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Jun 09, 2004

Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh - Vijayawada

Plans to train farmers in new method of rice cultivation

By G. V. Ramana Rao

VIJAYAWADA, JUNE 8. The Farmers Training Centre (FTC) of the Agricultural Department has prepared an action plan to train delta farmers in the System of Rice Intensification. The system reportedly uses less water and no chemical fertilizers, and results in a high yield.

The Deputy Director of Agriculture (Krishna FTC), L. Ramachandra Rao, told The Hindu here on Monday that with the SRI, rice could be cultivated with just half or one-third the amount of water used for the conventional method of cultivation.

The system did not require the field to be flooded with water; it was sufficient if the soil was kept moistened.

Seedlings of eight to 12 days are transplanted, as against those of 25 to 30 days in the general method.

The two methods also differed in the number of plants to be transplanted and the depth at which they were planted. While clumps were transplanted in the general method, the new method transplanted individual plants.

Sixteen plants are transplanted in the new method, compared to 33 clumps transplanted in the old method.

Seedling are planted shallowly and as the field is not flooded, weeds grew heavily. These are converted into green manure with the help of rotary weeders.

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