Tamil Nadu - Erode   

SRI method brings high yield

— File Photo

Successful : Paddy raised in Sundarapuri near Nathakadaiyur under the new System of Rice Intensification (SRI) method.

ERODE: Results of having adopted system of rice intensification (SRI) method of paddy cultivation have come out: harvest from a hectare of SRI field is at least three metric tonnes more than an ordinary field.

The average yield from SRI fields in the district is 10.756 metric ton, which is 3.33 mt more than ordinary fields.

In the 2007-08 samba season, Erode district administration under the then Collector T. Udhayachandran increased lands under SRI system from about 500 hectares to 13,570 hectares. Agriculture Department officers who executed the task asked farmers to ensure a minimum width of 20 cm between paddy shoots during transplant. The reason: sufficient space between crops ensures robust growth.

An Agriculture Department officer says that following the former Collector’s order, the Department conducted demonstrations, let SRI farmers share experiences with non-SRI farmers and offered advice as well.

As part of the SRI operation, the Department also introduced cono weeder, equipment used in weed management.

“The equipment does not destroy weeds but pushes them into the ground. The process will turn the weeds into nutrients," the officer says.

SRI has another advantage as well – the minimum use of seeds. “As the width between paddy shoots increases, the number of shoots in a hectare comes down, which means that minimum seeds can be used for sowing," the officer explains.

Farmers who adopted SRI brought down the seed use from about 30 kg to nearly five a hectare. The result of such labour is the three ton a hectare increase.

During the 2007-08 samba season, total area under paddy cultivation was 51,885 hectares. Of the 51,885 hectare, 13,570 hectare or 21.6 per cent was under SRI.

The average paddy yield in the district for the season is 7.42 mt a hectare, which is .30 mt more than the 2006-07 samba season. Agriculture Department sources say considering the high yield from SRI fields, the district administration has proposed to bring 40,276 hectares in the ensuing samba season.

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