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Effects of Using Young Seedlings and Doing Extra and Earlier Weeding in Nepal

Some interesting relationships have emerged from an analysis of the results for 412 farmers in Morang district who used SRI methods during the main 2005 season, over and above their being able to double their paddy: 6.3 t/ha with SRI vs. 3.1 t/ha with regular methods.

SRI methods reduced time to maturity by 1-3 weeks, with seedling age as well as number and earliness of weedings affecting this crop parameter. Seedlings 15 days old or more, when using SRI methods, matured 1 week earlier; seedlings transplanted at10-14 days of age matured 2 weeks earlier; while seedlings just 8-9 days old matured 3 weeks earlier. The yields for the 3 different seedling ages were 5.5, 6.1, and 6.9 t/ha, respectively, confirming the value of using young seedlings.

Doing more weedings than the minimum of 2 needed to control weeds greatly increased yield: The 32 farmers doing only one weeding produced 5.16 t/ha; the 366 farmers doing 2 weedings got 5.87 t/ha, while the 14 farmers doing 3 weedings achieved 7.87 t/ha. This 'bonus' of 2 t/ha from doing a third weeding paid, many times over, the cost of doing the extra weeding. This confirms the value of active soil aeration in conjunction with other SRI practices.

The data also showed that starting weeding earlier after transplanting both enhanced yield and promoted the earlier maturation of the rice crop.
Details are given in the seasonal report prepared by Rajendra Uprety, District Agricultural Development Office for Morang District, Nepal.

Abha Mishra, an Indian PhD student in Agriculture Systems and Engineering at the Asian Institute of Technology in Thailand, recently won two grant competitions to further her work on SRI. She was one of two winners of the Travel and Study Grant Award from the Asia Rice Foundation USA. Her research objectives are to explore 1) Why SRI works better than conventional rice management practices and 2) What makes the significant difference in SRI yield potential." Her award will finance experimental work to illuminate the possible effects of soil biological factors and alternate wetting and drying in SRI.

Mishra also submitted one of several successful proposals (out of 126) to the CGIAR Challenge Program on Water and Food Small Grants Competition. The project, Increasing water use efficiency by using mulch under SRI (System of Rice Intensification) management practices in Northeast Thailand, will be begin in January 2006.

The project will help farmers to innovate and localize the agronomic practice suitable to increase water use efficiency, i.e. flooded rice to AWD rice with SRI management practices using Participatory Action Research (PAR) methodology. This would be further integrated with local innovations like use of green manure crops as intercrops, use of rice straw so that suitable mulching could be achieved within the framework of existing production practices. The broader aim of the project is to establish whether alternative water use methods, which not only increases the rice yield but also adds to the overall sustainability, are feasible without bringing any major technological input from outside.