Preprint Article Version 1 Preserved in Portico This version is not peer-reviewed

Comparing System of Rice Intensification Methods With Alternatives, considering Labor-Saving, Water-Saving, Economic, Energy, Soil Biology, and Climate Effects in India

Mahender Kumar Rapolu
* ORCID logo ,
Padmavathi Chintalapati
ORCID logo ,
Santhosha Rathod
ORCID logo ,
Vidhan Singh Tapeshwar
,
Surekha Kuchi
,
Prasad Babu MBB
,
Latha PC
,
Somasekhar Nethi
ORCID logo ,
Nirmala B
,
Srinivas Prasad M
,
Jasti Prasad V.N.S
,
Vijay Kumar S
,
Srinivas D
,
Sreedevi B
,
Mangaldeep Tuti
,
Arun MN
,
Sailaja B
,
Sundaram RM
Version 1 : Received: 1 August 2023 / Approved: 2 August 2023 / Online: 2 August 2023 (10:10:42 CEST)

A peer-reviewed article of this Preprint also exists.

Kumar, R.M.; Chintalapati, P.; Rathod, S.; Vidhan Singh, T.; Kuchi, S.; Mannava, P.B.B.B.; Latha, P.C.; Somasekhar, N.; Nirmala, B.; Madamsetty, S.P.; Prasad, J.V.N.S.; Vijaya Kumar, S.; Srinivas, D.; Sreedevi, B.; Tuti, M.D.; Arun, M.N.; Sailaja, B.; Sundaram, R.M. Comparison of System of Rice Intensification Applications and Alternatives in India: Agronomic, Economic, Environmental, Energy, and Other Effects. Agronomy 2023, 13, 2492. Kumar, R.M.; Chintalapati, P.; Rathod, S.; Vidhan Singh, T.; Kuchi, S.; Mannava, P.B.B.B.; Latha, P.C.; Somasekhar, N.; Nirmala, B.; Madamsetty, S.P.; Prasad, J.V.N.S.; Vijaya Kumar, S.; Srinivas, D.; Sreedevi, B.; Tuti, M.D.; Arun, M.N.; Sailaja, B.; Sundaram, R.M. Comparison of System of Rice Intensification Applications and Alternatives in India: Agronomic, Economic, Environmental, Energy, and Other Effects. Agronomy 2023, 13, 2492.

Abstract

Initial evaluations of the System of Rice Intensification in India and elsewhere have mainly fo-cused on its impact on yield and income and have usually covered just one or two seasons. Re-searchers at the ICAR-Indian Institute of Rice Research conducted a more comprehensive evalua-tion of SRI methods over six years (six wet and six dry seasons), comparing these methods with three other rice crop management systems: modified, partially mechanized SRI (MSRI); direct-seeded rice (DSR); and normal transplanting with inundated fields (NTP). SRI grain yield was found to be about 50% higher than with NTP (6.35 t ha-1 vs 4.27 t ha-1), while the MSRI yield was essentially the same (6.34 t ha-1) and 16% higher than with DSR (5.45 t ha-1). Compared to NTP, SRI methods significantly enhanced soil microbial populations over time, bacteria by 12%, fungi by 8%, and actinomycetes by 20%. Indicators of biological activity in the rhizosphere were also higher, dehydrogenase by 8.5% and FDA enzymes by 16%. Glucosidase activity, an indicator of soil organic matter, was 78% higher. Relative to normal transplanting methods, SRI reduced GHG emissions by 21%, while DSR reduced them by 23% and MSRI by 13%, which indicated pos-itive effects of the alternate and improved methods over normal transplanting. Economic analy-sis showed that both gross and net economic returns to be higher with SRI than with MSRI and the other management systems evaluated. While the six-year study documented many ad-vantages of SRI crop management, the MSRI version evaluated is a promising adaptation that provide similar benefits but with lower labor requirements.

Keywords

Rice-rice system; crop establishment methods; System of Rice Intensification; modified System of Rice Intensification; greenhouse gases; climate-resilience

Subject

Biology and Life Sciences, Agricultural Science and Agronomy

Copyright: This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

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