SRI

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System of rice intensification (SRI) is a methodology aimed at increasing the yield of rice produced in farming. It is a low water, labor intensive, organic method that uses younger seedlings singly spaced and typically hand weeded with special tools. It was developed in 1983 by the French Jesuit Father Henri de Laulanié in Madagascar. However full testing and spread of the system throughout the rice growing regions of the world did not occur until some years later.

Key Ideas

<ref>Cornell University, System of Rice Intensification</ref>

  • Rice field soils should be kept moist rather than continuously saturated, minimizing anaerobic conditions, as this improves root growth and supports the growth and diversity of aerobic soil organisms.
  • Rice plants should be planted singly and spaced optimally widely to permit more growth of roots and canopy and to keep all leaves photosynthetically active.
  • Rice seedlings should be transplanted when young, less than 15 days old with just two leaves, quickly, shallow and carefully, to avoid trauma to roots and to minimize transplant shock.


World record yields

In 2011 a young farmer named Sumant Kumar set a new world record in rice production of 22.4 tons per hectare using SRI, beating the existing world record held by the Chinese scientist Yuan Longping by an astounding 3 tons. <ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>