System of Rice Intensification: A Possible way to Sustainable Rice Production

Rice is the major source of calories for half the world's population as well as in our country. In India, it is a big challenge to meet the food demand of the increasing population. As there is hardly a chance to increase the arable land to expand rice cultivation and meet the projected demand, the gains in rice production must come largely from higher yields. The System of Rice Intensification (SRI) is a method which can support us to overcome this situation. It is simply some modification in the cultivation practices such as use of young and single seedlings per hill, limited irrigation, and frequent loosening of the top which soil stimulates aerobic soil conditions with an improvement of soil biological properties. By changing the package of practices to manage plant, soil and water SRI changes the structure of rice plants, the density and number of their roots and tillers and ultimately makes the plants more productive with more effective tillers, grain filling and higher grain weight that and maximum grain yield. With SRI, water use for irrigated paddy cultivation is reduced by 25–50%. This low water requirement also helps the farmers to grow rice in dry regions. Also it is confirmed that SRI significantly reduces methane emissions and use of chemical fertilizer and reduce arsenic levels (10 to 15 times) than flooded rice.