1. Water Saving in Rice Cultivation

2. Rice is a water intensive crop. Preferably it is not grown in areas with scarce groundwater resources It remains popular because it is low risk, high yield subsistence crop As an intermediate solution there are some water saving cropping systems that can be considered… Rice cultivation

3. Several water saving methods for rice cultivation exists. Two examples:  System of Rice Intensification (SRI)  Conservation Agriculture (Zero Tillage) Water Saving Methods

4. System of Rice Intensification (SRI) A completely new method to grow irrigated rice using substantially less water

5.  Early transplanting (8-12 days seedlings)  Careful transplanting (with seed,soil,root)  Wide spacing (25 X 25 cm spacing) -only one plant/hill to preserve potential tillering and rooting  Weeding and aeration  Water Management (keeping the soil moist but not saturated - Intermittent wetting)  Compost (Add 1.5 ton/ha of FYM +Fertilisers) SRI – Some Principles

6.  Fields are kept unflooded, moist and well aerated throughout the vegetative growth  A thin layer of water (1-3 cm) in the field during the reproductive phase  Wide spacing (25x 25 cm to 50x50 cm) and only one plant/ hill  Early and frequent weeding SRI – Some Principles

7. Treat ments Through irrigation (mm) Through rainfall (mm) Total (mm) Tra ditional 9132961209 Wetting and drying 7302961036 SRI 673296969 Water application Some monitoring results from Andra Pradesh, India

8. Parameters Treatments Tradi- tional Wettin g/ drying SRI Grain yield (kg/ha) 625065808380 % increase of grain yield in different treatments when compared with farmers practice -5.034.0 Amount of water (mm) applied during crop growth period through irrigation 913730673 % of irrigation water saved in different treatments when compared with farmers practice -2026 Water use efficiency (kg/ha mm) 5.26.48.6 SRI compared with other treatments

9. Zero tillage (conservation agriculture)

10. 1.Reduced/minimum soil disturbance, 2.Reduced soil compaction, 3.Residue management, 4.Innovative cropping systems, cultivar choices etc. Conservation Agriculture

11. Rice Fallows Surface Seeding Reduced Soil Disturbance

12. Stale bed method Reduced Tillage: Direct Seeded Rice

13. Furrow irrigated raised beds Rice Reduced Soil Disturbance

14.  Increases irrigated area  Improves crop stand and yields  Additional field area added Laser Land Levelling

15. Yield Loss: 35-67kg/day/ha Sowing date of rice in nursery Planting time, Wheat Relation sowing date & yield for rice and wheat Timely Planting: Higher Profits

16. Controlled traffic-Paired Row ZT-Wheat Controlled Traffic Combination of controlled traffic and paired rows also possible Paired Rows Reduce soil compaction: Zero-Till Technology

17. Stubble shaved & dried Residues Burning  Incorporation / surface retention of residues builds up soil structure  Residues when mulched provide a better habitat for beneficial insects to proliferate. Anchored and loose straws in combine harvested areas Crop Residues Management

18. No additional irrigation water, 50% less weeds, Supply 20Kg N, control second flush of weeds Brown Manuring in Direct Seeded Rice

19. Economics of R-W system Zero-till rice is more profitable when preceding crop is also no-till planted

20.  Timely sowing  Higher yields  Better nutrient and water use efficiency  More diverse rotations  Prevent residue burning Conservation Agriculture

21.  Better crop stands  Lower costs  Less water pollution, less ground water mining  Fewer weeds and pests  More C sequestration and better soil health Conservation Agriculture

22. Even in areas where there are considerable differences between groundwater recharge and groundwater exploitation several mitigating measures are possible to restore the balance Conclusion

23. Raj K. Gupta, Regional Facilitator, Rice-Wheat Consortium/ CIMMYT-India, New Delhi Resource Conserving Technologies: A Paradigm Shift for Transforming Agriculture