Water Saving in Rice Cultivation

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

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

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

 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

 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

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

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

Zero tillage (conservation agriculture)

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

Rice Fallows Surface Seeding Reduced Soil Disturbance

Stale bed method Reduced Tillage: Direct Seeded Rice

Furrow irrigated raised beds Rice Reduced Soil Disturbance

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 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

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

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