1. Field Trip Report – Group II October 5, 2007 Chairman: Dr. L.G. Giri Rao Rapporteur: Dr. R. Rajendran Liaison Officer: Mr. Ashish Saha Co-ordinator:Mr. Chakraborthy Officer – in- charge: Mr. P.K. Datta

2. No. of delegates participating 50 Villages covered 3 Farmers participating 35 Farmers interviewed 5

3. S. No. VillagesLocationFarmer interviewed 1Bagabasa GPMelaghar RD Block, West Tripura Mr. Vallab Debnath 2SonapurBosh Nagar RD Block, West Tripura Mr. Chowdhary 3IndiranagarMelaghar RD Block, West Tripura Mr. Amirthalal Das

4. Visitors received an overwhelming reception

5. Farmer experiences: Mr. Vallab Debnath In local govt area, 40 ha planted with SRI Practices under SRI: Seed rate – 2 kg/ac (conv. 20-25 kg/ac) Compost - 3 t/ac, NPK – 40 kg/ha (conv. applic. 70 kg/ac) 8-10 day, single seedlings, gap-filling Water management – AWD Yield – 30-35 mond/kani (3 t/ac)

6. Field observations : Bagabasa Gram Panchayat area Swarna Mashuri and Pooja varieties Square planting, 22 – 25 cm Tillers per plant 25- 35 (ave. 30) Water stagnation by rain but draining First hand weeding by rotary weeder

7. 2. Mr. Chowdhary (Sonapur) Aman rice – planted with SRI methods Seed rate – 2 kg/ac (conv. 25 kg/ac) Seedling – single (conv. 5-6/hill), 10 d old seedlings (conv. 30 days) NPK fertilizer – 65 kg/ac (conv. 175 kg/ac) Three rotary weedings – 12, 24 and 36 DAT (conv. 2 hand weedings); AWD irrigation No lodging; reach maturity 5-7 days earlier, but pest attack is more in SRI

8. Paddy yield expected from present aman crop: 40 mond/kani - 3.8 t/ac (9.5 t/ha) Constraints: Labour problem especially for weeding Time-bound operations

9. 3. Mr. Amirthalal Das, Indhiranagar 10 d old seedlings, single seedlings, square planting, 25 x 25 cm spacing Rice yield 40 panicles/hill, 38 mond/kani – 3.8 t/ac (conv. yield 1.8 t/ac -- 9.5 vs. 4.5 t/ha) Yield >doubled; cost reduced; 15 days earlier maturity; low pest pressure; good grain filling; low chaff (few unfilled grains); maximum tillering; only labour is a problem

10. After the field visit, 6 presentations were made by delegates S. No Name of delegateTopic 1Dr. V. Ravindra Babu, DRR, Hyderabad Grain quality assessment in SRI BPT 5204, DRRH-2, Swarna Eco-SRI, SRI and Traditional Only varietal difference in grain quality No influence by management effect except few parameter, viz., amylose content Results need to be confirmed

11. S.NoName of delegate Topic 2Dr. K. Surekha, DRR, Hyderabad Nutrient uptake and soil mining study in SRI Low NUE and yield in Eco-SRI SRI & conventional NPK uptake on par SRI & conventional yields -- no difference No soil depletion after 2 seasons of SRI No clear varietal difference exists on NUE Soil-available K more in Eco- SRI Results need to be confirmed

12. S.NoName of delegate Topic 3Dr. K. Karthikeyan, Kerala Pest incidence in SRI Jyothi & KRH–2 evaluated Stem borer moderate level Rice blue beetle - more under SRI Leaf folder and whorl maggot reduced in SRI Increased activity of natural enemies, viz., spiders and larval parasites Only one season of data, results need to be confirmed

13. S.NoName of delegate Topic 4Dr. G. Ravi, TNAU, Tamil Nadu SRI and IPM Stem borer, BPH, whorl maggot, gall midge reduced under SRI Only leaf folder is more under SRI Increased activity of predatory spiders IPM fits very well with SRI

14. S.NoName of delegate Topic 5Sardar Iqbal Singh, Farmer, J & K Used marker, 25x25 cm spacing, 15 d seedlings, pulling out of nursery very easy, conventional method laborious, AWD irrigation, full NPK applied, cono weeder 20 th day Variety: PC 19 35-55 tillers/hill Ave. yield: 4.5 to 5.0 t/ha

15. S.NoName of delegate Topic 6Mr. Gopal Swaminathan Agricultural graduate cum farmer Shared his experiences on: Double transplanting technique with SRI to mitigate extremely hot climate in Cauvery Delta Innovative method of planting rice on ridges (direct seeding) in ridge-furrow system

16. Field study ….

17. Serious discussions going on …..

18. Field view & view of rotary weeder in Bagabasa village

19. Field study …. Seeing the difference between SRI & conventional practice