Revised proceedings - The System of Rice Intensification - Cornell ...

seedling planting in this publication. The Royal Commission on Agriculture in India‟s Abridged Report 3
shows that single-seedling planting was recommended at least up through 1928. Other publications show that
what was called “Economic planting of rice” was recommended and practiced in Madras Presidency at this
time. We do not know details of this method, but it is clear that less seeds were used and single seedlings were
planted. In a paper presented at the Indian Science Congress of Madras (5 June 1929) on the topic „Recent
agricultural development in Madras‟, the then Director of Agriculture, R.D. Anstead stated: “cultural
improvements such as the economic planting of paddy from thinly sown nurseries have been adopted over a
wider area as a result of demonstration and propaganda. By economic planting, by green manuring, and by
using selected strains, the department has demonstrated to ryots (farmers) that it is possible to increase the
yield of paddy very considerably.” In a much-later note on this topic, it is reported that “crop raised from
thin-sown nursery always gave increased yield ranging from 6 to 15 percent compared to the crop raised
from thick-sown nursery.” It is interesting to find that by “saving at least 25 lbs of seeds per acre by reduced
rate over the 10 million acres of paddy in the Province (Madras), there will be a saving of nearly a lakh tons
of paddy seed. In Tanjore district alone this saving will feed its population for 3 weeks.”
Summary and Conclusions
We have seen that the single-seedling concept of present-day SRI method of cultivation was developed by
farmers of Tamil Nadu about 100 years ago and was made known through a Tamil monthly journal,
Pizhaikkum Vazhi (Practical Life). The concept included line planting. Another farmer-devised version of
single-seedling practice, called Gaja planting, which involved a detailed package of practices reported in this
Tamil journal, specified wider spacing between and within rows so that plant population was only 7-8 plants
per sq. m., with improved results.
The single-seedling planting method appears to have been followed in Government Farms, so this was
evidently accepted by the agricultural establishment. A Government publication of 1928 mentions singleseedling
planting favorably and endorses the need for demonstrations to convince farmers. This indicates that
the method was in vogue for more than 20 years. But how long it lasted and why it disappeared we just do not
know. Ironically, now we are talking (again) about single-seedling planting through SRI. The description of
Gaja planting matches the principles of SRI in many respects, viz., single seedlings, less number of plants per
sq.m, shallow irrigation, and inter -cultivation.
The use of younger seedlings which SRI promotes is the missing element in Gaja planting for highest gains in
productivity. The rice cultivation practices generally followed in Thanjavur district at the beginning of the 20th
century are documented in the Tanjore District Gazetteer published in 1906. This helped us compare standard
results with those from the single-seedling planting method. The discussion of „half dry‟ field condition during
the first days after transplanting, mentioned in the Gazetteer, and the advice of „not more than 5 cm irrigation‟
associated with Gaja planting shows that already a century ago some persons did not consider high water levels
and continuous flooding necessary. The innovative nutrient placement and recycling of straw in rice-rice
cropping system described by Vaidyalingam Pillai shows the creativity of farmer-experimenters. Kulandai
Veludaiyar carried out his own research on the suitability of single-seedling planting and reported that it was
successful in low lying sodic soils, sandy soils, flood-prone saline soils, and marshy soils.
The publications of Rao Saheb Kulandai Veludaiyar and Sri Vaidyalingam Pillai in 1911 showed innovative,
scientifically valid approaches towards rice cultivation that are applicable still today. Credit for single-seedling
planting and row planting should go to these Tamil Nadu farmers, and we should note the merits of Gaja
planting proposed by Vaidyalingam Pillai which has many similarities with SRI.
SRI is certainly a major breakthrough in the conceptualization and practice of rice cultivaAtion. More than its
specific practices, it has contributed to making people think differently in order to get more production and
higher resource productivity. It challenges the conventional approach of expecting that only high input-
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