SRI in Orissa - Cornell International Institute for Food, Agriculture ...

we started observing the crop more keenly than we ever did
earlier. Paddy in summer in our kind of land! It was like an
impossible dream for us.
In the off season there were 30 to 40 tillers per plant. In the
third week of June there were two strong cyclonic storms,
but not a single bush was lodged. Wow! It withstands storm
also! Even though many plants started flowering, not much
damage was noticed. The plants grew so strong that one
person just could not uproot a single bush.
We got only 1 bag (75 kg.) of paddy from 30 decimals of
area (0.625 t/ha); most of the crop was damaged due to
monkeys and parakeets. Even so we were encouraged
greatly. The crop was standing in the field till July. So when
people saw the matured rice panicles, the land preparation
for the next crop, sesbania still standing in one patch
while seedlings were raised in another patch, they were all
together dumbstruck. It was for the first time in our life
that we experienced this. It is difficult to express our joy in
words. This is how the foundation of SRI was laid.
Why were we interested in SRI? We were not driven by
emotions. Rather reasons prompted us to try SRI. People
like Dr. Shambu Prasad and Prof. Radhamohan encouraged
us a lot, but some other factors were also responsible for
creating interest with SRI in us. They were the unexpected
results of the first trial which though were not big by SRI
standards, but pushed our practice to domains that we
otherwise thought were beyond reach. What we like about
SRI is that it encourages a culture of creativity and allows
for innovation by farmers. It is a method of cultivation that
does not advocate a particular variety or any particular input
and rigid and uniform applications of them. It is based on
less external inputs that suits our organic farming principles
and is consonant with our philosophy and attitude to
farming. It creates an attitude to understand nature and
experiment with the promise of more production, less water
requirement, and allows for the curiosity to experiment.
Second Trial: From July to November 2007
During the second trial we grew Dhanicha, added fermented
oilcake, liquid manure, compost and some Gliricidia leaves
to the soil. We were still doubtful whether SRI would do
well in our poor and predominantly alkaline soil or not. Still
with a lot of hope and enthused by our experiences in the
summer, we converted all our paddy land to SRI. We did
not know the properties of any of the seeds we used, so it
was really difficult to make a complete study about their
performance. The varieties were Gobinda Bhoga, Tulasibasa,
Kalajira, Jagatsingpur Local Basmati and Phulbani Local
(Badakodingamali). Except the last variety, all other varieties
were scented ones. Ten seedlings of Nadiaphula were also
planted. Below are some of our major experiences.
In the beginning we remained busy designing and testing
our own markers. We used the local materials that can
be farmer friendly and increase efficiency as well, and are
easy to handle especially by women. We discovered that
we also have the potential to design our own equipment.
We experienced that the stickier the soil is, more drainage
channels are required. In sandier or lighter soils fewer
channels are required and in our [morum] laterite patch
which is highly porous no channels were required. Initial
land levelling was difficult to do though, particularly in
sticky alkaline soil and it is labour intensive. After proper
land preparation was made, we should prepare the
seed bed.
Soon the tillers came in greater numbers, and the duration
of the paddy was shorter. There was no gap between the
summer SRI and Kharif. So when the bullocks were taken
to the field they could not plough because of higher and
stronger root mass. Though the bullocks are the healthy
ones, they just got tired. So there should be gap between
two SRI crops which allows the roots to decompose. We
have since tried staggering our SRI crops. In our experience
the incorporation of root mass adds to the soil fertility.
The earthworm population increased much beyond our
imagination.
We found that with finer grains 1.2 kg. of seeds are required
and with coarse or bigger grains 1.8 to 2 kg. of seeds are
enough for an acre of land. Since transplanting is done
manually, it is also important that we should train the
labourers properly before entering into the field; otherwise
they would not be able to do it properly.
The varieties which we cultivated could not tolerate late
transplantation. Since transplanting greatly depends upon
the mercy of rain in rain-fed areas and on the availability
of labour, we are looking for varieties which will be able to
perform well even if they are planted late (towards the end
of August or the beginning of September). And we will be
experimenting more with varieties. The varieties we selected
performed well in red laterite soil, but badly in alkaline soil.
So we have to test other varieties which can perform well in
38
Towards a Learning Alliance: SRI in Orissa