Agricultural water savings possible through SRI for water management in sichuan, china

Abstract

Sichuan province is one of the major rice-growing areas of China, with definite and growing water constraints. SRI evaluation was started in 2001 in this province, and by 2004 there was enough evidence for the Provincial Department of Agriculture to begin supporting its adoption. From 1,133 ha of use in that first year, SRI practices expanded to over 300,000 ha by 2010, and to almost 400,000 by 2012. Average increase in yield with SRI crop management over this period has been 1.7 t ha-1, with the largest advantages seen in drought years because of SRI rice plants' greater tolerance of water stress. Significant increases were documented in plant morphology and physiology, such as wider and longer leaves with greater leaf area index, and there is also greater root growth. This article focuses on how the original SRI ideas, which in initial trials added 20% to average yield, have been adapted, modified and extended in Sichuan to suit local climatic, soil, labor-power, and other conditions. Some initial trials, for example, which established fewer hills quite widely spaced but with more plants hill-1 (3 plants set apart in a triangular pattern) gave a 55% increase in yield. Other modifications such as planting on raised beds (no-till) with straw or plastic cover, plastic tray nurseries for seedlings, and modified water management regimes are also reported on in this article. These gains in rice crop productivity were achieved with usually about a 25% reduction in water applications, which is important in Sichuan given its water-scarce situation. Calculations have showed a 38% increase in irrigation water productivity. SRI ideas will continue to be tested and evolved to meet farmers' needs under their particular circumstances; but the basic ideas and insights have been well-accepted by farmers, scientists, and local and provincial governments.