SRI is the abbreviation of System of Rice Intensification.
This is a methodology aimed at increasing the yield of rice, often using the following six interrelated practices:
- Transplanting very young seedlings (8 to 15 days old) to enhance their potential for rooting and tillering
- Planting single seedlings (instead of 2 or more together) carefully and gently and without inverting the root tips
- Spacing seedlings widely with a planting distance bigger than 20 x 20 cm (in some cases up to 50 x 50 cm)
- Using a simple mechanical hand weeder to control weeds and aerate the soil
- Keeping the soil moist rather than continuously saturated or ﬂooded, during the vegetative growth phase and up to the ﬂowering and grain production stage (this is to minimize anaerobic conditions and it increases diversity of aerobic soil organisms)
- Use of organic manure or compost to improve soil quality
For more information see the March 2013 issue of Farming Matters, a magazine that shares knowledge and information about small-scale agriculture.