Presentation at the Workshop on Crop Production Equipment for the System of Rice Intensification (SRI) Presenter: Dr. B. J. Pandian: TNAU, India Title: Development of SRI Transplanter Date: November 1, 2014 Venue: ACISAI, Asian Institute of Technology, Thailand

1. Dr.B.J.Pandian
Director, Water Technology Centre
TNAU, Coimbatore-3

3. Total geographical area (km2
) 1,30,069
Total population (million) 66.4
Total cultivable area (million ha)
7.99
(2001-02)
Total paddy area (million ha)
1.93
(2006-07)
Paddy area (%) to total
cultivable area
24.16
Major rice season(s)
Jun – Sep,
Aug – Jan,
Dec– Apr
Total paddy production (million
tonnes)
9.92
(2006-07)
State’s contribution to national 7.08
paddy production (%)
Paddy productivity (t ha-1)
5.14
(2006-07)
All-India rank in productivity 2
Constraints in paddy cultivation
Water &
labour
FACTS ABOUT RICE FARMING IN TAMIL NADU

4. Man power requirement for transplanting is 30 man days/ha
Transplanting cost at Rs 150/day will be Rs 4500/HA
Transplanting cost for mechanical transplanting alone = 3500/HA

5. IRRI-MANUAL TRANSPLANTER
6 ROW 0.25HA/DAY RS10000
HAND CRANKED
2 ROW 0.4 HA/DAY RS12000

6. SINGLE WHEEL RIDING TYPE
8ROW 1.52 HA/DAY RS 1,90,000
WALK BEHIND TYPE
4-ROW, 0.5 -0.65 HA/DAY RS 2.2 LAKHS

7. 4WD 6 ROW 1.75 HA /DAY
RS10,00,000
4WD 8 ROW 2.5 HA/DAY
RS17,50,000

8. Jan Feb Mar April May June July Aug Sept Oct Nov Dec Jan
Sornavari
(<120)
Kuruvai
(<120)
Late
samba/Tha
ladi
Navarai
(<120)
Early
kar(<120)
Early samba 130-
135
Late
Pishanam
Kar Samba
Late
Thaladi

9.  Agency : Green Indus Agro tech
Pvt. Ltd Tanjore
 Operation : Delta Districts.
 Activity : Custom Hiring, Sale of
transplanters

16.  Transplanter used : Daedong (South Korea)
 Specification : 6 Row 30 cm spacing
 Field capacity : 4.4 ac/day of 8hrs
 Operator : one @ Rs 333/day*
 Helper :One @Rs 200/day
 Fuel consumption : 2.75 to 3 lit petrol/hr
 The team will have to transplant a minimum of 5
acres/day and for coverage over 8acres/day Rs 100/
acre is given as incentive

17.  Cost of six row 4WD Transplanter – 10,00,000
 Cost after 50% subsidy - 5,00,000
 Target pay back period - 500hrs
 Warranty provided by dealer for first 500 hrs of use.
 The customer should compulsorily service the
transplanter after 500hrs of use.
 Trained operators services are provided along with
each transplanter sold.
 Most service providers have one to two transpalnters

18. Sl.N
o
Cost classification Cost (Rs/acre)
1 Cost of Machine 1000
2 Fuel 250
3 Operator 67
4 Helper 40
5 Maintenance 100
6 Transport of machine 100
Total 1557

19. Sl.No Cost calssification Cost (Rs/acre)
1 Operating Cost 1560
2 Seed 440
3 Sowing labour 100
4 Polyethylene sheet 25
5 Total cost/ac 2125 ~2200
6 Custom rate for
transplanting with
nursery/ac
3000
7 Profit to service provider/ac 800
8 Management-overhead Nursery maintenance-one
supervisor and one Manager
for overall management
9 Machinery transport 15000/month contract

20.  Agency : Rakkappa Farms
Melavaniyangudi,
Sivagangai
 Propriter : K.Kanna Subramanian,MA
 Operation : Supplies mat seedling all
over state
 Activity : Sale of seedling mat grown on
coirpith and custom transplanting

21.  Nursery : Nursery raised on trays
 Nursery
medium : Coirpith
 Sowing : with automatic tray sowing
machine @450 trays/hr
 Watering : Sprinklers
 Capacity : 20 acres/day 1400
trays/day

22. Sl.No Cost Calssification Cost in Rs
1 Cost of one tray 25
2 No of trays/ac 70
3 Cost of seedling including
transporting
1750
4
Cost of custom transplanting Rs 20/tray
5 Transplanting cost 1400
6
Total cost of transplanting 3150/ac
7
Complete package with seedling 4500/ac

24. Manual
Automatic

26.  Agency : PACs (10 Nos.) Salem Dist
(More than 2200 PACS to setup Agro service centers )
 Initiative : Joint Registrar of cooperatives
 Operation : Custom hiring of VST Yanji Transplanters
weeders , tractors and Power tillers
 Activity :Tray nursery raised at farmers holdings
with or without SRI template seeder
Transplanting done by Green army
voluenteers
 Cost Rs 3000/ac

27.  Under the Tegra technology, paddy seedlings are
grown in a special media comprising straw, soil,
nutrients, chemicals and other such things in a tray.
 The seedlings are developed in a nursery and then
replanted after 15 days with a special transplant
machinery. Syngenta offers the technology at Rs 75 a
tray and an acre requires 70 trays
 There are reportedly seven centers in Tamil Nadu for
providing transplanting services
 Now cost of crop care concept works out to Rs 6000/ac
 The transplanter service provider will get Rs 20/tray
Video

28. Sl. No Transplanter-Make
Numbers
(Approximate)
1 Yanmar 8 row 60
2 Kubota 6 row 70
3 Deodang 6 Row 35
4 Kukje 6 Row 25
4 WD Transplanters 190
1 Kukje 4 row 50
2 Southern agro
Chennai
500
3 Kubota 4 row 200
4 Yanchi 8 row 200
5 Deodang 4 row 6

29.  Rapid growth with coverage of 5% area at present
 Emergence of centralized nursery for supply of
seedlings at Sivaganga, Kumbakonam andVaipoor
 Emergence of transplanter service providers.
 Subsidy on machines by government is a great driver
 Mechanized transplanting has spread in delta and
slowly increasing in other districts
 High demand for mechanized transplanting in
Northern districts of Kancheepuram, Chengalpet
Thruvannamalai.
 Trend seems to favour custom hiring services

31. System of Rice Intensification (SRI)System of Rice Intensification (SRI)
Younger
seedlings
(14-15 days old)
Reduction in
nursery area &
seed rate
(100 m2
/ha
7.5kg/ha
Alternate
wetting
and Drying
Mechanical
weeding
(4 times from
10 DAT)
Square Planting
of single seedling
& wider Spacing
(25 x 25 cm)
Components

32. Progress made
a.2007-08 – AMRC, TNAU, Coimbatore
b.2008-09 – AEC&RI, Kumulur
c.2009-10 – VST – PPP Mode
Basins covered
Varaganadhi – Vilupuram
Upper vellar – Salem
Agniyar – Tanjur
Therkar – Madurai
Aliyar - Coimbatore
Pennaiyar- Krishnagiri

33. AMRC, TNAU, Coimbatore
Seed rate
50 / 75 / 100 / 125 g per Mat

34. AEC&RI, Kumulur

35. AEC&RI, Kumulur

36. AEC&RI, Kumulur

37. AEC&RI, Kumulur

38. One kg table salt in 10 lit of water
VST, PPP Mode

39. VST, PPP Mode

40. IMPROVED MAT NURSERY FOR MACHINE TRANSPLANTING

41. VST, PPP Mode

42. VST, PPP Mode

43. VST, PPP Mode

44. Sub basin
Area
covered
(ha)
Averg. Grain yield
(kg/ha)
%
increase
Transplanter Conventional
Varaganadhi 30 6200 5200 19.2
Upper
vellar
15 6175 5240 17.8
Aliyar 5 5940 4750 25.0
Therkar 5 6410 5170 23.9
Agniyar 8 6840 5090 34.4
VST, PPP Mode

45. TNAU – SRI GREEN ARMY
Mechanical ‘Yanchi’ Rice Transplanter
“Due to square planting, there was enough aeration and sun light
between plants. In addition there was no rat problem”
Area covered: 100 acres of (100 farmers) SRI in pillekothur,
Pathakotta, Podur, Gangapuram, Gobachandram, Kamandoddi and
Kaverinagar.
Each machine covered 2.5 ac per day and farmers were charged
Rs.1500/ac.
Benefits: Time saving and better yield
Average Yield: 3.30 t / ac (Demo); conventional (2.60 t/ ac)
Pennaiyar (upto Krishnagiri) Sub basin
TNAU – SRI GREEN ARMY
Mechanical ‘Yanchi’ Rice Transplanter
“Due to square planting, there was enough aeration and sun light
between plants. In addition there was no rat problem”
Area covered: 100 acres of (100 farmers) SRI in pillekothur,
Pathakotta, Podur, Gangapuram, Gobachandram, Kamandoddi and
Kaverinagar.
Each machine covered 2.5 ac per day and farmers were charged
Rs.1500/ac.
Benefits: Time saving and better yield
Average Yield: 3.30 t / ac (Demo); conventional (2.60 t/ ac)
Pennaiyar (upto Krishnagiri) Sub basin
World bank New Innovations

46. Comparative performance of SRI- Mechanical
Rice transplanter with other methods of rice cultivation
Particulars
Conventional
random
planting
SRI
SRI with
mechanical rice
transplanter
Plant population (m-2
) 24 19.75 17.65
No. of seedlings (hill-1
) 5.2 1.4 2.9
Age of seedlings 22.5 15.9 17.8
No. of productive tillers (hill-1
) 14.1 24.6 28.7
No. of grains (panicle -1
) 184.1 209.7 208
Grain yield (kg/ha) 6400 8000 8275
Man hours consumed 1778 1153 903
labour producutivity 3.6 6.9 9.2
Irrigation water used 1180 885 921
Water productivity 5.4 9.04 8.98

47. Hurdles faced in the farmers’ field
Sieved soil was used in many locations to avoid small stones if
not hinders planting
Incidence of sucking pest in the nurseries probably due to
enriched rooting media
Experienced drivers only could achieve square planting in the
entire field
Main field preparation to the needed condition was a problem
and convincing the farmer to dry the field was a major hurdle
Being canal irrigated area, water management during initial
period was so cumbersome
Matching sowing of nursery and main field preparation was
also tough; so as to plant at appropriate age of seedlings

48. Paddy seedlings ready for transplanting

49. Machine transplanting operation at vadamadurai
-03.02.2012

50. Machine transplanting operation at vadamadurai
-03.02.2012

51. Comparative performance of SRI- Mechanical
Rice transplanter with other methods of rice cultivation
Name of the Sub basin : ARANIYAR
Name of the Activity : SRI-Machine
Transplanting
Total Physical Target : 100 acres
Total No of Beneficiaries : 18
Comparison of SRI and Machine Transplanting over Conventional Method
Conventional.
Yield
(kg ha-1
)
SRI
Yield
(kg ha-1
)
SRI Machine
Transplantin
g Yield
(kg ha-1
)
Increase in grain yield
in Machine
Transplanting over
Conventional
(%)
Increase in grain yield
in SRI over conventional
(%)
5654 6733 6708 18.64 19.08