This document summarizes the production technology of rice using both transplanted puddled lowland rice and the System of Rice Intensification (SRI) method. For transplanted puddled lowland rice, it details seed rates, nursery practices like seed treatment and nutrient management, transplanting spacing, and yield potential. For SRI, it outlines the critical steps of using a smaller nursery area and lower seed rate, transplanting younger seedlings in a square pattern, alternate wetting and drying of the soil, mechanical weeding, and achieving higher productivity with lower water use.

1. PRODUCTION TECHNOLOGY OF RICE
1. TRANSPLANTED PUDDLED LOWLAND RICE
Rice (Oryza sativa)
Poaceae
2n = 24
Origin: South East Asia
Season Dec – Jan (Navarai)
Apr – May (Sornavari)
May – June (Kar)
June – July (Kuruvai)
July – Aug (Samba)
Sept – Oct (Late samba / pishanam)
Oct – Nov (Late thaladi)
Seed rate
(kg/ha)
Long 30
Medium 40
Short 60
Hybrid 20
SRI 7 - 8
Optimum age of seedlings
Short: 18-22 days
Medium: 25-30 days
Long: 35-40 days
SRI: 14 days
Wet nursery Nursery area
20 cents (800 m2
)
Seed bed
Breadth 1.5 – 2 m, width 30 cm, length 8 to 10 cm.
Seed treatment
Treat the seeds with carbendazim @ 2 g/lit or Pseudomonas
fluorescens @ 10 g/kg of seeds or Azospirillium 600 g/ha
Nutrient management
Apply 1tonne of fully decomposed FYM or compost to 20cents
nursery and spread the manure uniformly on dry soil.
Basal application of DAP is recommended when the seedlings are to
be pulled out in 20-25 days after sowing in less fertile nursery soils.
For that situation, before the last puddling, apply 40kg of DAP and
if not readily available, apply straight fertilizers 16kg of urea and
120kg of super phosphate.
If seedlings are to be pulled out after 25 days, application of DAP is
to be done 10 days prior to pulling out.
For clayey soils where root snapping is a problem, 4kg of gypsum
and 1kg of DAP/cent can be applied at 10 days after sowing.
Water management
Drain the water 18 to 24hrs after sowing
Care must be taken to avoid stagnation of water in any part of the
seedbed.
Allow enough water to saturate the soil from 3rd to 5th day. From
5th day onwards, increase the water depth to 1.5cm depending on
the height of the seedlings.

2. Thereafter maintain 2.5cm depth of water.
Spacing (cm) Short -15 x 10
Medium- 20 x 10
Long - 20 x 15
SRI - 25 x 25
Nutrient
management
10 packets (2000 g/ha) Azospirullium and 10 packets of
phosphobateria or 20 packets of Azophos with 25 kg FYM and 25
kg of soil Pseudomonas fluorescens at 2.5 kg/ha mixed with 50 kg
FYM and 25 kg of soil
Broadcast 10 kg of BGA (Blue green algae) at 10 DAT, Azolla 250
kg/ha at 3-5 DAT
Gypsum 500 kg/ha.
Fertilizer Schedule (kg/ha)
Short: 150:50:50 (Kavery Delta)
Others: 120:40:40
Medium and long: 150:50:50
Hybrid: 175:60:60
FYM: 12.5 t/ha
Green leaf manure 6.25 t/ha
Water
management
Irrigation requirement:1200-1400 mm
2.5 cm during puddling and maintain for 7 days for green manure
decomposition (sun hemp –less fibrous) and 15 days for high
fibrous green manures
2 cm at transplanting and up to 7 DAT
5 cm submergence throughout the growth period
last irrigation 15 days ahead of harvesting
Foliar spray 1% urea + 2% DAP + 1% KCl
Herbicide Nursery – Pretilachlor + safener 0.3% kg/ha.
Main field – Butachlor @ 1.25 kg/ha and
Pendimethalin 3.0 lit/ha
Anilophos @ 0.4 kg/ha mixed with 50 kg sand as per-emergence
2, 4-D sodium salt (Fernoxone 80% WP) @ 1.25 kg/ha on 3 weeks
after transplanting (post-emergence)
Yield (kg/ha) 4000 – 6000
Straw: 8000 – 10000
2. SYSTEM OF RICE INTENSIFICATION (SRI)
System of Rice Intensification (SRI) was developed in 1983 by the French Jesuit Father
Henri de Laulanié in Madagascar.
It is a methodology for increasing the productivity of irrigated rice by changing the
management of plants, soil, water and nutrients particularly by eliciting greater root
growth.
SRI is not a technology because something still evolving and improving, season by
season, as more experience is gained and as more farmers, scientists and others apply
their intelligence and insights to making rice production more efficient and sustainable.
Critical steps in
SRI
Nursery area and seed rate
Seedling age
Square planting
Water management
Mechanical (Cono) weeder usage
Nursery area Nursery area is reduced to 100m2
/ ha.

3. For raised beds @ 1 x 5 m and 20 beds are required for 1 ha.
Usage of well decomposed good quality FYM judiciously.
Powdered DAP may be applied @ 95g/raised bed in total 1.9 kg
should be used.
Seed treatment can be done with Pseudomonas 10g/kg seed.
75 g Azophos biofertiliser/kg seed.
Spread polythene sheets over the beds evenly.
Fill the soil evenly over the polythene sheets upto 4cm.
Uniformly spread 375 g of seeds in each 5 sq.m. nursery bed.
Watering through rose can is advisable.
Cover the seed bed using locally available mulching materials like
coirpith/straw
Seed rate Only 7-8 kg of seed is required to plant 1 ha.
Seedling age Fourteen days old seedlings were recommended for transplanting
(3 leaves stage)
If the nursery bed is properly prepared with sufficient organic
manure, the seedling growth will be good to handle.
Water
management
Water management is one of the critical steps in SRI and provision
of aerobic environment in rice fields is the core point in SRI.
Plants with truncated roots cannot access the residual soil moisture
in lower horizons that is accessible to plants which have large and
functioning roots systems to maintain their growth and productivity.
Hence, alternate wetting and drying is advocated.
Irrigation only to moist the soil in the early period of 10 days.
Restoring irrigation to a maximum depth of 2.5cm after
development of hairline cracks in the soil until panicle initiation.
Increasing irrigation depth to 5.0 cm after panicle initiation one day
after disappearance of ponded water.
Mechanical
(Cono) weeder
usage
Square planting eases the cono/rotary weeder operation in two
directions, and thereby weed management could be effected
efficiently. In SRI, weeder should be used at 10 days interval from
the date of transplanting.
Three labours are enough to weed one acre.
Weeds are trampled and on decay the nutrient are ploughed back to
the soil.
Soil is frequently disturbed which has beneficial physico chemical –
biological results in soil.
Root pruning triggers the tillering that results in bursting out of
tillers.
Water level should be properly monitored for usage of weeder.
It is important to remove the left out weeds by hand.
By this the cost of weeding is reduced by 52.5%.
Season Dry season with assured irrigation is more suitable.
Difficulty in crop establishment may be seen in areas with heavy
downpour (NE Monsoon periods of Tamil Nadu)
Varieties Hybrids and varieties with heavy tillering.
Main field
preparation
Plough the land during summer to economize the water requirement
for initial preparation of land.
Flood the field 1 or 2 days before ploughing and allow water to soak
in.

4. Keep the surface of the field covered with water.
Keep water to a depth of 2.5cm at the time of puddling.
Good leveling (laser leveling) of the main field is essential in SRI.
Field drainage is an important component in SRI.
Transplanting The seedling along with the soil intact with the roots should be
removed and plant them immediately.
Fourteen days old seedlings were recommended for transplanting.
At this stage the seedling will have 3 leaves.
If the nursery bed is properly prepared with sufficient organic
manure, the seedling growth will be good to handle.
Plant spacing Square planting at 25 x 25cm ensures optimum space for efficient
utilization of resources.
Place single seedling at intersecting points marked with the marker.
Place the seedling without plunging too deep into the soil.
Nutrient
management
Apply 12.5 t of FYM or compost or green leaf manure @ 6.25 t/ha.
Organic manures addition is recommended in SRI cultivation, as
they are found to supply essential nutrients, and creates favorable
conditions for soil microbes being a source of carbon.
Apply fertilizer nutrients as per soil test recommendations.
N dose may be through Leaf Color Chart (LCC).
P & K may be through Site Specific Nutrition Management.
Depending on the necessity, top dress with chemical fertilizers.
Water
management
Water management is one of the critical steps in SRI and provision
of aerobic environment in rice fields is the core point in SRI.
Irrigate to 2.5 cm depth of water level after hairline crack formation
up to panicle initiation and after that disappearance of ponded water.
Water saving in this system is 40-50% from planting to harvest.
Farmers using ground water will realize the water, time and
electricity saving.
Regular water application to keep soil moist but not saturated.
Intermittent wetting and drying for adequate aeration during
vegetative phase.
Relatively frequent watering after vegetative phase.
No water stagnation at any stage.