Integrated assessment of system of rice intensification vs. conventional method of transplanting for economic benefit, energy efficiency and lower global warming potential in India

Abstract

ABSTRACT There is a close relationship among agriculture, economics, energy and the environment. A comparison was made between conventional and the system of rice intensification (SRI) methods of rice cultivation by conducting two experiments. One field experiment was conducted from 2013 to 2017 at 25 locations across India under the All India Coordinated Rice Improvement Project and another experiment was conducted in 2017 using surveys by collecting data from 262 randomly selected SRI farmers using a personal interview method in the Telangana state of India. The 5-year experimental data revealed that the SRI method of cultivation produced higher rice grain yield (up to 55%) compared to the conventional transplanting method. Survey data revealed that total costs of rice production reduced by 22.71% under SRI. Break even output under SRI was reduced by 58.1%. Adoption of SRI saved total energy inputs by 4350 MJ/ha. The energy productivities were 0.16 kg/MJ and 0.21 kg/MJ for conventional and SRI methods, respectively. Also, SRI resulted the lowest greenhouse gas emissions of 0.280 kg CO2e/kg rice grain. Therefore, for ensuring higher productivity, net returns, energy efficiency and sustainable rice production it is recommended to adopt an environmentally friendly SRI method of crop establishment in the Telangana region of India.