Up-scaling Water Saving Technologies in Rice Cultivation under Corporate Social Responsibility

Abstract

Rice crop being the major consumer of water, the water use efficiency of growing rice crop is low compared to other field crops. The promising technologies on water saving in rice were advocated to the farmers on corporate social responsibility basis by upscale and popularization of these techniques among poor land holding farmers in rice growing locations of Villupuram district of Tamil Nadu State in India. The main objective of the study was to bring awareness among farmers on water saving technologies in rice production, thereby increasing water usage efficiency and enhanced grain yield. Field demonstrations were carried out in 25 locations each separately in Villupuram district for up scaling water saving technology in rice cultivation like System of Rice Intensification (SRI) and Alternate Wetting and Drying Irrigation (AWDI). SRI compared with conventional transplanted rice (CTR) and AWDI with flood irrigation as farmers' practice. The bio-metric observation data was recorded in the demonstration field plots. The average mean data was computed and used for analysis. SRI has showed higher yield attributes viz., Productive tillers (19) and 174 number of grains/panicle over CTR, besides enhanced water productivity of 0.63 kg/m by minimizing the no. of irrigation to 19 and quantum of 3 water requirement (9800 m /ha). Increase in the grain yields up to 19.44 percent over 3 CTR obtained with water saving made the farmers confident on the water saving technologies. Among the irrigation methods <em>viz., </em>flood irrigation and AWDI, 9.4 percent yield increase with 30.4 percent water saving as recorded under AWDI method of irrigation management in lowland rice cultivation. Popularization of water saving technologies in rice cultivation has created greater awareness on water quantification and need based water management among the farmers in the project area.