Abstract
In lowland rice farming, water management is the most important practice that determines the productivity of other inputs, e.g. nutrients, herbicides, pesticides, farm machinery, microbial activity, mineralization rates. Deliberate flooding or poor drainage that keeps soil saturated is detrimental to crops and degrades soil quality. This study evaluated whether rice grain yield could be increased relative to continuous flooding by using the management practices of the System of Rice Intensification (SRI). The effects of SRI's repeated wetting and drying cycles plus different plant populations were investigated at Sapu Research Station in The Gambia, on an alluvial soil between 2000 and 2002. The water management practices proposed for SRI were found to be beneficial to rice growth. At 20 cm spacing, average grain yield with SRI practice was 7.3 t ha−1 compared with 2.5 t ha−1 under continuous flooding. At 30 cm spacing SRI practice yielded 6.6 t ha−1, while under continuous flooding, grain yield was only 1.7 t ha−1. Even wider spacing did not produce higher yield. At 40 cm spacing, SRI management gave 4.7 t ha−1, while continuous flooding yielded 1.3 t ha−1. Thus overall, SRI practices gave better results than continuous flooding. This was probably as a result of increased nutrient availability and superior growing conditions which enhanced physiological development and grain yield. Rewetting dry soil reportedly facilitates nitrogen mineralization. The phenomenon of having a flush of nitrogen mineralization occurring after rewetting dry soil was first reported by Birch in 1958. This intensive pathway of nitrogen mineralization and nitrogen availability has potential to increase lowland rice yields in ways consistent with sustainable agricultural production.
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Claims 6
Claim · model-written summary
At 20 cm spacing, SRI practice gave higher rice grain yield than continuous flooding (7.3 vs 2.5 t ha−1).
- Taxon
- rice
Oryza sativat0 - Treatment
- SRI practicee0
- Outcome
- average grain yielde0
- Direction
- higherinferrede0
- Value
- 7.3 t ha−1e0
- Qualifier
- 20 cm spacinge0
- Comparator
- continuous floodinge0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
t0“lowland rice yield”
e0“At 20 cm spacing, average grain yield with SRI practice was 7.3 t ha−1 compared with 2.5 t ha−1 under continuous flooding”
Claim · model-written summary
At 30 cm spacing, SRI practice gave higher rice grain yield than continuous flooding (6.6 vs 1.7 t ha−1).
- Taxon
- riceOryza sativat0
- Treatment
- SRI practicee0
- Outcome
- grain yielde0
- Direction
- higherinferrede0
- Value
- 6.6 t ha−1e0
- Qualifier
- 30 cm spacinge0
- Comparator
- continuous floodinge0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
t0“lowland rice yield”
e0“At 30 cm spacing SRI practice yielded 6.6 t ha−1, while under continuous flooding, grain yield was only 1.7 t ha−1”
Claim · model-written summary
At 40 cm spacing, SRI management gave higher rice yield than continuous flooding (4.7 vs 1.3 t ha−1).
- Taxon
- riceOryza sativat0
- Treatment
- SRI managemente0
- Outcome
- yielde0
- Direction
- higherinferrede0
- Value
- 4.7 t ha−1e0
- Qualifier
- 40 cm spacinge0
- Comparator
- continuous floodinge0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
t0“lowland rice yield”
e0“At 40 cm spacing, SRI management gave 4.7 t ha−1, while continuous flooding yielded 1.3 t ha−1”
Claim · model-written summary
Wider spacing under SRI did not produce higher rice yield.
- Taxon
- riceOryza sativat0
- Treatment
- wider spacinge0
- Outcome
- yielde0
- Direction
- did not produce highere0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
t0“lowland rice yield”
e0“Even wider spacing did not produce higher yield”
Claim · model-written summary
The increase in rice grain yield under SRI is probably due to increased nutrient availability and superior growing conditions.
- Taxon
- riceOryza sativat0
- Outcome
- grain yielde0
- Qualifier
- increased nutrient availability and superior growing conditionse0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
t0“lowland rice yield”
e0“This was probably as a result of increased nutrient availability and superior growing conditions which enhanced physiological development and grain yield”
Claim · model-written summary
The water management practices proposed for SRI were found to be beneficial to rice growth.
- Taxon
- riceOryza sativae0
- Treatment
- water management practices proposed for SRIe0
- Outcome
- rice growthe0
- Direction
- beneficiale0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“The water management practices proposed for SRI were found to be beneficial to rice growth”
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