Rice farming usually means flooded fields and heavy seed use. One method rewrites both rules at once.
🏛️ Must Know
What SRI Actually Delivers
- Reduced Seed Requirement SRI needs far fewer seeds per hectare than traditional transplanting, since it plants single, younger seedlings spaced widely apart.
- Reduced Methane Production Alternate wetting and drying stops continuous flooding. This limits the oxygen-poor conditions that produce methane.
- Reduced Electricity Consumption SRI cuts water requirement significantly through controlled irrigation, which lowers the electricity or fuel needed to pump water.
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How SRI Actually Changes Rice Farming
- Just 5-8 kg of Seed per Hectare SRI typically uses just 5 to 8 kg of seed per hectare, versus 60 to 80 kg under conventional transplanting.
- Younger, Single Seedlings SRI transplants single, younger seedlings with wider spacing, letting each plant develop a stronger root system.
- A Genuine Water-Efficiency Method Overall, SRI can reduce water use by 30 to 50 percent compared with continuously flooded paddy cultivation.
📝 Previous Year Questions
UPSC CSP 2022 — What SRI Actually Results In
- UPSC 2022 SRI’s alternate wetting and drying genuinely reduces seed requirement, methane production, and electricity consumption, all three. See UPSC CSP 2022 GS Paper I, Q22. View this question.
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🌟 Great to Know
Why SRI Matters Beyond a Single Farm
- Scales Without New Technology SRI needs no new seed varieties or expensive equipment, just a change in spacing and water management.
- Adopted Widely in India Several Indian states have promoted SRI through agricultural extension programmes, especially in water-scarce regions.
- Connects to Other PYQ Facts This same alternate wetting-and-drying logic also underlies UPSC’s questions on rice as a source of methane and nitrous oxide.
For more on rice and greenhouse gases, see EnvEco0187 — Rice: The Crop Behind Both Methane and Nitrous Oxide.
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